Capture and storage of carbon dioxide is a complex process of separating CO2 from industrial and energy sources, transporting it to a storage location and isolating from the atmosphere. The CCS process is regarded as a fundamental part of mitigation measures aimed at stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.
Interestingly, CO2 capture can be applied to a range of industrial sites, such as steel making, ethanol fermentation, cement manufacture, fertilizers as well as refineries (Haszeldine 1647). When it comes to geological storage, it is worth noting that the best options are deep saline formations along with oil and gas fields that do not have any commercial coal seams.
Richard Monastersky argues that leakage of CO2 from storage reservoirs is a serious issue (340). The reduction of emissions into the atmosphere by means of CCS depends on the fraction of CO2 capture, power plants or industrial processes, any leakage resulting from transportation as well as maintaining storage for a long period of time. CCS provides the control of CO2 emissions resulting from the production of electricity or hydrogen from fossil fuels. Currently, coal conversion, and gas, followed by an integrated CO2 separation is the main one for the production of hydrogen (van Noorden 20). More volume production of hydrogen or electricity from fossil fuels or biomass would increase the number of CO2 sources that are technically suitable for capture and storage.
Schiermeier is adamant that industrial-scale CCS will become a reality in the foreseeable future and it seems quite feasible to “reduce global CO2 emissions by one-third by 2050” (232). Thus, the process of capture and storage of carbon dioxide is worth implementing on a global scale. Even though there a number of risks, the advantages of CCS far outweigh the drawbacks.
Works Cited
Haszeldine, Stuart. “Carbon capture and storage: how green can black be?” Science 325 (2009): 1647-1652. Print.
Monastersky, Richard. “Seabed scars raise questions over carbon-storage plan.” Nature 504 (2013): 339-340. Print.
Nature Editorial. “No magic fix for carbon.” Nature 509 (2014): 7. Print.
Schiermeier, Quirin. “Europe to capture carbon.” Nature 451 (2008): 232. Print.
van Noorden, Richard. “Two plants to put ‘clean coal’ to test.” Nature 509 (2014): 20. Print.
