The application of FMEA to study the critical barriers to deploying carbon capture and storage in a Thai petroleum refinery

Abstract

The carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is still in early phase development and not considered a competitive greenhouse gases (GHG) mitigation technology in Thailand to be included in the climate change mitigation plans, causing the lack of resources and market and other challenges to promote its development and deployment. CCS will play a crucial role as a GHG emission mitigation strategy in the coming years globally as the energy demand grows continuously. In order to successfully deploy the technology in different industries in Thailand, especially the energy sector, it is essential to identify all of the potential causes of hurdles that prevent its deployment, and plan actions to mitigate the risks associated with them.

The purpose of this study is to identify the critical barriers that are preventing the development and deployment of the CCS technology in a Thai petroleum refinery as a GHG emission mitigation strategy. The objective of this study is to identify and organize the barriers to deploying CCS technology in a Thai petroleum refinery using Technological-Organizational-Environmental (TOE) Framework and assess the risks of the barriers using Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) by finding the criticality number of each barrier from the knowledge and experience of the experts of the case company refinery. A total of 29 barriers were identified; 9 Technological, 9 Organizational and 11 Environmental barriers, and they are depicted on Ishikawa Diagram. Pareto Analysis and 80/20 rule was applied. The Pareto Analysis showed that there are 22 critical barriers; 7 Technological, 7 Organizational and 8 Environmental barriers. A roadmap suggesting short, medium and long-term action plans to overcome the recognized critical barriers to promote the deployment of the CCS technology at a Thai petroleum refinery is also developed. The strategies and policies on the roadmap are planned based on two criteria, the criticality of the barriers and the expertise of the experts from the case company.