Carbon capture and storage: In the quest for clean fossil energy

Abstract

The main objective of carbon capture and storage (CCS) is to prevent CO2 from entering the atmosphere by capturing CO2 from large industrial sources and securely storing it in various carbon sinks. CCS is considered a critical component of the portfolio of carbon mitigation solutions, because global economy heavily relies and will continue to rely on fossil fuels in the foreseeable future. Currently, there are close to 300 active and planned CCS-related projects around the world— an indication of a growing commitment to this technological option. However, despite significant progress in CCS technology, the pace of CCS commercial deployment is rather slow. The major challenges facing the large-scale CCS deployment worldwide relate to a very high financial barrier and limited economic stimuli or regulatory drivers to encourage investments in the technology. This chapter highlights scientific and engineering progress in all three major stages of the CCS chain, CO2 capture, transport, and storage, and the current status of existing and planned commercial CCS projects. Technological, economic, environmental, and societal aspects of the large-scale CCS deployment and its prospects as a major carbon abatement policy are analyzed in this chapter.