Lecture 17-19

Carbon Capture, Storage and Sequestration

SEE211
Energy, Climate Change and Sustainability
Recap
➢ So far we have discussed
• Conventional Energy Generation
• Emissions and Climate Change
• Need for Decarbonization
• New and Clean Energy Generation
o PV, Wind, Hydrogen, Nuclear, Hydroelectric and Geothermal

➢ These need to be complemented by

• Energy storage
• Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration
Fossil fuel usage directly linked to CO2 emission

Source: ourworldindata.org
Fossil fuel usage directly linked to CO2 emission
What do we need to do?
Big Gap
Role of various measures

Behavioural aspects and energy efficiency to play a major role in both phases
Major technology shift required
Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage
Terminology
➢ Carbon capture: Separating a concentrated CO2 stream from a mixture of gases

➢ Carbon removal: Separating CO2 out of air

➢ Carbon utilization: Converting carbon dioxide to chemicals, fuels or useful products

➢ Carbon sequestration: Storing carbon dioxide in geological formations

• EOR – End of Oil Recovery
• Mineral Trapping in saline aquifers
Oil recovery is the process of extracting remaining oil resources after
recycling. It can be done using chemical techniques such as
distillation, pervaporation, and nanofiltration, or biological practices
such as anaerobic digestion and algal cultivation

• Storage in subsurface porous media or geological formations

➢ Net-zero, carbon-neutral, and carbon negative?
Net-zero targets
Understanding Negative Emissions
➢ Net zero
• deep emissions cuts across all sectors and regions
• active removal of CO2 from the atmosphere
➢ All pathways that limit global warming to 1.5°C use Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR).
➢ Removing CO2 → achieving ‘negative emissions’.

Reference IPCC, 2018: Global Warming of 1.5°C.

BECCS: Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage

AFOLU: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use
CDR is crucial to achieve Net Zero targets

IRENA: World Energy Transition Outlook 2023

IEA: World Energy Transition Outlook 2023

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)

There are two main types of CDR:

Natural sinks: enhancing existing natural processes that remove carbon from the
atmosphere (e.g. by increasing its uptake by trees, soil, or other ‘carbon sinks’)
➢A positive point is that these are existing ‘technologies’ which can be applied
at low cost. A negative point is that to absorb gigatonne quantities of CO2, large
(and ever-increasing) areas would be required to absorb CO2 through forest
growth.

CCS or CCUS: using chemical processes to capture CO2 directly from the
ambient air or stationary point sources of CO2, and store it elsewhere (e.g.,
underground, ocean - permanent storage (CCS)) or utilization by converting into
products (CCU)
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

Reference: Source: https://www.iea.org/reports/about-ccus

CO2 Capture Technologies

Reference:
Source: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
CO2 Capture Technologies
Post-combustion processes separate CO2 from the flue gases produced by the combustion of
the primary fuel in air. These systems normally use a liquid solvent to capture CO2 present in a
flue gas stream. This technology is widely used to capture CO2 for use in the food and beverage
industry.
➢Post-combustion can be fitted to new plants or retrofitted to existing facilities that were originally built
without it.
Pre-combustion processes the primary fuel in a reactor with steam and air to produce a mixture
consisting mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (“synthesis gas”). Additional hydrogen,
together with CO2, is produced by reacting the carbon monoxide with steam in a second reactor
(a “shift reactor”). The hydrogen is separated and can be burnt without producing any CO2; the
CO2 can then be compressed for transport and storage.
➢Pre-combustion methods require larger modifications to the operation of the facility and are therefore
more suitable to new plants.
➢The same technology is employed for the large-scale production of hydrogen (which is used mainly for
ammonia and fertilizer manufacture, and for petroleum refinery operations).
Reference: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
CO2 Capture Technologies
• Oxyfuel combustion processes use oxygen rather than air for combustion of fuel. This produces
exhaust gas that is mainly water vapour and CO2 that can be easily separated to produce a high
purity CO2 stream. The water vapour is then removed by cooling and compressing the gas stream.
• Capture from industrial process streams: CO2 has been captured from industrial process streams
for many decades, although most of the CO2 that is captured is vented to the atmosphere because
there is no incentive or requirement to store it. Applications include natural gas treatment facilities,
cement and steel production, and fermentation processes for food and drink production.
• Direct Air Capture (DAC): CO2 can also be captured directly from the atmosphere by drawing in
air using fans and passing it through an environment consisting of solid sorbents or liquid solvents.
This practice is more energy intensive and therefore more expensive as CO2 has a much lower
concentration in the atmosphere than in flue gas.
➢ Direct air capture and carbon storage (DACCS)
➢ Has wide applicability, but in early stages with exorbitant costs
➢ The first large-scale DAC plant (0.5 Mt CO2/year) is scheduled to commence operations in 2025 in the
United States

