Critical Factors Influencing CO2 Capture Cost, a Case Study

The cost of CO2 capture is a much debated question, and it is an important issue regarding development of CO2 capture plants. The gap in the estimates is so large on a global basis, and they exhibit a great variation based on the geographically location, type of capture technology and whether the plant is based on brown coal (lignite), coal or natural gas. This paper identifies some of the reasons for these gaps, and tries to suggest how capture cost estimates can be made more comparable. Comparing different cost estimates is challenging, and there exist no final answers of what should be included or where such a plant should be located. Battery limits varies from estimated to estimates, and often are the assumption not included when a "cost per ton CO2" is presented. Two cost estimates can only be compared when all the assumptions are showed. Some people and institutes try to reduce the cost as much as they can, trying to make CO2 capture look cheaper than they are, but there are also some groups that would gain on high capture costs. Both ways, the costs is still estimation, and the uncertainty will always be a large question when it comes to cost estimation. But including the assumptions for the estimations is one step forwards to make more comparable cost estimations. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.