Reducing greenhouse gas emissions with CO2 capture and geological storage

Abstract

CO2 capture and geological storage (CCS) is one of the most promising technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change in a fossil fuel-dependent world. If fully implemented, CCS may contribute to reduce 20 % of global emissions from fossil fuels by 2050 and 55 % by the end of this century. The complete CCS chain consists of capturing CO2 from large stationary sources such as coal-fired power plants and heavy industries and transport and store it in appropriate geological reservoirs such as petroleum fields, saline aquifers, and coal seams, therefore returning carbon emitted from fossil fuels (as CO2) back to geological sinks. Recent studies have shown that geological reservoirs can safely store for many centuries the entire greenhouse gas (GHG) global emissions. In this chapter, we present a comprehensive summary of the latest advances in CCS research and technologies that can be used to store significant quantities of CO2 for geological periods of time and therefore considerably contribute to GHG emission reduction.