What is Carbon Capture and Storage?

By Ibtisam AbbasiReviewed by Laura ThomsonJan 7 2025

Global warming, a major rise in greenhouse emissions, and harmful carbon emissions are the biggest concerns for humanity and the planet, with these emissions reaching the highest ever levels in human history in the past decade. Governments and organizations are focusing on sustainability and reducing harmful waste products. Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is at the forefront of eco-friendly technologies, reducing harmful substances and achieving net-zero goals.¹

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How Does Carbon Capture and Storage Work?

Carbon capture and storage involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) generated from burning fossil fuels or through other chemical or biological activities and securing it in a way that prevents it from impacting the atmosphere, all with the goal of reducing the impacts of global warming.

The three CCUS steps involve efficient carbon capture techniques, transport of the trapped carbon-based substances, and carbon storage.²

Core Principles and Processes of Carbon Capture and Storage

The major processes in carbon capture technology include pre-combustion capture, post-combustion capture technology, direct air capture (DAC), and oxyfuel combustion carbon capture.

Major carbon capture technologies

The pre-combustion carbon capture process is generally achieved via adsorption, enabling efficient removal of CO₂. The apparatus involves using a scrubber, where a liquid solvent enables the removal of CO₂ from syngas using physio-chemical absorption.

Syngas is produced by partial oxidation of conventional fossil fuels, followed by a reaction with steam. Various absorbents, including Selexol®, are used in industrial plants for pre-combustion carbon capture, as they are highly efficient and do not release harmful by-products.³

Post-combustion carbon capture is achieved using absorption, adsorption, membrane-based techniques, and chemical reactions. CO₂ adsorption on solid substrates is an affordable post-combustion capturing process employed in industrial settings.

Membrane-based CO₂-capturing processes have recently been introduced involving the selective separation of carbon molecules from the mixture of gases at the primary production sources. Semi-permeable barriers are gaining popularity due to cost-effective operational costs and high efficiency, which result from the combined effects of diffusion and ionic transport.⁴

Another crucial technique is oxy-fuel combustion, which traps CO₂ at primary carbon production sources by allowing the combustion process to occur with 95 mol% pure oxygen.

Dehydration and purification techniques are extensively used to separate CO₂ for use in industrial processes.⁵ Experts are using CCUS to ensure decarbonization and a reduction in the level of pollutants via these different processes.

Transport and storage process

After efficiently capturing carbon-based harmful substances, they are moved toward appropriate storage locations, including geological sites, saline formations, and coal seams.

Transporting the captured CO₂ requires a combination of coordinated and efficient effort. The major transport options used by major industrial players include ships, railways, and efficient motor-operated transport vehicles. Pipeline-based CO₂ transport systems are the most cost-efficient and financially viable over 250 km of travel distance.⁶

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Major Carbon Capture and Storage Projects

A popular global gas engineering company, Linde, has begun the supply of captured and stored carbon to, Celanese, a global chemical company. It will be used with clean hydrogen and other essential chemicals to produce high-quality methanol with a significantly lower carbon footprint.⁷

The European Union (EU) has granted 480 million euros to carbon capture and storage projects. The D’Artagnan project in France, which consists of a network of ships and pipelines that capture CO₂ for storage, receives almost 190 million euros.

The Aramis project received funding of 124 million euros for efficiently transporting captured CO₂ for storage at geological gas reservoirs in the North Sea.⁸ 

The Ravenna project is emerging as the world’s largest carbon capture project, which will develop a storage capacity of 20 million tons by 2030.⁹

Croatia is investing heavily in capturing CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery and achieving carbon-neutral cement production. A major project titled CO₂NTESSA will be operated with the capacity to capture, store, and utilize around 0.7 Mtpa for sustainable and eco-friendly cement production in Našice.¹⁰

The major worldwide investments and utilization of stored CO₂ captured at primary sources will play a crucial role in significantly reducing greenhouse gas concentrations.

What are the Latest Advancements in Carbon Capture?

Researchers have developed new carbon capture, storage, and utilization materials and systems in the past few years. Namely, experts have devised a new technique to resolve the limitations associated with large-scale deployment of non-aqueous amine solutions. 1,5-diamino-2-methyl-pentane (DA2MP) was introduced as the main adsorbent, with 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) in use as a functional regulator.

