Air Pollutant Reductions From Carbon Capture

The report analyzes the impact of amine-based carbon capture retrofits at two petroleum refineries and two cement plants in California and Texas. It finds that because carbon capture systems require the removal of pollutants like sulfur dioxide and particulate matter from flue gas to operate effectively, their installation leads to significant reductions in criteria air pollutants and associated public health improvements. While the systems cause a small increase in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the combined climate and health benefits are estimated to be 1.5 to 4 times greater than the costs of the technology.

• Installing amine-based carbon capture systems at the studied facilities would reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 90%, particulate matter emissions by more than 90%, and nearly eliminate SO2 emissions from the largest point sources.
• The reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) varies significantly by industry: reductions were minimal (a few percent) at cement plants but more substantial at refineries, reaching 73% at the Martinez refinery due to an upgrade from SNCR to SCR technology.
• Carbon capture systems lead to a small net increase in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions. Based on Petra Nova project data, estimated increases ranged from 2.78 short tons per year at the Martinez refinery to 2.87 short tons per year at the Buda cement plant.
• The total annual monetized health benefits (based on mortality impacts) vary by facility, with the PBF refinery in Martinez showing the highest benefit between $305.6 million and $687.1 million due to high baseline emissions and proximity to the San Francisco Bay area.
• The cost of carbon capture at the studied facilities ranges from $60 per short ton of CO2 at the Beaumont refinery to $132 per short ton at the Martinez refinery, with higher costs in California driven by energy prices and the need for more pretreatment controls.
• When combining climate and public health benefits, the total value is estimated to be 1.5 to 4 times greater than the costs of the equipment, with an average of 2.6 times more benefits than costs.

APA

Brown, J., Thompson, J., Longstreth, B., Graham, J., Jaruzel, M., Nagabhushan, D., Sheff, E., Dombrowski, K., & Jones, C. (2023). Air Pollutant Reductions From Carbon Capture. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/28104644/air-pollutant-reductions-carbon-capture-report.pdf

Chicago

Brown, Jeff, John Thompson, Ben Longstreth, John Graham, Marc Jaruzel, Deepika Nagabhushan, Eliza Sheff, Katherine Dombrowski, and Clay Jones. Air Pollutant Reductions From Carbon Capture. Clean Air Task Force, 2023. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/28104644/air-pollutant-reductions-carbon-capture-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{brown2023air, author = {Brown, Jeff and Thompson, John and Longstreth, Ben and Graham, John and Jaruzel, Marc and Nagabhushan, Deepika and Sheff, Eliza and Dombrowski, Katherine and Jones, Clay}, title = {{Air Pollutant Reductions From Carbon Capture}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/28104644/air-pollutant-reductions-carbon-capture-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }