Carbon Capture Costs: FEED & pre-FEED Cost Reports

Analysis sets the design and cost-estimating basis for evaluating pulp and board mills with and without CCS. Two base cases are considered: a market pulp mill and an integrated pulp and board mill. Six CCS cases are evaluated, capturing CO₂ from the recovery boiler, multi-fuel boiler, lime kiln, or their combinations. The mills are assumed to be energy independent, with black liquor and bark burned to produce steam and electricity, and excess electricity exported to the grid. The CO₂ capture system uses post-combustion MEA technology with a 90% capture rate, and if on-site electricity is insufficient, an auxiliary boiler firing forest residues will supply the additional energy. Capture of CO2 in the Lime Kiln only

The Peterhead CCS Project in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, was designed to demonstrate the world’s first commercial-scale post-combustion CO₂ capture from a gas-fired power station. Using amine-based CANSOLV technology, it aimed to capture around one million tonnes of CO₂ annually from one turbine at SSE’s Peterhead Power Station, compress and condition it, and transport it via a new offshore pipeline for injection into the depleted Goldeneye gas reservoir over 2 km beneath the North Sea. The FEED study defined project scope, refined CAPEX and OPEX estimates, and assessed cost uncertainties, providing a basis for the Execute phase while also documenting budget performance and emergent costs during FEED.

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), with Fluor Corporation and California Resources Corporation (CRC), conducted a FEED study to assess the feasibility of retrofitting Fluor’s solvent for post-combustion CO₂ capture at the 550 MW Elk Hills NGCC power plant. The system aims to capture approximately 4,000 tonnes of CO₂ per day (75% of total emissions, or 90% of an 83% slipstream), with the captured CO₂ intended for enhanced oil recovery. Deliverables include the full engineering design package—such as process flow diagrams, equipment datasheets, and capital cost estimates—optimized for site-specific performance, operations, and construction practices.