Tackling CO2 emissions from industry

Swapna Singha Rabha

Assistant Professor
26-11-2024 Department of Chemical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras 1
Chennai, India
 Why we need to tackle CO2
emission?
Shrinking ice sheets

Sea level Rise

Global temperature rise

Increase in CO2 concentration

Global energy related CO2 emission [1]

Warming ocean
Irreversible climate change
Declining arctic sea ice

“Scientific evidence for warming the

Extreme events
climate system is unequivocal” IPCC

IPCC: Intergovernmental panel on climate change

[1] IEA (2024), CO2 Emissions in 2023, IEA, Paris

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[2] https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
 What are we doing to tackle
CO2 emissions ?
❑ Key milestones of IPCC India’s tuning point

COP26
Turning point Glasgow
2021
IPCC report states baldly
that global warming,
unprecedented since the Paris
end of the last ice age. agreement
• Reduction of total projected
2015
First step towards achieving carbon emissions by one billion
more substantial global tonnes from now to 2030.
emission reductions IPCC • Achieving the target of net zero
2001 Aim to limit global emissions by 2070.
warming to less than
20C
Kyoto Protocol
1997

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 Source of CO2 emission
Transport

CO2 emission in 2021[1]

Cement industry

Energy industry Chemical industry Steel industry

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1. IEA (2024), CO2 Emissions in 2023, IEA, Paris
 Source of CO2 emission
Transport

CO2 emission in 2021[1]

Importance of CO2 Capture Utilization and Storage

Cement industry

✓ Important for secure, sustainable and affordable power systems in the IEA Sustainable
Development Scenario.

✓ potential technologies to significantly decreasing CO2 emissions without drastically changing

dependence on existing power plants/industries.
Energy industry Chemical industry Steel industry

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1. IEA (2024), CO2 Emissions in 2023, IEA, Paris
 CO2 capture utilization and
storage

Direct capture
from air Transport Sequestration

Point source
capture
Utilization
Synthetic fuels
Cement production
Chemical production
CCUS distribution cost [1]

Sequestration

EOR

Solid CO2 [1] Fischedick and Manfred, (2007)

Saline aquifers
hydrate
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CO2 capture routes

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 Absorption
Absorption Mass transfer steps from CO2 capture in the gas
phase to the solution containing binding material

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 Absorbents based CO2 capture
Commonly used absorbents
❖ Most commonly amines is used.

Gray, C atom; White, H atom;

Red, O atom; Dark blue, N atom

Monoethanolamine (MEA), the first-generation

amine-based absorbent, Its has high chemical reactivity with CO2

❖ Non-amine-based solvents
• Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3)
• Ionic liquids (ILs)

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Absorption process

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 Challenges in absorption
based CO2 capture
❑ Challenges
• Amine degradation in the presence of O2,nitrogen oxides (NOx),sulfur oxides (SOx), O2, and
particulate matter
• Amine degradation due to high temperature in the regeneration
• Corrosion in amine equipment causes absorption column and stripper components to degrade
over time.
• The solvent cannot be completely regenerated.
• The recovery step is energy intensive and the waste stream can be hazardous.
• Water usage is very high.

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 Adsorption based CO2 capture

Adsorption Mechanism

Adsorbents

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 Adsorption based CO2 capture

Adsorption Fundamentals Common types of sorbents

Silicates

Zeolites

Activated
carbon

MOFs

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Adsorption process

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❑ Challenges
• Adsorbent degradation in cyclic operation
• Attrition of the solid sorbents
• Possible decrease in adsorption capacity of the adsorbent after the desorption step
• Cyclic process requires regeneration
• Low adsorption capacity as compare to amines

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 Membrane based CO2 capture
❑ Membrane based CO2 capture technology

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 Membrane based CO2 capture

❑ Challenges
• Low concentration of CO2 in fuel gas leads to higher energy consumption.
• Sensitivity to moisture (i.e., lower selectivity)
• The high temperature of flue gas degrades organic membranes.
• Membranes must be resistant to flue gas impurities, aging and plasticization (hardening).
• Single-stage membrane systems are not capable of high CO2 capture efficiency; a second
stage is required
• it is not economical in terms of scale up.
• Trade-off between permeability and selectivity in polymeric membranes
• Ion exchange extra energy and membranes require thermal stability is a limitation at high
temperature

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 What is the status of CCUS ?
❑ World large-scale CCUS facilities operating and in development 2010-2020, Last
updated 23 Sep 20201

Operating
Under construction
Advanced development
Early development

✓ Significant improvement are needed to support widespread deployment

❑ Focus for technology improvement are

✓ Reduce cost, Reduce energy demand, Optimize integration with CO2 capture & Utilization
[1] IEA 2020, Energy Technology Perspectives 2020, Special Report on Carbon Capture, Utilisation and
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Storage
 CCUS in India
❑ CCUS in India3,4,5
✓ Tuticorin alkali chemicals and
fertilizers limited (TFL),
Tamilnadu. The first industrial-
scale plant of carbon capture
and utilization in India (164
TPD).
✓ Aonla urea plant, Uttar Pradesh
(Capacity 450 TPD).
Operational ✓ Jagdish urea plant, Orissa
In development (Capacity 150 TPD).
Pilot & Demonstration ✓ Phulpur urea plant, U.P
in operation & development (Capacity 450 TPD).
Pilot & Demonstration completed
✓ Tata Steel, Jamshedpur
Operation suspended
(Capacity 5 TPD).

World map of CCS facilities at various stage of development3

 3Global Status of CCS, 2020; 4 Sood, Akash & Vyas, Int. J. Mech. Eng. Tech., 2017;5 https://www.tatasteel.com/tata-steel-brochure/sustainability.html
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CO2 Demo unit at IITM

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 Multiphase Flow Porous
Media Lab
Packed Bed

Sorbents Multi-Stage
material/Structures Fluidized Bed

Fluidized Bed
Time Evolution of CO2 Adsorption Capacity
Adsorption based CO2 capture

Material Development Reactor study Scale-up Studies (CFD)

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 Multiphase Flow Porous Media
Lab
Absorption based CO2 capture

Mass Transfer
Assessment of
Blended Solutions for CFD studies
Characteristics of
Corrosion in Enhanced Stability Desorption
Amines in a
Amine system and Reduced Reaction Kinetics
Laboratory-Scale
Degradation in Amine Solution
Setup

CO2 mole
fraction in the
gas phase

Products
formed in the
Corrosion Mechanism liquid phase
Screening unit
Absorption and Desorption unit 22
 How does academia play a role
in the energy transition?
GOVERNMENT ❑Industries plays a huge role at deploying technology and
making evolutionary changes towards energy transition.
❑Government plays a huge role in making and setting polices.
❑ As an academic institute, our role is to look into future e.g. 10
to 50 years from now.
✓ To find out what is the next step for innovation of
technology, policy and training that can help the industry
progress
❑ One most important roles of academia is to prepare young
people to take responsibility for the future direction to tackle
climate issues.
INDUSTRY ACADEMIA

Recipe for successful energy

transition

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