Analysis of GHG emission reduction in South Korea using a CO₂ transportation network optimization model

Korea's national carbon capture and storage (CCS) master plan aims to commercialize CCS projects by 2030. Furthermore, the Korean government is forced to reduce emissions from various sectors, including industries and power generation, by 219 million tons by 2030. This study analyzes a few scenarios of Korean CCS projects with a CO₂ pipeline transportation network optimization model for minimizing the total facility cost and pipeline cost. Our scenarios are based on the "2030 basic roadmap for reducing greenhouse gases" established by the government. The results for each scenario demonstrate that the effective design and implementation of CO₂ pipeline network enables the lowering of CO₂ units cost. These suggest that CO₂ transportation networks, which connect the capture and sequestration parts, will be more important in the future and can be used to substitute and supplement the emission reduction target in case the execution of other reduction options faces uncertainty. Our mathematical model and scenario designs will be helpful for various countries which plan to introduce CCS technology.