Carbon capture
What is carbon capture?
Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from industrial infrastructure contributes to climate change. Carbon capture is a solution that prevents the release of CO₂.
Carbon capture is primarily utilised by facilities that have an important societal or economic role but are difficult to decarbonise in other ways due to the fuel and raw materials they depend on. Examples include cement and steel manufacturing… and Energy-from-Waste.
The essential treatment of residual waste through combustion produces carbon dioxide due to the carbon content of the waste received by facilities. The integration of carbon capture is the most effective solution currently available to decarbonise Energy-from-Waste – enabling ongoing treatment of residual waste, diversion of waste from landfill, generation of baseload electricity, export of heat to decarbonise community heating, recovery of reusable resources. With carbon capture, all of this can be delivered while removing CO₂ from the atmosphere.
How does carbon capture work?
Carbon capture and storage has been established for more than 25 years as an effective technology. It works by separating CO₂ from the other gases produced at a facility, preventing it from entering the atmosphere and transporting it for safe storage.
There are several viable ways carbon capture can be deployed, most commonly using a post-combustion technique.
Carbon capture for Energy-from-Waste facilities separates CO₂ from the flue gas released during the treatment of waste, so it can be safely stored underground.
Our planned carbon capture facility at Protos ERF will carry flue gasses from the main plant to the carbon capture facility via above-ground ducts and booster fans.
The gases are then cooled in direct contact coolers, enabling the CO₂ to be absorbed in absorber columns by an amine solution (MEA). With the CO₂ removed from the flue gas stream, the flue gas is released into the atmosphere.
The captured CO₂ is removed from the amine solution in de-absorber towers by reheating the amine solution with steam. The captured CO₂ is then compressed and moisture is removed from. This allows for the CO₂ to be transported via pipelines for storage under the seabed. However, there are also options for CO₂ to be transported via road, rail or ship.
What are the benefits of carbon capture?
Continuity:
Applying carbon capture technology to an Energy-from-Waste facility enables our essential sanitation service to continue treating society’s many thousands of tonnes of residual waste without compromising progress towards net zero. The ongoing operation of energy-from-waste also cuts the damaging methane emissions that result from sending residual waste to landfill.
Innovation:
Moving forward with carbon capture deployment strengthens the UK’s bid to become a global leader in clean energy and net zero innovation, creating the opportunity to export skills, technology and expertise to other parts of the world.
Jobs:
A range of new skills will be needed in the design and roll-out of carbon capture technology, creating new training and job opportunities in an expanding sector. In addition, carbon capture can help protect existing jobs in sectors and industries with carbon emissions that would be hard to abate by any other means.
Progress:
Carbon capture is seen as an essential component of efforts to achieve climate change targets, acting as a support mechanism for other decarbonisation initiatives.
Growth:
Carbon capture projects in strategically important parts of the UK can contribute to regional economic growth as new supply chains and commercial opportunities emerge.
Enabling negative emissions through carbon capture
Applying carbon capture to energy-from-waste offers a specific additional benefit by actively reducing overall CO₂ levels in the atmosphere.
With carbon capture installed, Energy-from-Waste generates negative emissions. Not only is the fossil-based proportion of carbon inherent in residual waste captured (from materials such as plastic), but also the non-fossil based, or biogenic, proportion of carbon (from materials such as card and paper).
Since this biogenic proportion represents around half of the total carbon content in residual waste, there is significant potential for negative emissions. The capture and permanent sequestration biogenic carbon leads to a negative impact on overall CO₂ volumes in the atmosphere.
Our carbon capture plan
Our programme to integrate carbon capture technology has begun with our planned CCS facility at Protos in Cheshire, North West England, part of the HyNet programme – one of the UK’s leading industrial decarbonisation projects.
As part of a comprehensive decarbonisation strategy, Encyclis has positioned itself at the forefront of efforts to integrate carbon capture and storage (CCS) into energy-from-waste, with a pathfinder project that could become the UK’s first full-scale deployment.
Working with the Government, we are developing plans for the UK’s first full-scale carbon capture plant at an Energy-from-Waste facility.
When complete, the carbon capture plant will enable around 380,000 tonnes per year of CO₂ emissions from the waste treatment plant to be permanently locked away – which is equivalent to taking around 200,000 cars off the road.
The project has been selected to progress with Government support under Track-1 of the industrial decarbonisation cluster programme, led by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
Utilising the planned HyNet North West pipeline, the CO₂ captured at the plant will be transported for storage in depleted gas fields in Liverpool Bay.
Subject to the final agreements, the carbon capture facility is due to become operational in 2028 – creating a clear proof point for Encyclis, the Energy-from-Waste sector, and wider industry to learn from.
To reach net zero emissions, CCS technology will need to capture at least 50% of the CO₂ emitted across our portfolio, due to the average composition of residual waste being evenly split between biogenic and fossil-based content.
Our ultimate goal is to develop CCS capability to capture carbon at all of our operational plants.
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