Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage

Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is the process of extracting bioenergy from biomass and capturing and storing the carbon, thus removing it from the atmosphere. Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is the process of extracting bioenergy from biomass and capturing and storing the carbon, thus removing it from the atmosphere. The carbon in the trees or crops used for the biomass comes from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), which they extract from the atmosphere whilst growing. As of 2019 most BECCS stores some of the carbon and leaves the rest with the bioenergy in the form of a biofuel, such as ethanol. By providing aviation biofuel and reducing the environmental impact of aviation BECCS may help with climate change mitigation. Alternatively the bioenergy could be used in the form of electricity and a larger proportion of the CO2 stored permanently by injection into geological formations. As of 2019 five facilities around the world are actively using BECCS technologies and are capturing approximately 1.5 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) of CO2 The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), implies a range of negative emissions from BECCS of 0 to 22 gigatonnes. There are other non-BECCS forms of carbon dioxide removal and storage including afforestation, biochar, carbon dioxide air capture and biomass burial and enhanced weathering. Pyrogenic carbon capture and storage (PyCCS) or biochar is superior in fixing carbon for a longer time. The main appeal of BECCS is in its ability to result in negative emissions of CO2. The capture of carbon dioxide from bioenergy sources effectively removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Bio-energy is derived from biomass which is a renewable energy source and serves as a carbon sink during its growth. During industrial processes, the biomass combusted or processed re-releases the CO2 into the atmosphere. The process thus results in a net zero emission of CO2, though this may be positively or negatively altered depending on the carbon emissions associated with biomass growth, transport and processing, see below under environmental considerations. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology serves to intercept the release of CO2 into the atmosphere and redirect it into geological storage locations. CO2 with a biomass origin is not only released from biomass fuelled power plants, but also during the production of pulp used to make paper and in the production of biofuels such as biogas and bioethanol. The BECCS technology can also be employed on such industrial processes. It is argued that through the BECCS technology, carbon dioxide is trapped in geologic formations for very long periods of time, whereas for example a tree only stores its carbon during its lifetime. In its report on the CCS technology, IPCC projects that more than 99% of carbon dioxide which is stored through geologic sequestration is likely to stay in place for more than 1000 years. While other types of carbon sinks such as the ocean, trees and soil may involve the risk of adverse feedback loops at increased temperatures, BECCS technology is likely to provide a better permanence by storing CO2 in geological formations. The amount of CO2 that has been released to date is believed to be too much to be able to be absorbed by conventional sinks such as trees and soil in order to reach low emission targets. In addition to the presently accumulated emissions, there will be significant additional emissions during this century, even in the most ambitious low-emission scenarios. BECCS has therefore been suggested as a technology to reverse the emission trend and create a global system of net negative emissions. This implies that the emissions would not only be zero, but negative, so that not only the emissions, but the absolute amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced. The IPCC states that estimations for BECCS cost range from $60-$250 per ton of CO2.