Exploring Carbon Capture and Storage as a Climate Solution

Carbon capture and storage is a way of reducing carbon emissions, which is key to helping tackle global warming. It is a 3-step process which involves:

• capturing the carbon dioxide produced by power generation or industrial activity, 
• transporting it, and then 
• storing it deep underground.

CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) has been carried out in the United States and Canada since the 1960s. The world’s first large-scale CO2-EOR project, Scurry Area Canyon Reef Operating Committee (SACROC), was implemented by Chevron in the oilfield in Scurry County, Texas on January 26, 1972. More than 175 million tons of natural CO2 in total was injected into the SACROC project during 1972–2009.

However, the concept of CO2 capture, transport, and storage in the modern sense, as a means of reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions, was first proposed by Cesare Marchetti. The Sleipner CCS project, which began in 1996, and the IEA Greenhouse Gas (IEAGHG) research and development program—Weyburn–midale CO2 monitoring and storage project (Weyburn project for short), which began in 2000, were the first international demonstrations of the large-scale capture, utilization, and storage of anthropogenic CO2 emissions.

Economic Benefits of Carbon Capture and Storage

Storing carbon can help the economy. Forests do more than just store carbon; they give us wood, other forest products, and ecosystem services. When forests are healthy, they support jobs in areas like forestry, timber, and tourism.

At the same time, carbon storage technologies can create new jobs in research, development, or implementation. These technologies can also balance the carbon economy by providing cost-effective carbon offsets.

Climate Change Mitigation

Carbon storage solutions help reduce emissions by capturing and storing carbon dioxide. This can be achieved through both natural and technological methods. For example, forests are valuable carbon sinks as they absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Planting more trees can increase carbon storage capacity, thus combating climate change.

Proven Successes of Carbon Capture and Storage

With the ever-growing concern over climate change, there is an increasing need for sustainable solutions. Several carbon capture projects have emerged around the world, and they show promising results, offering valuable lessons, and potential for replication.

• The Sleipner project in the North Sea was the world’s first commercial-scale carbon capture project. The project captures carbon dioxide emitted from natural gas production and stores it beneath the seabed. Since its launch in 1996, more than 25 million tons of CO2 has been captured.
• The Gorgon project is a large-scale carbon capture project based in western Australia, which captures CO2 from natural gas production and stores it in underground reservoirs. The project is significant because it demonstrates that carbon capture technology can work on a large scale and in remote locations.
• The Quest Project, located near Edmonton, Canada, is a project that captures CO2 emissions from a bitumen upgrader and stores them deep underground. This project demonstrates the potential for CCS to be used in the oil and gas industry, which is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Reason for Failure of Carbon Capture and Storage

• Carbon capture is energy intensive; it essentially requires building a new power plant to run the system, creating another source of air and carbon pollution.
• Carbon capture increases emissions; due to the large amount of energy required to power carbon capture, plus the life cycle of fossil fuels, carbon capture puts more CO2 into the atmosphere than it has removed.
• Storage presents significant risks; storage leaks could contaminate groundwater and soil.  Moreover, CO2 injections could cause earthquakes, which have already been measured at injection sites.

Recommendations

- Forests as carbon sinks: Forests are vital because they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

- The ocean is the largest natural carbon sink. Leveraging the ocean to capture carbon helps control the earth’s climate.

- Urban green spaces are not only beneficial for urban dwellers, providing recreational spaces and improving air quality, but they also play a role in climate change mitigation.

References

Climatech, Technologies, C. C., & Erw. (2023, August 24). Carbon capture projects: Success stories from around the world. Verde AgriTech - Blog (english). https://blog.verde.ag/en/carbon-capture-success-stories/#:~:text=The%20success%20of%20such%20numbers,the%20impacts%20of%20climate%20change 

McKenzie, J. (2022, September 16). Carbon capture has a long history. of failure. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. https://thebulletin.org/2022/09/plagued-by-failures-carbon-capture-is-no-climate-solution/ 

Rob built Emission Index to collect and share data. (2024, February 23). Carbon capture and storage: A Shield against climate change?. Emission Index. https://www.emission-index.com/energy-transition/carbon-capture-storage-ccs 

Technologies, C. C., Erw, & Climatech. (2023, October 4). The Pros and cons of carbon capture and storage. Verde AgriTech - Blog (english). https://blog.verde.ag/en/carbon-capture-and-storage-pros-cons/ 

What is carbon capture and storage?. CCS explained | National Grid Group. (n.d.). https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/what-is-ccs-how-does-it-work 

Article written by GSAG CARBON CAPTURE

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