Life cycle GHG emissions reduction of an integrated CCUS system for combined heat and power plants

The carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies have shown promise for directly reducing the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere from significant point sources. This study aims to evaluate an integrated CCUS system in South Korea using three technologies: microalgae photocultivation, CO2 membrane separation, and carbon mineralization. LCAs showed the total GHG emissions, excluding carbon offset effects, were 358 kg CO2 eq/ton, with 95.8% from CO2 membrane separation. Microalgae and mineralization emitted 14.6 kg CO2 eq/ton (4.1%) and 0.371 kg CO2 eq/ton (0.1%), respectively. Including carbon offsets from CaCO3 production and CO2 utilization, the system's net emissions were -745 kg CO2 eq/ton. Further economic studies are needed, but the study confirmed the system's high GHG reduction efficiency through LCA, enhancing the potential use of CCUS technologies in urban CHP plants.