Abstract
The escalating urgency to address climate change has driven carbon capture (CC) technologies into the spotlight, particularly for large-scale emitters, which benefit from economies of scale. However, small-scale emitters account for a significant share of CO2 emissions, yet such applica-tions remain largely overlooked in the literature. While CC cost is often used as a key perfor-mance indicator (KPI) for CC technologies, the lack of standardized cost estimation methods leads to inconsistencies, complicating comparisons, and hindering the deployment of CC sys-tems. This study addresses these challenges by developing flexible short-cut correlations for selected CC technologies, providing estimates of the total equipment cost (TEC) and energy consumption specific to small-scale applications across various CO2 inlet concentrations (mol%) and capture scales (10 – 100 kt/y). The flexibility of the correlations enables the integration of various cost estimation methods available in the literature and case-specific assumptions (e.g., utility prices), enhancing their consistency and applicability across various scenarios. This ap-proach provides decision-makers with a practical yet simple method for assessing the technical and economic viability of CC systems without conducting extensive simulations or detailed tech-no-economic assessments (TEAs). Ultimately, this work aims to improve the accessibility of CC technologies for small-scale industries, facilitating their broader application and contributing to the overall goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions across various sectors.