CCUV4 – Green Deal strategies for V4 countries: The needs and challenges to reach low-carbon industry
The European Green Deal aims to reach climate neutrality in 2050, i.e. to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Regarding increasing emissions CO2 release and still increasing prices in emission allowances, Carbon Capture and Utilization technologies pose a future potential of flue gas treatment to meet the Green Deal plan. It is known that chemical or biological technologies can transform carbon dioxide into a variety of biofuels or chemicals that can be potential for the petrochemical product. CO2 conversion technology must design in the biorefinery concept to reach its economic attractiveness and environmental friendless. CO2based biorefinery is composed of several technological steps, i.e. CO2 capture and purification, CO2 transformation to intermediates or final targeted products (biodiesel, bioethanol, methane, methanol, formic acid, lipids, carotenoids, pigments, supplementary food products, etc.). The base building blocks of CO2based biorefinery are (1) processes and equipment and (2) technological sets and technologies. The base idea of the project is to integrate individual research and development activities of the consortium to define directions of CO2 treatment in the biorefinery concept for V4 countries. The main emphasis will be scoped to studies of processes and equipment designing for carbon separation from flue gas and its chemical and biological conversion to targeted products. The strategic proposals of CO2based biorefineries for V4 conditions will be defined, followed by techno-economic evaluations and life-cycle assessments. So the main pillars of cooperation are dedicated with:
1) Potential of CO2 use in CO2based biorefineries for V4 countries – identifying CO2 emitents per country, flue gas compositions, the potential of CO2 utilization in decentralized mode, the concept of CO2based biorefinery.
2) Design of processes, equipment, and technologies for CO2 conversion to X – analysis and intensification of transfer phenomena for crucial equipment in CO2based biorefinery.
3) Research needs and challenges to implement CO2based biorefineries in V4 countries – integration of main issues and messages to define technical directions, research needs, and challenges of CO2based biorefineries for V4 countries.
Focus area: (Strategic) Returning to the roots of Visegrad cooperation
Implementation period: 1.1.2022-31.12.2023
Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Ing. Lukas Kratky, Ph.D.; Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Process Engineering
The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.