The role of CO2 capture and utilization in mitigating climate change

To offset the cost associated with CO2 capture and storage (CCS), there is growing interest in finding commercially viable end-use opportunities for the captured CO2 . In this Perspective, we discuss the potential contribution of carbon capture and utilization (CCU). Owing to the scale and rate of C...

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Published inNature climate change Vol. 7; no. 4; pp. 243 - 249
Main Authors Mac Dowell, Niall, Fennell, Paul S., Shah, Nilay, Maitland, Geoffrey C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group 01.04.2017
Subjects
Climate change
Emissions
Energy
Enhanced oil recovery
Fossil fuels
Industrial plant emissions
Renewable resources
Trends
United Kingdom > UK
United States > US
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Summary:To offset the cost associated with CO2 capture and storage (CCS), there is growing interest in finding commercially viable end-use opportunities for the captured CO2 . In this Perspective, we discuss the potential contribution of carbon capture and utilization (CCU). Owing to the scale and rate of CO2 production compared to that of utilization allowing long-term sequestration, it is highly improbable the chemical conversion of CO2 will account for more than 1% of the mitigation challenge, and even a scaled-up enhanced oil recovery (EOR)-CCS industry will likely only account for 4-8%. Therefore, whilst CO2 -EOR may be an important economic incentive for some early CCS projects, CCU may prove to be a costly distraction, financially and politically, from the real task of mitigation.
ISSN:1758-678X
1758-6798
DOI:10.1038/nclimate3231