Carbon Capture And Storage

Science is growing at an exponential rate in today’s era. Everything has something to do with scientific technology and the discoveries of nature which are being done everyday are helping it grow. Among many technologies which are a fusion of nature and science is the carbon capture and sequestration technology which involves the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide and storing it for a long period of time. All of this is an extremely complicated process and needs highly skilled people for the process. One of the major reasons behind the rising use of this technology is the positive impact it has on nature. This article is going to briefly discuss the process of capturing carbon dioxide and storing it. Besies, there is going to be a note on its impact on the environment as well. 

Capture of Carbon dioxide

This is the first step of the whole process. The capturing of carbon dioxide is where it all starts. It is always referred to capture this gas from the locations where it is produced the most, which are the places with high carbon emissions such as production units of cement or power plants of hydrogen. The main focus is to capture these before they get dissolved in the air as it won’t be able to capture it after that. There are various technologies used for the purpose of capture mostly depending upon the source or the impurities. The three major technologies are discussed below.

1. There is a process in which carbon dioxide is removed after the step of combusting the fossil fuel and is known as the post combustion process. It is done at the place where the process of capturing is done at fossil fuel power plants. 
2. The second technology is known by the name of oxy- fuel combustion where this process involves burning of fuel in the presence of pure oxygen instead of open air. The gas which is captured is later processed through combustion chambers. 
3. The third process is where the fossil fuel is oxidised but only partially. This is known as the pre- combustion process and is highly used in the locations of fertiliser and chemical plants. 

The three technologies which are discussed above are used for the capture of carbon dioxide and post this, there is a process of separation which results in a pure form of carbon dioxide that is fit for storage. It should be noted that there are some popular techniques of doing so such as absorption, calcium looping , cryogenics, e.t.c.

Transportation

There is always a difference of locations between source and destination. Same is the case of carbon capture. Most of the carbon dioxide which is captured is far away from its storage location making transportation a very crucial part of the process. There are various ways used for this depending on the distance and feasibility . Pipelines are known to be the cheapest form of transportation for carbon dioxide but there are places divided by large water channels and ships are used there. The reason behind no usage of or negligible usage of railways and roadways in the process is the high cost of transportation they involve compared to that of pipelines. 

Storage of carbon dioxide

There have been various approaches for the storage or sequestration of carbon dioxide out of which some have worked and are in use and some don’t. One process which was said to work but didn’t have ways of storing it in oceans but was later banned as it would have resulted in acidification of oceans and was considered harmful. The two major ways of storing carbon dioxide which are in use are discussed below.

1. Geological Storage- Under the process of geological storage or sequestration, the pre carbon dioxide is stored in oil fields, saline fields and gas fields by injecting it in there. When carbon dioxide in its pure form is injected into oil fields, it leads to better recovery of oils.
2. Mineral Storage- Under this process, chemical reactions take place betten carbondixidues and metal oxides and this takes place over a period for many years and can be easily accelatreated by the help of a catalyst. 

Impact on Environment

The process of carbon capture and storage is said to have apositive impact on the climate and can reduce global warming to a certain level. There are various tudues which are going on over this and a definite conclusion is yet to be drawn. Although, the process of capture often reduces a lot of pollutants before their release in air and can ultimately reduce pollution. 

Conclusion

The process of carbon capture and storage is a lengthy and time taking process which needs to be done with skill and care. It can be cost effective but might lead to high charges depending upon the distance between the location of storage and capture. Ultimately, it might have a good impact on climate and global warming but that’s yet to be clarified. As of now, it is a process which is being practised in many countries.