Carbon Capture and Storage

By: Riddima Pandey

Global Warming

Global warming has been a prominent problem in our world. The excessive emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has resulted in climate change and global warming. With the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there is a need for action. One of the approaches to reduce CO2 emissions includes Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).

What is CCS?

Carbon Capture and Storage is a concept that suggests that carbon could be captured from power plants and injected into geological reservoirs through pipelines for long-term storage. The International Energy Agency claimed that this technology can reduce “17% of global CO2 emission by 2050.” CCS needs global implementation in every country in order for this to be true.

Capturing CO2

There are many options when it comes to capturing CO2. This includes post-combustion and pre-combustion. Post-combustion capture is the separation of CO2 from flue gases generated from the combustion of fossil fuels in the air. Pre-combustions capture is removing CO2 from fossil fuels before combustion is completed.

Transportation and Storage

After capture, CO2 is transported through pipelines to the geological site for storage. When it comes to storage, there are several options, including depleted oil and natural gas fields, deep coal beds, saline aquifers, and the ocean. Oil and natural gas reservoirs and aquifers are known to be the best CCS sites for large-scale CO2 transportation. However, the pressure build-up during CO2 injection can limit the effectiveness of geological storage. Therefore, strategies for pressure management must be implemented.

Limitations

Despite the potential of CCS, there are still many environmental and political issues that arise regarding transportation and storage. There is uncertainty regarding how much CO2 the reservoirs can hold, how long will it remain trapped, and whether the CO2 could escape from storage reservoirs to other formations.

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Works Cited

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