Reference: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
Solvent Absorption
Carbon dioxide is soluble in some solvents, notably ethanolamines; e.g., monoethanolamine
(MEA). Absorption–desorption is a reversible process; absorption proceeds at low
temperatures, whereas desorption occurs at elevated temperatures:
C2H4OHNH2 + H2O + CO2 C2H4OHNH3+ + HCO3−

Flowsheet of the monoethanolamine (MEA) process for CO2 capture Ref: Energy and Env.
Membrane Separation
• Gas separation by membranes relies on the different permeation rates of
gases through the membrane pores.

• Hydrogen, in particular, because of its small molecular size, permeates

faster than any other gas through small pores.

• Polymer membranes are being used commercially in recovery of

hydrogen from a purge stream in ammonia synthesis, methanol
synthesis, and oil refineries.

• Typical membrane examples are polysulfone/silicon, cellulose acetate,

polyphenyleneoxide, polyalkene, polyimide, polydimethylsiloxane, and
polyetherimide.
Ref: Energy and Env.
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
➢ This involves either specific energy crops (such as fast growing perennial
grasses, or short-rotation coppicing) or increased forest biomass, which
replace fossil fuels as a source of thermal energy, and capturing the CO2
produced and storing it underground.
➢ This is a NET because producing the biomass fuel involves the absorption of
CO2 from the atmosphere, and returning that to the atmosphere on
combustion is avoided by capturing it from flue gases and storing it in
geological reservoirs. "Negative Emission Technology."
➢ BECCS is dependent on large-scale production of biomass fuel and the ready
availability of efficient and cost-effective CCS technology.
CO2 Transport
➢ In the United States, over 2,500 km of
pipeline transports more than 40 MtCO2
per year from natural and anthropogenic
sources.

➢ In some situations or locations, transport

of CO2 by ship may be economically
more attractive (large distances or
overseas).

➢ CO2 also can be transported as a liquid

by road or rail.

Reference: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
CO2 Storage (CCS or CCUS)
➢ CO2 can then be injected into deep geological formations, usually at depths
of 1 km or more, to be permanently stored in depleted oil and gas reservoirs,
coalbeds or deep saline aquifers, where the geology is suitable.
➢ An alternative to permanent storage is to use the captured CO2 as an input
for commercial products and services.
➢ Storage of CO2 in deep, onshore or offshore geological formations uses many
of the same technologies that have been developed by the oil and gas
industry.
➢ The first CCUS projects started in the 1970s and 1980s in Texas for capturing
CO2 from natural gas processing plants and supplying it to local oil producers
for utilizing the CO2 for Enhanced Oil Recovery.
Other Methods
➢ Enhanced Oil Recovery

➢ Enhanced Coal Bed Methane Recovery (ECBM)

➢ Saline Aquifers – Just CCS (no “U”)

➢ Ocean Storage
Enhanced Oil Recovery

➢ Oil recovery techniques can be categorized

as primary, secondary, and tertiary recovery
techniques:
➢ Primary techniques rely on natural reservoir
pressure and the use of pumps to bring oil to the
surface, but the recovery is only about 10%.
➢ The secondary techniques involve the injection of
water or gas in the reservoir to drive the oil to the
production wellbores. This helps in the recovery of
20-40% of the original oil in place.
➢ Tertiary techniques of recovery include thermal
recovery (steam injection), gas injection (CO2
injection), and chemical injection (use of polymers
or surfactants). These help in the production of 30-
60% of the original oil in place.
Reference: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
Enhanced Coal Bed Methane Recovery (ECBM)

