The significance of integrating Energy from Waste (EfW) with carbon capture in storage (CCS) when meeting climate objectives ‘cannot be overstated’, according to a new Oxford Institute of Energy Studies report.
Three key benefits are cited by using both technologies: diverting waste away from landfill, avoiding methane emissions; reducing emissions by capturing CO2 from the fossil content in waste (around half of waste is fossil-based); and perhaps most critically, they can generate negative emissions since a substantial portion of the carbon contained in residual waste is biogenic.
Negative emissions of around 5-8 Mtpa can be captured from the UK EfW fleet with an average of 6 Mtpa, the report found.
While other nascent greenhouse gas removal solutions such as direct air capture may need to undergo long testing and investment stages, EfW+CCS relies on already-proven technology and can be deployed relatively quickly, the report adds.
Waste combustion also has the added benefit of producing energy as a by-product, which can be economically monetised.
Pipeline transportation of CO2 provides the lowest cost and lowest CO2 emissions for EfW facilities in England, Scotland, and Wales, yet some considerations – such as regulatory approvals, land agreements and upfront capital – may limit the opportunity for EfW facilities to utilise pipeline transport.
Rail and shipping are the second-best options for CO2 transport with site-specific characteristics determining which option is preferable in terms of cost and emissions.
Source: Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
There are 17 new EfW plants under construction in the UK (plus one replacement) with a licenced capacity of 5.7 MtCO2/y. The UK currently generates around 27 million tonnes of waste every year that cannot be recycled.
In April, enfinium, one of the UK’s largest EfW developers, announced a proposal for £200m private investment in carbon capture technology, while also publishing a Net Zero Transition Plan which outlines an objective of moving from EfW operations to a carbon removals business in future, with CCS at its heart. It is forecasting 1.2 million tonnes of carbon removal per year by 2039.
Installing CCS technology at enfinium’s EfW facilities will enable this CO2 to be permanently captured and stored rather than released back into the atmosphere, resulting in a net carbon removal.
Previous analysis shows that costs of CCS retrofit in EfW can be around £150/t which is ‘comparable’ to its costs in other industrial sectors.
