Renewable, Low-Carbon and Recovered Energy Integration in Carbon-Capture Processes

Abstract

Carbon capture could support deep decarbonisation only if the energy required for separation, regeneration, compression and refrigeration is supplied with low lifecycle emissions. This review approaches low-carbon and renewable energy integration into carbon-capture processes from the point of view of the technologies, integration problems and energy vectors encountered when entering the capture boundary: renewable heat (RH-CC), renewable electricity (RE-CC) and renewable or recovered cryogenic energy (CR-CC). For RH-CC, indirect solar heat (ISH) is the most retrofit-compatible route, whereas thermal or solvent storage improves flexibility, and direct solar solvent regeneration (DSSR) offers greater process intensification but remains largely model-based. For RE-CC, direct electric heating is the simplest option but retains the intrinsic regeneration duty. High-temperature heat pumps (HTHPs) and mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) show the strongest near-term potential through heat recovery and upgrading, whereas electrochemically and mechanically assisted pathways must be scaled up and require complete energy balances. CR-CC can combine renewable-powered refrigeration, recovered cold energy and liquid–air energy storage (LAES) in high-efficiency multi-purpose solutions, although multi-product boundaries complicate comparison. Across all pathways, promising solutions of low-carbon energy penetration and high separation performance have been identified and classified; although full development depends on resource quality, temporal matching, host–process integration and electricity carbon intensity in site-specific solutions.