➢ In ECBMR, CO2 is injected into

unmineable coal seams under
supercritical conditions. The CO2
injected is accumulated in the coal
cleats in a dense gas phase. This
CO2 is adsorbed and absorbed in
the coal. Since CO2 has a higher
affinity for coal than CBM, it pushes
the coal bed methane towards
production wells, thus enhancing
its primary recovery.

Reference: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
Depleted Oil and Gas Reservoirs
Oil and gas reservoirs are usually covered by an impenetrable layer of rock, so that CO2
deposited into the reservoirs would not reemerge into the atmosphere. In fact, injecting
CO2 into semi-depleted oil reservoirs is a well-established technology. It is not done for
sequestering CO2, but rather for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

The potential storage capacity in depleted oil and gas reservoirs is about 40 Gt carbon.
This compares with an annual worldwide emission of 6.8 Gt carbon per year. Thus,
depleted oil and gas reservoirs have a limited capacity for sequestering CO2.

Sequestering CO2 in depleted and semi-depleted oil and gas reservoirs can play a role in
mitigating global warming, albeit on a limited scale and at an economic cost that could
not be recovered from the price of electricity presently charged to customers.

Ref: Energy and Env.

Saline Aquifers – Just CCS (no “U”)

➢ Injection of CO2 in deep saline aquifers has no economic benefit.

➢ Deep saline aquifers consist of porous rock formation that contains high quantities of
unusable saltwater. The salt/mineral content is very high in this water rendering it
unusable for human use. The brine water is called formation liquid and it is trapped by
an impermeable rock called the caprock.
➢ Supercritical CO2 can be injected into the saline aquifers. Brine water has a higher
density compared to the injected CO2 ; thus, CO2 rises towards the caprock and is
trapped in the saline aquifer. This is also termed structural/ stratigraphic trapping.
➢ While injecting, some CO2 might occupy the pore spaces by displacing the previously
present fluid. This is known as residual trapping.
➢ Some of the injected CO2 also dissolves in the brine. This mixture is denser than the
surrounding brine and thus settles down. This is called solubility trapping.
➢ CO2 dissolves in water to form a weak carbonic acid that can react with minerals over
time to form solid carbonate minerals. This process is termed mineral trapping.

Reference: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
Image Source: Global CCS Institute, Fact Sheet on Global Storage of CO2 2018
Deep Aquifers

Deep aquifers may underlay vast areas under the continents and oceans.
Such aquifers usually contain saline water (brine) and are separated from
shallower aquifers—the source of much of the drinking water—by
impermeable rock. The deep aquifers themselves consist of permeable,
porous rock, such as sedimentary shale-, lime-, or sandstone, the pores of
which are saturated with brine. Such aquifers are found at depths of 800 m
or deeper. The injected CO2 (in liquid or supercritical phase) would dissolve
in the brine as carbonic acid. In the case of limestone formation, some of
the carbonate (CO32−) would dissolve into bicarbonate (HCO3−), furthering
the absorption capacity of the reservoir and reducing the risk of leakage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP5il8HsIfE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srBQGIISYx0 Ref: Energy and Env.
Ocean Storage
➢ The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations due to
anthropogenic emissions has resulted in the oceans taking up
CO2 at a rate of about 7 GtCO2/yr.
➢ Over the past 200 years the oceans have taken up 500 GtCO2
from the atmosphere out of 1300 GtCO2 total anthropogenic
emissions.
➢ Ocean storage potentially could be done in two ways: by
injecting and dissolving CO2 into the water column (typically
below 1,000 meters), or by depositing it below 3,000 m, where
CO2 is denser than water and is expected to form a “lake”.
➢ Evidence suggests that injected CO2 will be isolated from the
atmosphere for several hundreds of years and that the fraction
retained tends to be larger with deeper injection.
➢ Experiments show that added CO2 can change ocean pH, harm
marine organisms, and have ecosystem consequences. There is
little understanding of a large part of the ocean, particularly the
deep ocean.
Reference: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
Deep Ocean
The ocean is a natural repository for CO2. The ocean is vast: It covers about 70% of the
earth’s surface, and the average depth is 3800 m. There is a continuous exchange of CO2
between the atmosphere and the ocean.

