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Carbon capture is a process that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources, such as power generation or industrial facilities that use either fossil fuels or biomass for fuel. The captured CO2 can then be used for various purposes, such as making chemicals, building materials, fuels, or storing it underground. Carbon capture is considered a key technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.
There are different types of carbon capture technologies, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Some of the most prevalent technologies of carbon capture today are:
- Liquid absorption: This is the most common method of carbon capture, which uses a liquid solvent to chemically remove CO2 from the flue gas before it goes out of the smokestack. The solvent is usually an amine compound that reacts with CO2 and forms a solid precipitate. The solid can then be separated from the liquid and stored or used.
- Dry absorption: This is a variation of liquid absorption, which uses a dry solvent instead of a liquid one. The dry solvent also reacts with CO2 and forms a solid precipitate, but it does not require any water or energy to operate. However, dry absorption has lower efficiency and higher cost than liquid absorption.
- Direct air capture: This is a novel method of carbon capture, which uses physical processes to extract CO2 directly from the ambient air. The air is filtered through various media that trap CO2 molecules on their surfaces. The captured CO2 can then be compressed and transported or stored.
- Enhanced oil recovery: This is an existing method of carbon capture, which uses CO2 to increase the amount of oil that can be extracted from an oil reservoir. The CO2 is injected into the reservoir under high pressure and temperature, which creates more fractures and improves the flow of oil. The injected CO2 can then be captured and stored or used.
- Biochar: This is an emerging method of carbon capture, which uses biomass waste to produce charcoal-like material called biochar. Biochar can store large amounts of carbon in its structure for long periods of time. Biochar can also improve soil quality and fertility by increasing water retention and nutrient availability.
These are some of the most prevalent technologies of carbon capture today, but there are many others that are being developed or tested for potential applications. Carbon capture technologies have different costs, scalability, permanence, and cleanness factors that need to be considered before they can become economically viable and environmentally friendly.
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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CARBON CAPTURE?
- Reduces Emissions: Carbon capture can significantly reduce CO2 emissions from industrial plants and power stations, which are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.
- Efficient at Source: CO2 is easier to remove at the point of emission where its concentration is high, making carbon capture more efficient.
- Removes Other Pollutants: During certain types of carbon capture, other pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (Sox) can also be removed.
- Generates Additional Power: CO2-based steam cycles could transfer heat more readily and take less energy to compress steam, helping power generation turbines run more efficiently.
- Creates More Fuel: Technically, it’s possible to convert CO2 into a liquid fuel like bio-diesel fuel, which can power IC engines.
- Enriches Concrete: Captured CO2 could be used to strengthen concrete, leading to increased infrastructure durability.
- Bolsters Manufacturing Operations: CO2 could be used to make chemicals and plastics.
- Creates New Jobs: If more carbon capture operations were implemented, more skilled technicians would be needed to manage them.
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WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF IMPLEMENTING CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGIES?
Cost of Implementing Carbon Capture Technology: The cost of implementing carbon capture technology can vary greatly depending on the source of CO2 and the specific technology used. For industrial processes producing highly concentrated CO2 streams, the cost can range from USD 15-25 per ton of CO2. For processes with dilute gas streams, such as cement production and power generation, the cost can range from USD 40-120 per ton of CO2. Some complex production economics estimate costs between $230 and $920 per ton of CO2.
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WHICH COUNTRIES ARE IMPLEMENTING CARBON CAPTURE ON A LARGE SCALE ?
- Several countries have implemented carbon capture on a large scale. As of 2020, some 40 million tons CO2 per year capacity of carbon capture was in operation with 50 million tons per year in development.
- The countries with the largest number of carbon capture projects include the United States, Canada, China, Australia, and parts of Europe including the United Kingdom and Norway.
- The United States and Canada alone transport more than 30 million tons of CO2 per year through their extensive pipeline networks.
- Seven new large-scale capture facilities have come online since January 2022, including projects in the United States, Belgium, and China.
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WHAT ARE THE CURRENT CARBON CAPTURE SCHEMES IN INDIA?
- In today’s faced-paced world of commerce and industry, emissions generated from natural gas recovery and processing can leave a significant carbon footprint on the natural environment. However, there is an effective way to circumvent the issues of natural gas emissions—carbon, capture, utilization, and storage systems.
- Public sector oil and gas companies in India are actively engaged in emission-reduction strategies such as Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) as India targets net zero by 2070.
- CCUS is a common strategy across India’s oil and gas majors, as revealed in an April 2023, report, The Green Shift – The low carbon transition of India’s oil and gas sector, released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), which highlights the energy transition plans of domestic public sector oil and gas companies.
- CCUS technologies capture carbon dioxide from large point sources, such as power generation or industrial facilities that use either fossil fuels or biomass for fuel. The captured CO2 is either used onsite or compressed and transported to be used in a range of applications, or injected into geological formations which trap the CO2 for permanent storage.
- India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a government-owned oil and gas explorer and producer, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Norway-based energy company Equinor to explore opportunities in low-carbon and renewable sectors, specifically focusing on CCUS.
- ONGC, in partnership with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), another public sector oil producer, is also working on India’s first industrial-scale carbon capture project at the Koyali refinery. The project will capture CO2 emissions at the refinery that will be transported through pipelines to the Gandhar oil field, owned by ONGC, where, as per media reports, carbon will be stored.
- As part of IOCL’s net-zero strategy, it aims at mitigating more than 40 per cent of its emissions through carbon-negative technologies such as CCUS and tree plantation.
- CCUS technology is also part of the transition strategies of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), which aims to implement new CCUS technology by 2026 in its refinery, and of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), which plans to install a carbon capture unit in Visakhapatnam oil refinery in Andhra Pradesh.
