Optimizing the Design of Supply Chains for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration in Europe: A Preliminary Assessment

Abstract

Carbon capture and storage represents a key technology for reducing the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. In addition to this, carbon utilization has often been considered as a viable option for increasing the environmental benefits, while decreasing costs of the mere capture and storage system. This contribution proposes an optimization framework for the design of carbon capture, transport, utilization, and storage supply chains in the European context. Based on literature data, technologies converting CO2 into methanol and polyether carbonate polyols were selected as the most promising and incorporated into the optimization framework. The goal is to reduce 50% of European emissions from large stationary sources by 2030. Results highlight that, under our assumptions, the significance of carbon utilization in terms of a reduction of the environmental impact is likely to be a minor one: considering the current state of technologies only about 2.4% of the overall CO2 emitted from large stationary sources can be removed by chemical utilization. However, significant benefits can be obtained in terms of overall cost reduction thanks to revenues deriving from the chemicals being produced.