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Context

• A report titled ‘Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India’ has been released by NITI Aayog.
• The report explores the importance of technology as an emission reduction strategy to achieve deep decarbonization from the hard-to-abate sectors. This edition of Burning Issue will highlight the key aspects of this report.   

What is CCUS?

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) as a group of technologies for capturing CO2 from large and stationary CO2 emitting sources, such as fossil fuel-based power plants and other industries.
• CCUS also involves the transport of the captured CO2 (typically by pipeline and in certain situations through shipping, rail or trucks also) to sites, either for utilization in different applications or injection into geological formations or depleted oil & gas fields for permanent storage and trapping of the CO2.

Significance of CCUS technologies

CCUS can contribute to decarbonization and transition to clean energy systems in various ways:

• Hard-to-abate sectors: CCUS offers the only known technology for the decarbonization of hard-to-electrify CO2-intensive sectors such as steel, cement, oil & gas, petrochemicals & chemicals, and fertilizers.
• Creation Low carbon hydrogen economy: CCUS is expected to play a major role in enabling the hydrogen economy in India, through the production of blue hydrogen based on the utilization of our rich endowments of coal.
• Removal of the CO2 stock from the atmosphere: The race towards net zero and containing global temperature within 1.5 degrees from pre-industrial levels is not possible without the removal of excess CO2 from the atmosphere through Direct Air Capture (DAC).
• Sustenance of existing emitters: Existing thermal power plants and industrial plants (such as steel and cement production facilities) can be retrofitted with CO2 capture infrastructure.

Need for CCUS in India

• Growing CO2 emissions: India is the 3rd largest emitter of CO2 in the world after China and the US, with estimated emissions of 2.6 gigatonnes per annum (gtpa) in 2019. With rapid economic growth, infrastructure and industrial development, as well as a growing population, the total CO2 emissions are expected to cross 4 gtpa by the year 2030.
• Sustainable solutions for the decarbonization of sectors -The decarbonization challenge for India is to identify scalable and economically sustainable solutions for the decarbonization of sectors that contribute to 70% of emissions. CCUS has a critical role to play, especially for India to accomplish net zero by 2070.
• Enabling clean and green energy generation: CCUS also has a role to play in enabling clean and green baseload power and ensuring the sustenance and non-stranding of our over 210 GW of coal and lignite-based thermal power plants.
• Limit global temperature rise- The International Energy Agency points out that reaching net zero without CCUS is virtually impossible. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also concludes that without CCUS, it would not be possible to stabilize the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere between 450 – 750 ppmv (parts per million by volume) and limit global temperature rise between 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
• Fulfill commitments of the Paris Agreement and ‘Panchamrit Strategy’-As a signatory of the Paris Agreement 2015, India has committed to reducing emissions by 50% by the year 2050 and reaching net zero by 2070. Given the sectoral composition and sources of CO2 emissions in India, CCUS will have an important and integral role to play in ensuring India meets its stated climate goals, through the deep decarbonization of energy and CO2 emission-intensive industries such as thermal power generation, steel, cement, oil & gas refining, and petrochemicals.
• Enabling sunrise sectors- CCUS can enable the production of clean products while utilizing our rich endowments of coal, reducing imports and thus leading to a strong Indian economy. CCUS also has an important role to play in enabling sunrise sectors such as coal gasification and the nascent hydrogen economy in India.

Current usage of CCUS in India

• Presently carbon capture in India is confined to certain industries/applications where carbon capture is part of the process, viz., the manufacture of urea. India’s urea production is about 24 mtpa, where captured CO2 is utilized in the ammonia-to urea conversion process.
• CO2 is also captured as part of the gas conditioning process in the gasifiers of Reliance Industries Limited in Jamnagar (10 mtpa of petcoke gasification capacity) and JSPL in Angul (2 mtpa of coal gasification capacity), but the CO2 is largely released to the atmosphere and not utilized or stored.
• While there are few pilot-scale carbon capture projects (viz. IOCL R&D’s amine and biological enzyme-based carbon capture plant and Tata Steel Jamshedpur’s pilot-scale carbon capture plant for capturing 5 tonnes per day CO2 from Blast Furnace gases), there are no commercial-scale dedicated CCUS projects in India.

Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies

CO2 capture technologies separate carbon dioxide from gas streams that are released from industrial processes such as power plants, chemical production, cement production or steel making. There are three different broad categories of technologies for capturing CO2: Post-combustion capture, Pre-combustion and Oxy-fuel combustion.

• Cryogenic separation for CO2 capture is similar to the conventional distillation process, except that it involves the separation of components from a gaseous mixture (instead of liquid) based on the difference in their boiling points.
• In the adsorption-based CO2 capture process, the CO2 molecules selectively adhere to the surface of the adsorbent material and form a film. This is possible because of the difference in diffusivities and heat of adsorption values for the feed gas stream components.
• Solvent-based CO2 capture processes have been used for over half a century for processing natural (sour) gas, combustion flue gas and Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis products. The fundamental principle on which solvent-based CO2 capture technologies work is the ‘selective absorption’ of CO2 over the other gaseous constituents.
• Microalgae-Based Carbon Capture– The basic philosophy behind the process of carbon capture by microalgae is the use of CO2 as a nutrient for the cultivation of microalgae. The selected strains of microalgae can be cultivated in ponds. The CO2 will be absorbed by the microalgae and the resulting gas will leave the cultivation system.