The ocean absorbs about 92 Gt y−1 of carbon from the atmosphere, while it outgasses into the
atmosphere about 90 Gt y−1. Thus, the ocean is a net absorber of carbon, which probably is
part of the reason that CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere do not increase as fast as
expected from anthropogenic emissions.

The deep layers of the ocean, 1000 m or deeper, are highly unsaturated in regard to CO2. The
absorptive capacity of the deep ocean is estimated on the order of E(19) tons of carbon, so
conceivably all the carbon residing in fossil fuels on earth could be accommodated there,
without reaching even near the saturation limit.

Ref: Energy and Env.

Peak concentrations will occur
somewhere in the twenty-third century,
after which they will slowly decline
because
(a) mankind will run out of fossil fuels
and
(b) the ocean will slowly absorb the
excess CO2 that built up in the
atmosphere.

Figure shows how the peak could be

minimized by injecting incremental
amounts of CO2 into the deep ocean

Qualitative illustration of the effect of ocean sequestration on atmospheric concentrations of CO2. Note that in
about 1000 years a new level of CO2 concentration will be reached regardless of ocean disposal. (Adapted
from Wilson, T. R. S., 1992. Energy Convers. Manage., 33, 627–633.)
Ref: Energy and Env.
It is desirable to reach depths of 1000 m or more as close to the shore as
possible. Potential sites are as follows:

Asia, Australia, and Oceania

• Several canyons from the coast of India into the Arabian Sea and Bay of
Bengal
• Several canyons from the coast of China into the South China Sea
• Japan is surrounded with the deepest trenches in the world
• Canyons leading to the Japan Abyssal Plain from Korea and eastern Siberia
• Canyons along the southeastern coast of Australia
• Trenches along the Philippine and Indonesian islands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5obQ6aGSyHY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvTRzPUAoNk Ref: Energy and Env.
Other CCUS Applications
➢ CO2 is utilized in applications such as carbonated drinks,
dry ice; however, the scales are much lower
➢ Green urea: Green urea can be produced from the
captured CO2 and cost-competitive green hydrogen, from
renewable energy.
➢ Building materials (concrete and aggregates): utilizing
CO2 for producing building materials through concrete
curing and aggregate formation.
➢ Chemicals (methanol and ethanol): Conversion of CO2 to
methanol and ethanol from CO2 is proven at a commercial
scale in different parts of the world.
➢ Polymers (including bio-plastics): Conversion of CO2 to
various polymers has been attempted globally at different
scales. These polymers have multiple applications, such as
laptop packaging, cell phone casings, furniture etc.

Reference: NITI Aayog 2022. CCUS: Policy Framework and Deployment Mechanism in India
CO2 utilization: Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sGoU91RcEE
CO2 utilization: Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction

Adv. Mater. 2018, 1804257

CO2 utilization: Photocatalytic CO2 reduction
Energy reaching the earth from sun 4.3*1020 J/h CO2 concentration in earth’s atmosphere
Energy we want on earth 4.7*1016 J/h July 2019 is 411 ppm

CO2
Photoreduction

https://www.advancedsciencenews.com
 Artificial Photosynthesis
Natural Facts!
Water + Light = Chemical Energy

1. Chloroplasts trap Light Energy

2. Water enters leaf
Light Energy

Plants perform chemical reactions each time

they sunlight to make their own food during
photosynthesis

3. CO2 enters
4. Sugar leaf through
leaves leaf stomata
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5_vrdA4uCg
Chemical Energy + CO2 = Sugar
CO2 utilization: Photocatalytic CO2 reduction
Up-hill reactions: non-spontaneous

C6H12O6 + 6O2
Energy

6H2O + 6CO2

Photosynthesis

Reaction coordinate

Chemicals + O2
Energy

H2O + CO2
Catalyst

Photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Reaction coordinate
❖ Low solubility of CO2 in water (approximately 33 µmol/ml at 100 KPa and room temperature).

