What is Carbon Capture and Storage?
Carbon capture and storage(CCS ) is an innovation that could catch up to 90% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced from the use of fossil fuels in power plants and other industrial processes,keeping the carbon dioxide away from entering into the atmosphere. The CCS chain comprises about three parts; capturing the carbon dioxide, transporting the carbon dioxide, and safely storing the carbon dioxide emissions, underground in deep geological formations.
Carbon Capture
Transportation
Transporting the captured CO₂ to the storage location will include building new infrastructure.
Storage
There are number of ways to store the CO₂.
Data source: http://www.worldcoal.org/coal-the-environment/carbon-capture-use--storage/ccs-technologies/ccs-technologies-more/
Carbon Capture
- Post-combustion capture – absorbing the CO₂ emitted in burning of fossil fuels pipe.
- Pre-combustion capture – burning fossil fuel into mixture of hydrogen and CO₂ gases, separation CO2 and hydrogen and capture the CO2.
- Oxy-fuel burning – combustion of fuel in a oxygen rich atmosphere to make of stream CO₂ that can be easily compressed for storage.
Transportation
Transporting the captured CO₂ to the storage location will include building new infrastructure.
- Pipelines – to transport the CO₂ of the storage site, both on and off shore.
- Ships – to transport the CO₂ to offshore storage locations where no pipelines exist or transportation distances are excessively large.
Storage
There are number of ways to store the CO₂.
- Deep saline aquifers – these underground storage sites has Store has biggest storing capacity.
- Depleted oil and gas fields – the second biggest storage ability which involves injection of CO₂.These locations are well comprehended and monitored because from these locations oil and gas have been extracted from.
- Unmineable Coal Beds - Coal beds that are excessively deep or excessively thin can be mined to store CO2.
Data source: http://www.worldcoal.org/coal-the-environment/carbon-capture-use--storage/ccs-technologies/ccs-technologies-more/
The image below illustrates general carbon capture and storage process
Image source: http://www.co2crc.com.au/aboutccs/
Why CCS is important?
Carbon dioxide (Co2) capture and storage (CCS) is enabling low carbon electricity generation from power plants. So it is playing important role in greenhouse gas emissions. As assessed in the U.S.inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, in United States electric power generation is emitting 40% of overall CO2 emissions. CCS technologies are currently accessible and can drastically decrease (by 80-90%) Co2 emissions from power plants burning fossil fuels. CCS could also feasibly utilized to decrease emissions from industrial process like cement manufacturing and natural gas processing.
Data source: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ccs/
Data source: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ccs/