- The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has also implemented a pilot project for fixing CO2 using microalgae, which will convert inorganic carbon into organic compounds, in an artificial pond at its Pata petrochemical complex in Uttar Pradesh.
- The majority of these companies have set targets to achieve zero emissions through renewable energy, such as solar, wind, biofuel, green hydrogen as well as CCUS technologies. ONGC targeting net zero by 2050, IOCL plans to achieve it by 2046. HPCL, BPCL, and GAIL have set the deadline to achieve net zero by 2040.
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WHY IS CCUS SO VERY IMPORTANT TO INDIA NOW?
- While it is a well-understood fact that oil and coal will stay in India for the time being, the energy majors in India are serious about their emissions and taking several measures to deal with them to cut down further emissions.
- Captured carbon can also be converted into fuels such as methane, methanol, aviation fuel and gasoline. And all the technologies for converting CO2 to these fuels is under active consideration.
- The captured CO2 can be also used to create construction materials, chemicals, plastics, and products derived from algae, such as fertilizers and animal feed. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) focuses on preventing the release of CO2 into the atmosphere. CCS involves capturing CO2 emitted from specific sources, transporting it to predetermined locations, and storing it securely. The stored CO2 is effectively isolated from the atmosphere, thereby mitigating its impact on climate change.
- CCUS is going to play a significant role in the reduction of CO2 emissions and mitigating the role of CO2 in global warming. CCUS is an important solution for emissions mitigation in hard-to-abate sectors.
- The CCUS suite of technologies is crucial in meeting the net-zero goals, as the world continues to use fossil fuel as a primary source of energy. It will not only prove key in mitigating the CO2 emissions but also account for the reduction in historical emissions through direct air capture and bioenergy CCS.
- The CCUS likely reduces the stranding (abandoning or declaring non-functional) of power plants and fossil reserves by more than 50 per cent.
- CCUS will play an essential role in meeting India’s global commitments of reducing CO2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 and achieving net zero by 2070.
- CCUS has an important and critical role to play in decarbonizing the industrial sector, which is hard to electrify and hard-to-abate, due to the use of fossil fuels not only as a source of energy but within the process itself. CCUS also has an important role to play in decarbonizing the power sector, given India’s present reliance on coal for meeting over 70 per cent of its electricity needs.
- CCUS is the only known technology for decarbonising the hard-to-electrify and –carbon dioxide-intensive sectors such as steel, cement, oil & gas, petrochemicals & chemicals, and fertilizers – all sectors that are critical for the growth of the Indian economy.
- CCUs implementation can help in the sustenance of existing emitters. Nearly two-thirds of India’s 144 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) crude steel capacity and 210 gigawatts (GW) of coal-based power capacity, are relatively young, with an age of less than 15 years and cannot be disregarded or abandoned to restrict emissions. Instead, they need to be transformed into sustainable entities by retrofitting with CO2 capture and disposition infrastructure. By implementing measures CCUS, significant economic costs, and damages, projected to reach around US$6 billion per year by 2050, can be avoided.
- Amidst escalating carbon dioxide emissions and ambitious global climate change mitigation targets, carbon sequestration has emerged as a highly promising technology for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This technology holds particular significance for emerging countries like India as they strive to strike a balance between rapid economic growth and reducing emissions.
WHAT ARE THE TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES OF CARBON CAPTURE?
Carbon capture technology faces several challenges that can hinder its widespread adoption:
- High Costs: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) requires investment in capital-intensive long-lived assets, including the capture plant, CO2 transport pipelines, and geological storage resources. These assets can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to appraise, build, and develop.
- Limited Revenue Opportunities: The service CCS provides, emissions abatement, has no or low value in most markets.
- Perceived Risk: While capture technologies are well developed and proven, their application in most industries has been very limited, which increases perceived risk.
- Regulatory Challenges: In many jurisdictions, regulations covering the geological storage of CO2 are absent, creating compliance risk.
- Public Perception and Knowledge: There is significant skepticism of CCS amongst those with little knowledge of it. Often, concerns are held about the safety of CO2 transport and storage.
- Technical Challenges: Capturing CO2 from dilute sources is more expensive due to the lower concentration of CO2.
These https://question-latinoamerica.com/10-informacij-o-genericnem-cialisu/ challenges need to be addressed to enable the large-scale deployment of carbon capture technology. Despite these challenges, carbon capture is considered a key technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change.
HOW CAN CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY BE MADE MORE AFFORDABLE
Making carbon capture technology more affordable involves a combination of technical innovation, policy support, and market mechanisms:
- Technical Innovation: Developing new and more efficient methods for capturing CO2 can help reduce the costs. For example, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a new tool that could lead to more efficient and cheaper technologies for capturing heat-trapping gases from the atmosphere and converting them into beneficial substances. Another example is the use of EEMPA in power plants, which could slash the price of carbon capture to 19 percent lower than standard industry costs.
- Policy Support: Policymakers can play a key role in creating a framework where carbon capture projects are an attractive and competitive proposition. This could include providing grants and subsidies, simplifying qualification requirements for federal tax credits, and setting up new funding avenues.
- Market Mechanisms: Greater adoption of carbon capture technology can bring down the price, much in the same way wind and solar energy costs have tumbled in recent years. The high cost associated with realizing carbon capture projects at scale is a major barrier to greater adoption, but for many industries, carbon capture is the only affordable and scalable method of reducing CO2 emissions.
- Infrastructure Development: Governments need to make it easier to approve carbon capture projects and help set up the infrastructure around it.
By addressing these areas, carbon capture technology can become more affordable and widely adopted, contributing significantly to global efforts to mitigate climate change.