Utilization of the carbon captured

• Green urea: Green urea can be produced from the captured CO 2 and cost-competitive green hydrogen, from renewable energy-based electrolysis of water. Green urea can replace/complement the traditional LNG/NG-based production and import of ammonia and urea.
• Food and beverages applications: CO2 is utilized in F&B applications such as carbonated drinks, dry ice, and modified atmosphere packing; however, the scales are much lower compared to green urea.
• Building materials (concrete and aggregates): There is a large market for aggregates and concrete in a developing country like India, providing a pathway for utilizing CO2 for producing building materials through concrete curing and aggregate formation. In these applications, CO2 is injected in a liquid state without any conversion, thus reducing energy requirements.
• Chemicals (methanol and ethanol): Conversion of CO2 to methanol and ethanol from CO2 is proven at a commercial scale in different parts of the world.
• Polymers (including bio-plastics): The conversion of CO2 to polymers presents another possible CO2 utilization route.

Storage of the carbon captured

• Storage in oil wells– The injection of CO2 for Enhanced Oil Recovery has been studied and applied for years, especially in North America. CO2 is miscible with crude oil which helps in recovering oil not possible by secondary methods. This also helps in permanently storing CO2 in oil reservoirs, thus making CO2 EOR a sustainable option for abating CO2.
• Storage in coal seams- The CO2 injected is accumulated in the coal cleats in a dense gas phase. This CO2 is adsorbed and absorbed in the coal. Since CO2 has a higher affinity for coal than CBM, it pushes the coal bed methane toward production wells, thus enhancing its primary recovery. Similar to CO2 EOR, ECBMR can help in permanently storing CO2 and the recovered methane can also help offset the cost of carbon capture.
• Storage in Deep Saline Aquifers– Captured CO2 can be permanently stored in deep saline aquifers. Unlike EOR and ECBMR, injection of CO2 in deep saline aquifers has no economic benefit. Deep saline aquifers are spread across very large areas and thus have the potential to store very large quantities of CO2.
• CO2 Storage in Basalts– Recently studies have been carried out to learn about the CO2 storage potential of basaltic rocks. Basaltic rock constitutes divalent cations of Ca, Mg, and Fe. They can react with the CO2 dissolved in water to form stable carbonate minerals and thus can offer a safe CO2 sequestration method for an extended period.

Policy framework for India

Key Risks Associated with CCUS

• Technical Risks– such as Reservoir Suitability for CO2 Flooding for EOR and the extent of CO2 abatement possible through EOR depend on the comparative performance and cost-effectiveness of CO2.
• Financial Risks– Cost of Capture The main cost driver in the CCUS value chain is the capture cost. In industrial processes such as natural gas processing and gasification, carbon capture is part of the process itself and hence there is no additional cost of carbon capture. However, in the case of thermal power plants and other industrial processes, there are significant capital and cash costs, leading to financial risks for the entire CCUS value chain.
• Loss of Storage Site– Complications during CO2 injection may lead to the stoppage of operations at CO2 storage sites. Although reservoir management should provide adequate warning of such occurrences, there are technical risks in Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) – Policy Framework and Deployment Mechanism in India CCUS Policy Framework for India estimating/predicting the final capacity of a new storage site with certainty.

Promoting the Adoption of CCUS Technologies in India: The Way Forward

• The envisaged CCUS policy needs to adopt a multi-pronged approach to promote the adoption of CCUS technologies in India. The key elements of the approach need to incentivize the following: i) Technology transfer:
• Technology transfer, Assimilation and Adoption– Carbon capture, CO2 sequestration and CO2 EOR technologies are already demonstrated at a commercial scale in different parts of the world and particularly in the US for nearly 50 years. Hence the focus for India should be on technology transfer, assimilation and adoption of such proven technologies (TRL 8 and 9), rather than reinventing the wheel.
• Promoting R&D in novel technologies: While carbon capture technologies and technologies for CO2 EOR and sequestration are well developed and implemented at a commercial scale, technologies for the utilization of CO2 are relatively less developed.
• Private sector participation: Private sector participation is quintessential to promote the transfer and commercialization of existing CCUS technologies and also push the envelope for the development of new and emerging technologies in both capture and utilization.
• Carbon Capture Finance Corporation (CCFC)– It is proposed that the Government of India set up a financial institution for the promotion and development of CCUS projects in India. The financial institution, which can be called the “Carbon Capture Finance Corporation (CCFC)” shall provide tax and cash credits for carbon capture projects in India.
• Promoting Coal Gasification Projects with CCUS-Coal gasification (with CCUS) is an important and strategic sector for ensuring the future energy and materials security of India and reducing import-dependence for critical chemicals and commodities. It is recommended to set up a special purpose organization to drive and promote coal gasification in India, including the production of blue hydrogen to enable the hydrogen economy.

Conclusion

• Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) has an important and critical role to play for India to halve CO2 emissions by 2050 and accomplish net zero by 2070.
• Energy transitions take decades and hence it is important to implement the framework and policy instruments for CCUS to become a reality in India and make a meaningful contribution to decarbonization in India.

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