The scientific community agrees on the necessity of exploring and developing all available solutions to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions to stabilize global temperatures.
With the average French citizen’s carbon footprint at 10 tons per year, aiming to reduce it to 2 tons by 2050 requires innovative approaches, including capturing CO2 from industrial facilities.
Decarbonizing Waste Management
While Northern European countries lead in CO2 capture, the rising price of CO2 in emission trading systems (ETS) is prompting French industries to consider various solutions. Post-combustion technology, which involves capturing CO2 from flue gases, is proving to be a promising option.
In 2022, the waste treatment sector accounted for 3.6% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in France, with methane being the primary GHG emitted.
Waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities are subject to the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), aiming for a 47.5% reduction in GHG emissions nationwide by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.
Capturing and liquefying CO2 from WTE flue gases is emerging as a viable solution, enhancing the sustainability and social acceptance of these processes.
Expanding Opportunities for Biomethane Production
Installing CO2 recovery units is applicable to any facility releasing gas containing CO2, including biomass boilers and anaerobic digestion plants.
In the latter, biomethane production, compatible with injection into gas distribution networks, requires biogas purification, separating CH4 and CO2.
The isolated CO2, being biogenic and climate-neutral, currently released into the atmosphere, holds market value for various applications.
According to the Biomethane Industrial Partnership (BIP Europe), the potential for CO2 from biomethane production in Europe is 27 million tons annually, while the current market consumes 40 million tons, mostly from fossil sources, for various uses like carbonated drinks, greenhouses, fire extinguishers, inerting, and chemicals.
Sustainable and Cost-Effective Solution
Producing and selling biogenic CO2 presents an additional opportunity for biomethane production. The infrastructure for CO2 recovery has a minimal land and visual impact, is relatively simple to set up, and does not pollute.
The cost, representing about 10% of an anaerobic digestion unit’s price, is recouped within 3 to 4 years.
The purchase price of CO2 has risen significantly in the past two years and remains dependent on cryogenic tanker truck transportation costs. The food industry is a major consumer of CO2, and biogenic CO2 can replace CO2 produced from natural gas steam reforming.
A circular economy approach allows for the use of biogenic CO2 to enrich the atmosphere of greenhouses or peri-urban industrial farms, diversifying agricultural activities.
A Path to Carbon Neutrality
Treating local biowaste to produce energy (biomethane) and fertilizer (digestate), while also decarbonizing CO2 production, offers a virtuous eco-circular solution towards carbon neutrality and contributes to food sovereignty.