Finland-headed forest industry major Metsä Group has recently disclosed that it is exploring possibilities to construct a carbon capture facility at one of its pulp or bioproduct mills in Finland or Sweden.
The investigation is a continuation of the work initiated in the spring, in which Metsä Group and compatriot energy major Fortum Oyj jointly studied the capture of biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) and its use in the chemical industry and hydrogen economy, for example.
According to Pirita Mikkanen, Metsä Group’s VP of Energy, wood-based carbon dioxide is a major production side stream in the forest industry, and it could be used more efficiently.
Our cooperation with Fortum has given us good experiences of and greater insight into carbon capture. I believe we can use wood-based carbon dioxide emissions much more than we currently do. We see new cooperation opportunities with the chemical industry, among others, Pirita Mikkanen said.
Biogenic carbon dioxide is a resource
Carbon dioxide is used as raw material in the production of liquid fuels, various chemicals, and plastics, to mention a few examples.
Wood-based CO2 can be used to replace fossil carbon dioxide, and it is an important component in the hydrogen economy’s products like synthetic methane and methanol so-called electro-fuels (eFuels).
Many of the hydrogen economy’s products are impossible to produce without carbon dioxide. We support the hydrogen economy in this respect, said Pirita Mikkanen.
Investigate site integration and possible location
Metsä Group will now investigate how to best link the carbon capture facility to the company’s mill equipment. The CO2 will be captured from the recovery boiler’s flue gases by washing the CO2 into a reaction solution.
Pure carbon dioxide can then be separated from the solution.
Metsä Group now seeks to determine a solution that can be used to process the mills’ flue gases, Pirita Mikkanen said.
The carbon capture process is supplied with water and energy from the mill, and the waste heat generated in the carbon capture process can be used in the mill’s processes.
Matters now to be explored include the space required for the carbon capture facility, storage and liquefaction equipment, and the best way to transport carbon dioxide to the upgrading facility.
Safety at work and environmental impacts will also be examined, before the actual environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Metsä Group’s surveys indicate that upgraders are interested in facilities that produce sufficient volumes of carbon dioxide.
The recovery boiler of a pulp or bioproduct mill meets this criterion. Metsä Group has pulp mills in Rauma, Joutseno, and Husum (Sweden), and bioproduct mills in Äänekoski and Kemi.
