The impacts of CO₂ capture on transboundary air pollution in the Netherlands

The focus of this research is to develop a first assessment of the impacts of the implementation of CO₂ capture technologies in the Dutch power sector on the transboundary air pollution (SO₂,NO_X,NH₃,NMV OC,PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) levels in 2020. Results show that for the power sector SO₂ emissions will be very low for scenarios that include large scale implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The annual emissions of NO_x are estimated to be lower in all scenarios with greenhouse gas reductions. However, applying the post-combustion technology on existing power plants may result in higher NO_x emissions per kWh. Both SO₂ and NO_x emissions from the power sector are a substantial part of the current national total. Large scale implementation of the post-combustion CO₂ capture technology may result in more than 5 times higher NH₃ emissions compared to scenarios without CCS and to other capture options (i.e. pre-combustion and oxyfuel combustion). Particulate Matter (PM) emissions are lower in the scenarios with CO₂ reduction. A scenario with large scale implementation of the oxyfuel technology shows the lowest emissions of PM. In the scenarios with post-combustion capture Non Methane Volatile Organic Compounds emissions may increase due to the emission of solvents used in the capture process. The main conclusion is that climate policy and air quality policy are entwined and may result in synergies and trade-offs. Quantification of these synergies and trade-offs however encompasses inaccuracies due to data uncertainty and knowledge gaps.