Bioenergy With Carbon Capture and Storage

Bioenergy is a renewable and sustainable way to meet energy demands, boost energy security and lower greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential in the transition to the widespread adoption of cleaner, more resilient energy use.

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a carbon removal technique with a promising path toward decarbonizing energy production processes and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to sustainable practices and global climate change mitigation goals. BECCS is the only carbon dioxide removal technique that provides energy.

Unlocking this practice’s full potential requires a balance of sustainable practices, supportive policies and technological advancements.

Introduction to BECCS

BECCS is a method of removing oxygen from the atmosphere. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology catches carbon dioxide (CO₂) released into the atmosphere during the bioenergy production process, which involves burning biomass. Technicians transport the captured CO₂ to suitable geological formations, like deep saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas reservoirs. These formations securely store the CO₂ underground for long periods to reduce its environmental impact.

There are two methods in which BECCS can be applied — combustion and conversion. Combustion uses biomass as a fuel source, capturing CO₂ from the flue gas stream arising during combustion. This ignition produces heat that aids in electricity generation or finds use in industrial applications like waste incineration, paper making or petrochemicals. During conversion, biomass goes through digestion or fermentation, producing gaseous or liquid fuels, commonly bioethanol.

How Bioenergy Production Works

Biomass comes from organic materials like crop residues and dedicated energy crops like switchgrass or forestry waste. Bioenergy production converts this matter into biofuels or uses it directly for energy generation through biochemical processes, combustion or gasification.

In the Net Zero Emissions by 2025 Scenario, bioenergy gives off high-temperature heat and fuel that works in existing engines to help decarbonize aviation, heavy industry and trucking sectors. There are two conversion technologies in bioenergy production with sustainably sourced matter:

• Thermal conversion: Biomass can undergo thermal-based processes like gasification to produce syngas, pyrolysis to produce bio-oil, and combustion. These processes make biofuels, electricity and heat.
• Biochemical conversion: Fermentation or enzymatic digestion through microorganisms produces biofuels like biodiesel from oils or fats and ethanol from sugars and starches.

Bioenergy products include:

• Biochar: Biomass pyrolysis produces biochar, a carbon-rich material that improves soil health. It is used in soil amendments for agriculture and carbon sequestration.
• Biofuels: Renewable fuels like biogas, biodiesel and bioethanol are used in electricity generation, heating or transportation.
• Heat and power: Combusting biomass in boilers or gasifiers creates heat for industrial processes and can generate electricity through gas engines or steam turbines.

Exploring BECCS Technology

BECCS involves carbon capture systems, biomass conversion technologies, geological storage sites, monitoring protocols and transportation infrastructure. As advancements in BECCS technologies continue steadily, this technique’s scalability, cost-effectiveness and contribution to sustainable energy systems will skyrocket.

1. Biomass Feedstock Selection

BECCS starts with selecting the right biomass feedstocks. These materials can include agricultural residues like corn stover, energy crops like switchgrass, organic municipal waste, and forestry waste like sawdust. Sustainable biomass management practices, which include sourcing feedstocks responsibly and avoiding land degradation, deforestation or competition with food production, are essential. Following feedstock selection, the biomass undergoes the conversion processes to generate bioenergy.

2. Carbon Capture Technology

Carbon capture technology collects CO₂ emissions from industrial processes. These processes can include:

• Post-combustion capture: This process collects CO₂  from flue gasses by using adsorbents or solvents. Technological advancements will improve the capture’s efficiency, lower overheads and reduce energy requirements.
• Direct air capture (DAC): This process captures CO₂ directly from the air with chemical absorbents or processes. While DAC technologies are still growing, they have significant potential to remove large-scale CO₂ to complement BECCS efforts.
• Pre-combustion capture: Pre-combustion converts biomass into a mixture of CO, H₂ and other gasses, called syngas. Pre-combustion capture separates the CO₂  from the syngas before combustion, which makes capturing easier. Research on this process focuses on optimizing the capturing technologies and gasification processes.

3. Carbon Capture Storage Utilization

The CO₂  from BECCS processes can be stored geologically, where technicians inject it underground into geological formations. Ongoing research on this storage will ensure long-term CO₂ harboring through carbon capture utilization. Another storage option is enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which involves injecting CO₂ into oil fields, enhancing oil recovery while storing this matter underground. When coupled with carbon capture, EOR can create economic incentives for BECCS projects.

4. Monitoring, Verification and Reporting (MRV)

Ongoing monitoring and verification systems ensure BECCS technology successfully captures, transports and stores CO₂. It is essential that stakeholders accurately report these storage and emissions reductions, ensuring regulatory compliance, carbon accounting and environmental benefits assessment.

The Top Benefits of BECCS

BECCS can be part of climate change mitigation strategies to reduce global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celcius through negative emissions and carbon sequestration, which lowers the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere. Using agricultural residues, energy crops and forestry waste for energy production lowers waste accumulation, promoting sustainable biomass management practices.

Additional benefits of BECCS technology include:

Renewable energy source: Biomass used for BECCS processes can be sustainably sourced from forestry or agricultural residues to lessen reliance on fossil fuels while promoting renewable energy development. Biomass-based energy production offers stable electricity generation, complementing intermittent renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.

Greenhouse gas mitigation: BECCS has the potential to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, which would complement anti-climate change efforts.

Carbon neutrality: Efficient BECCS leads to carbon-neutral or carbon-negative energy systems, which balance carbon missions with storage and removal capabilities.

Energy security: BECCS diversifies energy sources, providing opportunities for local biomass production and utilization, which supports energy security.

