Evaluation of appropriate carbon capture technologies, their costs and possible future development for Austria until 2040

One of the greatest challenges of our time is climate change mitigation. More and more countries are committing to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, Austria even by 2040. To achieve this, greenhouse gas emissions, especially the emission of CO2, must be reduced. One way to achieve net zero for industries that are difficult to decarbonize is carbon capture, combined with subsequent recycling or storage of CO2. This involves capturing CO2 from a gas, either from an industrial emission source (point source) or from the atmosphere. Point source capture technologies include absorption, adsorption, membrane technology, cryogenic processes and solid looping. These technologies are at various stages of Technical Readiness Level, with absorption being the most advanced technology, with multiple commercial applications in various industries. All theses technologies achieve separation efficiencies of up to 99%, with higher separation efficiencies being associated with increased energy consumption and costs. The energy requirement varies, for absorption it is 3.0-4.5 GJth t-1CO2 for the most used absorbent amine MEA. However, newer amines already achieve significantly lower energy requirements of 2.1-2.9 GJth t-1CO2. Adsorption already achieves lower energy requirements, especially amine-functionalized adsorbents, but these are still in research and development. The costs depend largely on the size of the system and the composition of the gas. As the technologies work more efficiently with a higher partial pressure of CO2 in the exhaust gas, which in turn is achieved through higher concentrations. This can also be seen in connection with capture in the industrial sectors. At high CO2 concentrations in the exhaust gas of over 95 %, costs of between 15 and 35 ¿ t-1are achieved and at low concentrations of less than 45 %, the costs are higher at around 40 to 160 ¿ t-1. Which technology is then used in which sector depends on various factors, such as the composition and volume flow of the input gas mixture, the space requirements of the system, the energy requirements and the desired exhaust gas properties, as these influence the pre-treatment, performance and reliability of the system. These findings can also be found attached to the thesis in an associated factsheet that was made available to the public.