Development of a Scalable and Comprehensive Infrastructure Model for Carbon Dioxide Utilization and Disposal

Much of the previous research on carbon capture and storage (CCS) has focused on individual technologies for disposing of CO2, such as capture, storage, sequestration, or transport. Moreover, recent research work considers utilization of CO2 as fuels, chemicals, or nutrients for bioreactors. To efficiently manage CO2 and the economic benefits achieved by this process, the CO2 transport and processing infrastructure supporting CCS will have to be constructed at a macro-scale. This paper introduces a scalable and comprehensive infrastructure model for CO2 utilization and disposal that generates an integrated, profit-maximizing CCS system. The proposed model determines where and how much CO2 to capture, store, transport, utilize or sequester to maximize total annual profit while meeting the CO2 mitigation target. The applicability of the proposed model is demonstrated using a case study for treating CO2 emitted by an industrial complex on the eastern coast of Korea in 2020. The results may be important in systematic planning of a CCS infrastructure and in assisting national and international policy makers to determine investment strategies for developing CCS infrastructures.