❖ Competing hydrogen evolution reaction, 2𝐻+ + 2𝑒− → 𝐻2

Rongé et. al., Chem. Soc. Rev. 2014, 43 (23), 7963-7981
CO2 utilization: Photocatalytic CO2 reduction
Most Probable Products from CO2 Reduction
Reaction Equation Redox pairs Redox potential
(V vs. NHE)

2𝐻2𝑂 + 4h+ → 4H+ + 𝑂2 𝐻2𝑂/𝑂2 +0.82

𝐶𝑂2 + 8𝑒− + 8𝐻+ →𝐶𝐻4 + 𝐻2𝑂 𝐶𝑂2/𝐶𝐻4 -0.24

𝐶𝑂2 + 6𝑒− + 6𝐻+ → 𝐶𝐻3𝑂𝐻 + 𝐻2𝑂 𝐶𝑂2/𝐶𝐻3𝑂𝐻 -0.38

2𝐻+ + 2𝑒− → 𝐻2 𝐻+/𝐻2 -0.41

𝐶𝑂2 + 4𝑒− + 4𝐻+ → 𝐻𝐶𝐻𝑂 + 𝐻2𝑂 𝐶𝑂2/𝐻𝐶𝐻𝑂 -0.48

𝐶𝑂2 + 2𝑒− + 2𝐻+ → 𝐶𝑂 + 𝐻2𝑂 𝐶𝑂2/𝐶𝑂 -0.53

𝐶𝑂2 + 2𝑒− + 2𝐻+ → 𝐻𝐶𝑂𝑂𝐻 𝑂2/𝐻𝐶𝑂𝑂𝐻 -0.61

𝐶𝑂2 + 𝑒− → ∙𝐶𝑂2− 𝐶𝑂2/𝐶𝑂2− -1.9

Nanoscale 2015, 7, 1224–1232

Deployment Status
➢ There are around 40 commercial capture
facilities in operation globally, with a total
annual capture capacity of more than
45 Mt CO2, or only 0.1% of the 40 gtpa
global annual GHG emissions.
• IEA 2009 roadmap talked about 100 CCUS
projects with a capture capacity of 300 mtpa.
➢ 50 new capture facilities targeting operation
by 2030 have been announced since
January 2022
➢ Pipeline of current projects is only just
around a third of the NZE Scenario
requirement in 2030.

Reference:
Reference: https://www.iea.org/energy-system/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage
CCUS Facilities by Application
➢ Currently, around 65% of operating CO2 capture
capacity is at natural gas processing plants, one
of the lowest-cost CO2 capture applications.
➢ New CCUS developments are increasingly
targeting other applications. Based on the
current project pipeline, by 2030 annual capture
capacity from both new construction and
retrofits could amount to around
• 90 Mt CO2 from hydrogen production, around
• 80 Mt CO2 from power generation and around
• 35 Mt CO2 from industrial facilities (e.g. cement and
steel production)

Reference:
Reference: https://www.iea.org/energy-system/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage
CCUS Facilities by Country
• The geographic distribution of CO2 capture projects in
development is diversifying, with projects now being developed
in more than 45 countries.
• North America and Europe have maximum number of projects.
• In Asia Pacific (including China) around 10 capture projects have
been announced since January 2022, which could lead to a total
capture capacity of around 45 Mt CO2 per year by 2030.
• The Middle East, where around ten projects are in development
across the region in addition to the three already in operation.
• In 2022, Bahrain announced plans to study the implementation of
CCUS for aluminium smelting.
• In Qatar, construction continues on the North Field East liquified
natural gas (LNG) project, which will expand Qatar’s CCUS
capacity from more than 2 Mt CO2/year to 5 Mt CO2/year by
2025.

