Stephen D. Comello

Carbon Capture and Utilization in the Industrial Sector

The fabrication and manufacturing processes of industrial commodities such as iron, glass, and cement are carbon-intensive, accounting for 23% of global CO2 emissions. As a climate mitigation strategy, CO2 capture from flue gases of industrial processes-much like that of the power sector-has not experienced wide adoption given its high associated costs. However, some industrial processes with relatively high CO2 flue concentration may be viable candidates to cost-competitively supply CO2 for utilization purposes (e.g., polymer manufacturing, etc.). This work develops a methodology that determines the levelized cost (

A framework for multiphysics modeling of natural environments for valuation of privately owned ecosystem services

/tCO2) of separating, compressing, and transporting carbon dioxide. A top-down model determines the cost of separating and compressing CO2 across 18 industrial processes. Further, the study calculates the cost of transporting CO2 via pipeline and tanker truck to appropriately paired sinks using a bottom-up cost model and geo-referencing approach. The results show that truck transportation is generally the low-cost alternative given the relatively small volumes (ca. 100 kt CO2/a). We apply our methodology to a regional case study in Pennsylvania, which shows steel and cement manufacturing paired to suitable sinks as having the lowest levelized cost of capture, compression, and transportation.

Cost competitiveness of residential solar PV: The impact of net metering restrictions

Modeling of ecosystem services using a multiphysics approach shows promise in detailing the contribution and interaction of constituent underlying processes. Such detail is required to enable ecosystem service valuation based on functional substitutability, whereby the market value of an equivalent engineered system provides a basis of value amenable to international financial accounting norms. One multiphysics package — COMSOL Multiphysics — is used as part of a greater framework to value the ecosystem service of phosphorus removal from stormwater runoff via soil.