Climate Change Mitigation via Utilization of Carbon Dioxide

Abstract

Carbon dioxide is a waste product in many industries, especially from thermal power plants and is a major contributor to global warming. The large scale solution to the problem of CO2 emissions currently being considered is carbon capture and storage (CCS). In CCS, the CO2 is first separated from the flue gas by capture techniques and then later stored underground. This method does not eliminate CO2; it just stores it. Environmental threats of escape are spurring re-evaluation of CCS to eliminate CO2 rather than move and store it. A more attractive solution would be carbon capture and utilization (CCU) in which the waste CO2 is not dumped, but converted into a commercially valuable product. The growing re-evaluation of carbon capture strategies emphasizes transforming CO2 to valuable chemical rather than storing it. This chapter gives an overview to cover the work carried out on CO2 from flue gas, and how it could be converted into a valuable chemical for which there is a demand. This article first covers briefly the CO2 separation or capture from flue gas and storage and then the technologies to convert the separated CO2 into usable chemicals employing methods, such as chemical, photochemical, electro-chemical and bio-process. The proper use of CO2 from waste flue gas is expected to provide both environmental and economic benefits.