Rural development: Bioenergy industries support social-economic growth through agricultural diversification and add to job creation in rural areas. The result is economic growth, better sustainability practices and energy access in remote and rural areas.

Better air quality: In modern, efficient systems, biomass combustion reduces air pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

Examples of Global BECCS Projects

BECCS projects showcase the potential for this technology to combat climate change. These projects demonstrate leadership in sustainable energy practices to influence policy frameworks, collaborations and investments for global deployment.

Technological advancements pave the way for more cost-effective negative emissions solutions. The experience and lessons that come from global BECCS initiatives will ultimately advance worldwide sustainable energy solutions, leading to a low-carbon future.

Currently, organizations around the world are pioneering BECCS implementation to pave the way forward. Some of these game-changing projects include:

• Drax power station: The Drax power station in the United Kingdom is a pioneer in carbon capture and biomass energy generation. This pilot project stores biomass combustion from wood pellets underground.
• Peterhead CCS project: Based in Scotland, this project focuses on capturing CO₂ emissions from a gas-fired power station and storing them offshore. It demonstrates the scalability and feasibility of CCS technology that can integrate with BECCS applications to contribute to overall carbon mitigation efforts.
• The Longship project: The Longship project in Norway has a full-scale CCS facility with transportation and storage infrastructure for the CO2 captured from cement and waste.
• Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium: Archer Daniels Midland Company and the University of Illinois lead the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium, which captures emissions from bioethanol production and stores them underground.

Distinguishing CCS From BECCS

While CCS and BECCS share common goals for CO₂ capture and storage, the latter specifically focuses on using biomass as a renewable energy source. Understanding the distinctions and complementary aspects between these two methods helps develop comprehensive strategies for emission reductions and carbon management across various sectors.

These two processes complement each other in the following ways:

• Emission reduction: Both processes contribute to CO₂ emissions reduction and positive climate change impacts by capturing and storing these emissions from different sources.
• Negative emissions potential: While CSS reduces emissions from industrial processes, BECCS takes it one step further, achieving negative emissions by removing the CO₂ through biomass-based carbon capture.
• Technological synergy: CSS technologies can be adapted to integrate with BECCS applications, leveraging synergies and shared infrastructures.
• Policy and regulatory frameworks: Both technologies benefit from supportive policies, incentives for carbon storage, carbon pricing mechanisms and regulatory frameworks encouraging carbon management strategies and emission reductions.
• Energy security and renewables: BECCS promotes renewable energy production from biomass, which boosts energy security and diversifies these sources.

Addressing BECCS Implementation Challenges

Although BECCS is a highly promising carbon removal technique that is already being used globally, implementing BECCS involves multifaceted challenges and requires strategic planning and collaborative efforts:

• Biomass availability and sustainability: BECCS needs a sufficient supply of sustainable biomass feedstock without causing negative environmental impacts. Promoting sustainable practices and encouraging agroforestry and marginal land energy crop cultivation can help combat this challenge. Certification schemes and biomass research can also aid in combating this challenge.
• Integration with energy systems and transition pathways: Integrating BECCS into existing energy systems, transition pathways and grid infrastructures can be challenging. To overcome this, integrated energy system models and scenarios incorporating BECCS deployment and energy storage solutions can be developed.
• Technological maturity and efficiency: It is challenging to develop and deploy cost-effective, scalable and efficient carbon capture technologies that are compatible with conversion processes. The solution is to invest in research and development for advanced processes to optimize capture technologies while incentivizing industry collaboration and technology transfer.
• Economic viability and financing: BECCS deployment requires significant upfront investments in technology deployment, operational costs, infrastructure and ongoing maintenance. However, carbon pricing mechanisms, supportive policies like carbon tax credits, feed-in tariffs and financial incentives can help to combat financing challenges. Engaging in public-private partnerships and international collaborations can help to increase economic viability.
• Carbon storage and monitoring: Ensuring long-term, secure storage for captured CO₂ in geological formations while addressing potential site selection and monitoring issues can be an obstacle. Comprehensive site characterization and risk assessments can help to develop more robust monitoring and verification protocols. Engage communities and stakeholders in the storage site selection process to establish regulatory frameworks for storage liability and safety.

The Future Landscape of BECCS Technology

As the global population and accompanying industrialization grow, primary energy demand will be 30% higher by 2040 than it was in 2010. These elements will raise CO₂ demand in an energy sector that already produces two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, BECCS and other clean energy options will become increasingly essential to offset emissions. Technological advancements, supported by funding mechanisms, international collaborations, and other supportive policies, will likely speed up BECCS deployment.

Moving Toward a Sustainable, Zero-Carbon System With TRC Companies

BECCS has great potential for climate change mitigation as it offers a viable path toward negative emissions. It also increases energy security and promotes more sustainable development as part of a transition to a low-carbon future. Bringing BECCS into energy and climate policies can help unlock its full range of benefits to combat climate change and foster better global sustainability.

TRC is a global consulting, construction and engineering management firm. We provide environmentally focused, digitally powered solutions across markets like power, utilities, real estate and transportation.

The transition to zero-carbon energy through techniques like BECCS is complex, and you can make the process simpler and more effective by partnering with experts in the field. Our energy advisory team works to provide companies with transformative energy strategies, including decarbonization and resilience solutions. We can guide your organization to a zero-carbon future all the way through, from conception to continuous improvement after implementation.

Learn more about our renewable energy development approaches to see how we can benefit your company’s sustainability goals. Contact us today to get started on the path to clean energy.