Faced with climate emergency, carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS) arouse growing interest in companies.They make it possible to capture CO2 emissions to store them sustainably, thus reducing the carbon impact of industrial activities.
Explanation of CCS technologies
CO2 capture
Different processes exist to capture carbon dioxide present in industrial smoke or ambient air:
- Postcombustion capture (power plants, cement factories, etc.)
- Oxycombustion (combustion with pure oxygen)
- Pre -ombustion capture (fuel reforming)
CO2 transport
Once captured, the CO2 is compressed and then transported by pipeline, boat or truck to storage sites.
Geological storage
CO2 is injected in depth into porous and waterproof geological formations (old oil deposits, saline aquifers, etc.) for sustainable storage.
Mineral storage
CO2 can also be stored solidly by mineralizing it by chemical reaction with silicate rocks.
The use of CO2
Part of the CO2 captured can be valued in products (fertilizers, building materials, etc.) or industrial processes.
Practical applications for companies
- Coal and gas power plants
The thermal power plants are large CO2 issues that can implement postcombustion capture.
- Cement factories and steelfare
The cement and steel manufacturing processes generate important CO2 emissions to be captured.
- Heavy industries
Chemistry, metallurgy, stationery ... Many industrial sectors emitted captable greenhouse gases.
- Bioenergy with CCS
The combustion of biomass coupled with CCS allows you to reach negative CO2 emissions.
- Direct air collection
Facts aspire the ambient air to extract the CO2 and store it, a solution for diffuse emissions.
Inspiring case studies
Norcem cement factory (Norway)
Pioneer, this cement plant put into service in 2022 a CO2 capture unit to reduce its emissions by 400,000 tonnes per year.
Boundary Dam Central (Canada)
The largest CO2 catchment unit in the world, on this coal -fired power plant, captures 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year since 2014.
PORTHOS project (Netherlands)
This project aims to develop a CO2 transport and storage network for industries in the Rotterdam region.
Air to Fuels (Germany) project
This factory captures the CO2 of the ambient air to combine it with green hydrogen and produce synthetic fuels.
Even if CCS technologies remain expensive, they represent an essential lever to decarbonize the most issuing industries.Associated with renewable energies, they make it possible to reach carbon neutrality.