Reference:
Reference: https://www.iea.org/energy-system/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage
CCS in India

• India is the 3rd largest emitter of CO2 in the world. 2.6 gigatonne per annum
(gtpa) in 2019, the total CO2 emissions is expected to cross 4 gtpa by the year
2030.
• Presently carbon capture in India is confined to certain industries/applications
where the carbon capture is part of the process, viz., the manufacture of urea.
• CO2 is also captured as part of the gas conditioning process in the gasifiers of
Reliance Industries Limited in Jamnagar and JSPL in Angul, but the CO2 is
largely released to the atmosphere and not utilized or stored.
• While there are few pilot scale carbon capture projects (viz. IOCL R&D’s amine
and biological enzyme based carbon capture plant and Tata Steel
Jamshedpur’s pilot scale carbon capture plant for capturing 5 tonnes per day
CO2 from blast furnace gases), there are no commercial-scale dedicated
CCUS projects in India.

Reference: NITI Aayog 2022. CCUS: Policy Framework and Deployment Mechanism in India
CCS in India
• Further work needs to be done:
➢source-sink mapping
➢pore space mapping
➢ geological characterization of the
most promising CO2 storage regions
& basins
➢validation and development of
commercial scale (at least 1 MTPA)
CO2 injection programmes in the
selected sites.

Reference: NITI Aayog 2022. CCUS: Policy Framework and Deployment Mechanism in India
COSTS
• In most CCS systems, the cost of capture (including compression) is the largest cost component
• A power plant equipped with a CCS system (with access to geological or ocean storage) would need
roughly 10–40% more energy than a plant of equivalent output without CCS, of which most is for
capture and compression.

Reference: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
CO2 Capture Costs - India’s Estimates

• CO2 capture cost is the lowest for the gasification

process, as carbon capture is already integrated
within the process. So, the additional cost is only
around Rs. 400/tonneCO2, required for polishing
and compression of the CO2 stream.
• Carbon capture costs are amongst the highest for
coal-based power plants, due to the low
concentration of CO2 in the power plant flue gas
stream
• DAC is still in its early stages and the economics
(present cost of DAC is estimated to range between
US$ 400-800/tonne of CO2) and scale of operations
are yet to be established.
dac- direct air capture

Reference: NITI Aayog 2022. CCUS: Policy Framework and Deployment Mechanism in India
Scale of Subsidies – India’s Estimates

• To sufficiently incentivize CCUS projects at the envisaged scale, the following subsidies
are suggested:
➢Subsidy for CO2 sequestration/storage: Rs. 4,100/tonne till 2040 and Rs. 3,000/tonne till
2050
➢Subsidy for CO2 EOR: Rs. 3,000/tonne till 2040 and Rs. 2,400/tonne till 2050
➢Subsidy for CO2 utilization: Rs. 2,300/tonne till 2050
• The total subsidy amount required by the year 2050 to support 750 mtpa of CCUS is
estimated to be around Rs. 210,000 crore

Reference: NITI Aayog 2022. CCUS: Policy Framework and Deployment Mechanism in India
Risks, Regulatory & Legal Issues
• The risks due to leakage from storage of CO2 in geological reservoirs fall into two broad categories:
global risks and local risks.
• Global risks involve the release of CO2 that may contribute significantly to climate change if some
fraction leaks from the storage formation to the atmosphere.
• In addition, if CO2 leaks out of a storage formation, local hazards may exist for humans, ecosystems
and groundwater. These are the local risks.
• Long-term liability issues associated with the leakage of CO2 to the atmosphere and local
environmental impacts are generally unresolved.
• Monitoring and verification regimes and risks of leakage may play an important role in determining
liability and vice versa.
• There are also considerations such as the longevity of institutions, ongoing monitoring and
transferability of institutional knowledge.
• The long-term perspective is essential to a legal framework for CCS as storage times extend over many
generations as does the climate change problem.

Reference: IPCC, 2005: IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage