Modular Approaches to CO2 Capture Technologies

The objective of the study was to explore the status and potential of the modular construction of CO2 capture plant, targeted at accelerating the deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) in the power and industry sectors. For this study, modular construction, prefabrication or off-site construction was defined as “a process in which a component is prefabricated off-site and is then transported as a completed component to the required location for integration with the plant”. Compared to on-site or ‘stick-built’ construction, there are several reported advantages of construction in a more controlled environment, e.g., it can be less prone to delays, can reduce labour costs, can provide uniform quality and optimised performance, can eliminate interference from inclement weather and, with access to superior tools and methods, can reduce overall build time. A downside might be that modular units are often, by nature, mass manufactured and regular in design and may require a degree of adaptation for a particular application, whereas on-site construction can present a more ‘customised’ design tailored precisely to the situation required.