What is carbon capture and storage?
Different options to try to reduce overall CO2 emissions are being investigated, but the main way to reduce CO2 emissions from large industrial sources is called carbon capture and storage, or CCS. CCS involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) at emission sources, transporting and then storing or burying it in a suitable deep, underground location. CCS can also mean the removal of CO2 directly or indirectly from the atmosphere.
What are the costs and risks of CCS?
CO2 storage regulations require that storage operations be rigorou sly monitored for a number of reasons, including:
- verifying the amount and composition of CO2 being put into underground storage
- understanding how the CO2 is behaving once underground
- providing early warning if things are not going as planned
- providing assurance of long-term storage integrity
- measuring any leakage that might occur
Regulatory frameworks governing geological CO2 storage are being developed worldwide. In Europe, an EC Directive says that the issues of leakage and potential long-term stewardship of storage sites must be addressed if the potential for CO2 capture and storage to provide substantial reductions in atmospheric CO2 emissions is to be realised.
Reducing CO2 emissions from industrial processes
We will look at five ways in which industrial processes might be made less carbon intensive through the application of CCS. The five options all rely on the storage of CO2 onshore or offshore, in a saline aquifers or depleted gas fields.