Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) in Brazil: A Review

Abstract

BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) is an important technology to achieve international and Brazilian climatic goals, notably because it provides negative emissions. In addition, Brazil presents favorable conditions for the development of BECCS, given the country’s mature biofuel industry. Therefore, this research aims to provide a systematic literature review of the effective potential of and barriers to implementing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage in Brazil. The platforms chosen for this study are Science Direct and Integrated Search Portal, which is a search portal administered by the University of São Paulo. The search initially identified 667 articles, of which 24 were analyzed after selection and screening. The results show that technical factors are not a current barrier to the implementation of BECCS in Brazil, especially in ethanol production. However, the economic results vary among articles, but no BECCS plant has been shown to be economically feasible without enhanced oil recovery. In addition, the concentrations of most ethanol distilleries in the southeast region of Brazil point to them as long-hanging fruit for the country. Nevertheless, due to limitations in CO2 transportation, the costs of implementing BECCS increase significantly as CO2 capture is expanded away from the southeast region.