Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage: An Update

Summary

Recent progress in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is reviewed. Considerable research effort has gone into carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture, with many promising separation processes in various stages of development, but only a few have been tested at commercial scale, and considerable additional development will be required to determine competitiveness of new technologies. Processes for direct capture of CO₂ from the air are also under development and are starting to be tested at pilot scale. Transportation of CO₂ to storage sites by pipeline is well-established, though substantially more pipeline capacity will be required if CCUS is to be undertaken at a large scale. Considerable experience has now been built up in enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) operations, which have been under way since the 1970s. Storage in deep saline aquifers has also been achieved at scale. Recent large-scale projects that capture and store CO₂ are described, as are current and potential future markets for CO₂. Potential effects of changes in the US tax code Section 45Q on those markets are summarized. Future deployment of CCUS will depend more on cost reductions for CO₂ separations, development of new markets for CO₂, and the complexities of project finance than on technical issues associated with storage of CO₂ in the subsurface.