Life Cycle Assessment of a Direct Air Capture and Storage plant in Ireland

Abstract

Despite the efforts to transition to a low carbon economy, greenhouse gas emissions are rising and reaching critical levels. Carbon Dioxide Removals such as Direct Air Capture (DAC) are gaining the public attention in the last few years. This technology is essential to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and meet the climate targets. DAC can be deployed at any place, yet certain studies are necessary as for example, a life cycle assessment (LCA) to prove its viability. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the construction of 1 MtCO2 plant in Ireland. The selected storage sites for this study were the gas fields at Kinsale and Corrib. Because of the small area of the island, the results showed that the country is a perfect candidate to scale up this emerging industry. With a reliable source of heat and electricity, the efficiency was only influenced by the construction of the pipeline section. The effect of the distances to the storage sites were significant in the present analysis. Counties near the gas fields are in an advantageous situation over other regions. During this study, we concluded Ireland has the potential to start its own DAC industry.