Cost and Life Cycle Emissions of Ethanol Produced with an Oxyfuel Boiler and Carbon Capture and Storage

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Abstract

Decarbonization of transportation fuels represents one of the most vexing challenges for climate change mitigation. Biofuels derived from corn starch have offered modest life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions over fossil fuels. Here we show that capture and storage of CO₂ emissions from corn ethanol fermentation achieves ∼58% reduction in the GHG intensity (CI) of ethanol at a levelized cost of 52 $/tCO₂e abated. The integration of an oxyfuel boiler enables further CO₂ capture at modest cost. This system yields a 75% reduction in CI to 15 gCO₂e/MJ at a minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) of $2.24/gallon ($0.59/L), a $0.31/gallon ($0.08/L) increase relative to the baseline no intervention case. The levelized cost of carbon abatement is 84 $/tCO₂e. Sensitivity analysis reveals that carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative ethanol can be achieved when oxyfuel carbon capture is stacked with low-CI alternatives to grid power and fossil natural gas. Conservatively, fermentation and oxyfuel CCS can reduce the CI of conventional ethanol by a net 44-50 gCO₂/MJ. Full implementation of interventions explored in the sensitivity analysis would reduce CI by net 79-85 gCO₂/MJ. Integrated oxyfuel and fermentation CCS is shown to be cost-effective under existing U.S. policy, offering near-term abatement opportunities.

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