This first-ever regulated amine solution for CO₂ capturing ensured that no equipment fouling and pipeline blockage were recorded. Furthermore, the CO₂ absorption load recorded for the absorbent was 0.95 mol.mol^-1, and the solution maintained about 97% of CO₂ absorption capability.¹¹

These major advantages and novel features have opened up new avenues for developing highly efficient non-aqueous amine-based carbon capture technology.

What are the Challenges of Carbon Capture and Storage?

Despite being crucial for ecological preservation, CCUS technology needs to overcome its challenges.

The high energy consumption and degradation of CO₂ capturing apparatus raise serious questions about the process's financial profitability. Although several new technologies, such as non-aqueous ionic liquids, are being developed, they are significantly expensive and complicated. Technical challenges, such as impurities, also massively affect the process's efficiency.

The absence of laws, policies, and technical standards is another major hurdle in commercializing carbon capture and storage technology. The lack of a multi-industry cooperation legislative system is causing various legal and technical difficulties in major parts of the world. The development of an international unified regulatory framework will foster the development of CCUS technology and boost its integration within the existing energy frameworks.¹²

What is the Future of Carbon Capture and Storage?

With the interest of governments worldwide, CCUS technology has proved its worth. However, risk assessment and optimization studies are essential for accelerating the implementation process.

An analysis by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) group has revealed a 55% boost in the CCUS projects.¹³ Furthermore, several large-scale CCUS projects are emerging in Northern Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and Norway. Serious efforts are also being made to ensure the development and implementation of regulatory frameworks for CCUS technology.¹³

With the implementation of modern technologies, novel absorbents, major stakeholders' interests, and regulatory issues resolution, CCUS technology will likely become a major market in the coming years.

Read More: Direct Air Carbon Capture versus Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage

References and Further Reading

1. Yao, J. et al. (2023). A Review of Recent Progress of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) in China. Applied Sciences. 13(2). 1169. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/app13021169
2. National Grid (2023). What is carbon capture and storage? [Online]. Available at: https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/what-is-ccs-how-does-it-work [Accessed on November 21, 2024]
3. Hospital-Benito, D. et al. (2022). Aspen plus supported design of pre-combustion CO2 capture processes based on ionic liquids. Separation and Purification Technology, 290, 120841. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2022.120841
4. Chao, C. et al. (2021). Post-combustion carbon capture. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 138, 110490. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110490
5. Yadav, S. et al. (2022). A review on the progress and prospects of oxy-fuel carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. Fuel, 308, 122057. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2021.122057
6. Al Baroudi, H. et al. (2021). A review of large-scale CO2 shipping and marine emissions management for carbon capture, utilisation and storage. Applied Energy, 287, 116510. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116510
7. Linde (2024). Linde Starts up Supply of Clean Hydrogen and Captured Carbon Dioxide to Celanese. [Online]. Available at: https://www.linde.com/news-and-media/2024/linde-starts-up-supply-of-clean-hydrogen-and-captured-carbon-dioxide-to-celanese [Accessed on: November 22, 2024].
8. Baklan Green Energy News (2024). EU grants EUR 480 million to carbon transportation, storage projects. [Online]. Available at: https://balkangreenenergynews.com/eu-grants-eur-480-million-to-carbon-transportation-storage-projects/ [Accessed on: November 22, 2024].
9. Eni (2024). Eni and Snam launch Ravenna CCS, Italy’s first Carbon Capture and Storage project. Press Release. [Online]. Available at: https://www.eni.com/en-IT/media/press-release/2024/09/eni-snam-launch-ravenna-css-italy-s-first-carbon-capture-storage-project.html [Accessed on: November 23, 2024].
10. Blecich, P. et al. (2024). Current Status of Enhanced Oil Recovery Projects Using Carbon Dioxide (EOR CO2) in Croatia. Engineering Proceedings. 67(1). 19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/engproc2024067019
11. Ma, M. et al. (2023). Regulatory mechanism of a novel non-aqueous absorbent for CO2 capture using 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol: Low viscosity and energy efficient. Journal of CO2 Utilization, 67, 102277. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2022.102277
12. Liu, E. et al. (2023). A Systematic Review of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage: Status, Progress and Challenges. Energies. 16(6):2865. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/en16062865
13. Det Norske Veritas (DNV) (2024). The future of CCUS: Key trends and regional developments in Northern Europe. [Online]. Available at: https://www.dnv.com/article/the-future-of-ccus-key-trends-and-regional-developments-in-northern-europe/. [Accessed on: November 25, 2024].

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