CO₂ Removal Using the Sun and Forest: An Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of a Solar & Biomass Hybrid Carbon Capture and Sequestration Plant

This paper proposes and analyses an innovative sustainable energy option; a concentrated solar and biomass hybrid carbon capture and sequestration plant. This conceptual plant utilizes concentrated solar as the heat source for the biomass gasification process. The produced synthetic gas will then be used for electricity generation and carbon dioxide will be removed and sequestrated in an underground reservoir. With this new energy option, a sustainable future energy system can be designed whereby the carbon removed by the forest can be both utilized and sequestrated using the power of the sun. The environmental impact of 1 kWh of electricity production was assessed through a life cycle assessment using ecoinvent, and the life cycle GHG emissions of the plant were estimated to be −0.812 kg CO2-eq/kWh. This result shows that even at the 95% percentile, net GHG emissions from Solar Hybrid BECCS (−0.492 kg/kwh) is lower than that of a conventional BECCS plant (−0.474 kg/kwh). To summarize, this technologically fusible energy option may have a great potential in achieving energy sustainability towards the 2.0- and 1.5-degree scenarios by achieving carbon removal with the two fundamental gifts from the nature: the sun and the forest.