Campbell, James, Foteinis, Spyros, Madankan, Mohammad and Renforth, Phil (2023) Report on the detailed life cycle analysis results of the two case studies: ocean alkalinity enhancement potential of Spain. . OceanNets Deliverable, D6.4 . OceanNETs, Kiel, Germany, 26 pp. DOI 10.3289/oceannets_d6.4.

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Abstract

A common challenge in many ocean-based negative emissions technologies (NETs) is the difficulty of developing new global industries and supply chains, which could be necessary for their much needed rapid and large-scale deployment. Therefore, to facilitate roll-out, existing industries and infrastructure should preferably be utilised. For ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) by CaO, i.e., ocean liming (OL), the lime can be produced by calcination of limestone using the spare capacity in the cement industry. For OAE by NaOH, i.e., electrochemical brine splitting (EBS), the NaOH can be produced by electrolysis of waste brines from the desalination sector. In this case study, we investigate the realistic OAE potential of Spain, because of its large availability of limestone, its increasing spare cement kiln capacity, and its large and growing desalination industry. This case study shows Spain has a high potential for alkalinity addition to the oceans. Specifically, the total CDR capacity of Spain via OAE is 24.4 Mt yr.-1 with contributions of 22.6 Mt of CO2 removed by OL and 1.8 Mt of CO2 removed by EBS, assuming these processes are driven solely by renewable energy. Further, this case study provides a realistic estimate of the CO2 removal potential and life cycle emissions for alkalinity enhancement for a given region, in contrast to more general global or continental studies before it. By doing so, Spain’s annual carbon dioxide removal (CDR) capacity by OAE is also identified. Future work will look to include coastal enhanced weathering of olivine to the portfolio of Spain’s OAE approaches.

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