The Environmental Impacts of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage on the Electricity Sector: A Life Cycle Assessment Comparison between Italy and Poland.

Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) is a set of technologies aimed at capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from point-source emitters to either store permanently or use as a feedstock to produce chemicals and fuels. In this paper, the potential benefits of CCUS integration into the energy supply sector are evaluated from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective by comparing two different routes for the CO₂ captured from a natural gas combined cycle (NGCC). Both the complete storage of the captured CO₂ and its partial utilization to produce dimethyl ether are investigated. Moreover, the assessment is performed considering the region-specific features of two of the largest CO₂ emitters in Europe, namely Italy and Poland. Results shows that the complete storage of the captured CO₂ reduces Global Warming Potential (GWP) by ~89% in Italy and ~97%, in Poland. On the other hand, the partial utilization of CO₂ to produce dimethyl ether leads to a decrease of ~58% in Italy and ~68% in Poland with respect to a comparable reference entailing conventional dimethyl ether production. A series of environmental trade-offs was determined, with all the investigated categories apart from GWP showing an increase, mainly connected with the higher energy requirements of CCUS processes. These outcomes highlight the need for a holistic-oriented approach in the design of novel implemented configurations to avoid burden shifts throughout the value chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]