Sustainable OPEration of post-combustion Capture plants

By addressing and closing critical knowledge gaps along the entire flow path for the exhaust gas that is being purified, this project will contribute to an accelerated decarbonisation of the industry. Amine-based chemical absorption is the leading CO2 capture technology for industrial applications as cement, metallurgical and steel industries, waste incineration and power plants. However, early adopters have struggled to secure emission permits due to the lack of data on amine emissions and the lack of well-defined regulatory procedures for documenting and modelling amine emissions. The overall environmental impacts of industrial emissions over time are not well understood, hindering the rapid commercialisation of amine-based technologies. SCOPE aims to accelerate large CO2 capture projects by giving plant operators, regulators and decision makers access to the essential tools and data for increased knowledge about amine-based CO2 capture. The project will facilitate the exchange of knowledge on technical and regulatory developments through interdisciplinary research and collaboration and the creation of the SCOPE "Stakeholder, Policy, Research and Industry Network" (SPRINT). The overall goal of SCOPE is achieved through 1. Further development of emission control technology and emission control guidelines; 2. Development of models that calculate amine emissions from solvents. These data are validated using test campaigns at 6 different pilot plants; 3. Efficient utilization of knowledge about environmental hazards in risk assessment of amine-based CO2 capture plants; 4. Identification of societal concerns, policies and practices that may affect the credibility industrial decarbonisation using amine-based CO2 capture in different countries. The project, which has now lasted just over 2 years and will run for almost another 1 year, is being carried out by an international consortium consisting of scientific, technological and policy experts and stakeholders in Norway, UK, Netherlands, Germany, India and USA. The project's website can be found here: www.scope-act.org

Removal of CO2 using chemical absorption, based on amine solvents, is the leading capture technology for industrial deployment. Early adopters of the technology encounter permitting challenges due to a lack of data, quantitative documentation, and predictive models for assessing degree of emissions. The overall environmental impacts of industrial emissions over time are not yet fully understood, which inhibits rapid deployment of the technology. SCOPE aims to accelerate large scale CO2 capture projects by providing critical data, methodologies and tools that are essential for plant owners and regulators engaged in managing emissions and permitting processes. This project will also enable connections between diverse stakeholders to facilitate much-needed knowledge exchange on technical and regulatory developments. The project entails 36 months with activities on development of knowledge for determining volatile and aerosol-based emissions, including technology development on minimizing emissions as well as creation of tools for online emission measurements. The project will complete pilot demonstration of emission mitigation technologies at 6 test-sites and implement online emission measurement equipment. A main goal is also to establish methods and rules for risk assessment of emissions from flue gas of CO2-capture facilities and map the public concerns in diverse countries and regions in terms of the social, environmental, economic, and political impacts of amine-based CCUS developments. The SCOPE project is undertaken by an international consortium of science, technology and policy experts and stakeholders in Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, India, and USA. This transnational cooperation prioritises closing critical knowledge gaps and ensuring information exchange between stakeholders, through the SCOPE Stakeholder, Policy, Research and Industry NeTwork (SPRINT).