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In CCS, carbon dioxide is captured from point sources such as coal power plants and ethanol plants. It is usually transported via pipelines and then either used to extract oil or stored in dedicated geologic formations.
Collecting carbon dioxide from industrial emissions
This article is about removing CO2 from industrial flue gas. For removing and sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere, see carbon sequestration.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process in which a relatively pure stream of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial sources is separated, treated and transported to a long-term storage location.[1]: 2221 In CCS, the CO2 is captured from a large point source, such as a chemical plant, coal power plant, cement kiln, or bioenergy plant, and typically is stored in a suitable geological formation.
CCS has been discussed as a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change,[2][3] though some critics claim that CCS projects have been shown to increase, not decrease overall emissions.[4] For example, CCS retrofits for existing power plants can be one of the ways to limit emissions from the electricity sector and meet the Paris Agreement goals.[5]: 16 However, as of 2022, only about one thousandth of global CO2 emissions are captured by CCS, and most of those CCS projects are for natural-gas processing.[6]: 32 CCS projects generally aim for 90% capture efficiency,[7] but most of the current installations have failed to meet that goal.[8]
Storage of the captured CO2 is either in deep geological formations or in the form of mineralcarbonates. Long-term predictions about submarine or underground storage security are difficult. There is still the risk that some CO2 might leak into the atmosphere.[9][10][11] A 2018 evaluation estimates the risk of substantial leakage to be fairly low.[12][13] As of 2022, around 73% of the CO2 captured annually is used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), a process in which CO2 is injected into partially-depleted oil reservoirs in order to extract more oil and then is left underground.[14] Since EOR utilizes the CO2 in addition to storing it, CCS is also known as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).[15]
CCS is a relatively expensive process.[16] Carbon capture becomes more economically viable when the carbon price is high, which is the case in much of Europe.[6] Some environmental activists and politicians have criticized CCS as a false solution to the climate crisis. They cite the role of the fossil fuel industry in origins of the technology and in lobbying for CCS focused legislation.[17] Critics also argue that CCS is only a justification for indefinite fossil fuel usage and equate to further investments into the environmental and social harms related to the fossil fuel industry.[18][19] With regards to public support, communities who have been negatively affected by an industrial activity in the past are less supportive of CCS.[20] Communities that feel inadequately informed about or excluded from project decision-making may also resist CCS development.[21]
Globally, a number of laws and rules have been issued that either support or mandate the implementation of CCS. In the US, the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides support for a variety of CCS projects, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 updates tax credit law to encourage the use of CCS.[22][23] Other countries are also developing programs to support CCS technologies, including Canada, Denmark, China, and the UK.[24][25]
^Metz, Bert; Davidson, Ogunlade; De Conink, Heleen; Loos, Manuela; Meyer, Leo, eds. (March 2018). "IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage"(PDF). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
^Ketzer, J. Marcelo; Iglesias, Rodrigo S.; Einloft, Sandra (2012). "Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions with CO2 Capture and Geological Storage". Handbook of Climate Change Mitigation. pp. 1405–1440. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-7991-9_37. ISBN978-1-4419-7990-2.
^"'Pioneering' CO2 storage projects could have leaked". The Ferret. 6 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023. Opponents of CCS claim it distracts from the need to invest in renewables and is being pushed by the fossil fuel industry so that it can continue drilling for oil and gas.
^Alexander, Chloe; Stanley, Anna (2022-12). "The colonialism of carbon capture and storage in Alberta's Tar Sands". Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space. 5 (4): 2112–2131. doi:10.1177/25148486211052875. ISSN 2514-8486.
^Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^McLaren, D.P., 2012, Procedural justice in carbon capture and storage, Energy & Environment, Vol. 23, No. 2 & 3, p. 345-365, https://doi.org/10.1260/0958-305X.23.2-3.345