![]() When used in a power plant to capture CO 2, the flue gas ( post-combustion) is bubbled through the solvent in a packed absorber column, where the solvent preferentially removes the CO 2 from the flue gas. In the chemical absorption process, CO 2 is absorbed in a liquid solvent by the formation of a chemically bonded compound. There are many pre-combustion and post-combustion methods for CO 2 capture. The CO 2 by-product would be relatively pure and the hydrogen could be used in fuel cells and other hydrogen fuel-based technologies, but there are major costs involved in developing a mass market and infrastructure for these new fuels. Future opportunities for CO 2 capture may arise from producing hydrogen fuels from carbon-rich feedstocks, such as natural gas, coal, and biomass. Other industrial processes that lend themselves to carbon capture are steel, ammonia & cement manufacturing, fermentation and hydrogen production (e.g., in oil refining). Natural gas ensuing from production wells often contains a significant fraction of CO 2 that could be captured and stored. ![]() Indian power plants account for most of the CO 2 emissions. In September 2019, the UN climate change executive secretary observed that “CCUS is not a destination, but a transition from current fossil fuel dependent reality to a climate-neutral future by 2050”. ![]() CCUS is one of the four pillars of a net-zero carbon world along with renewable energy-based electrification, bioenergy and hydrogen by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Globally, even the most climate-sensitive institutions favour CCUS as a critical means for decarbonisation. With domestic coal as feedstock for the production of these chemicals, the Indian economy could potentially save billions of dollars and generate domestic activity and jobs through reduced import of crude oil. CCUS technology is seen as unproven, dangerous (especially in the context of storage) and expensive. CCUS is seen merely as a means to extend fossil fuel use, particularly coal use in India that will delay or even prevent India from leapfrogging into the future with low-carbon renewable energy (RE) technologies such as solar and wind. At the margins, there is some reservation over the use of CCUS to reduce carbon emissions. Methanol-based chemicals and olefins can be used for plastics and as a substitute for petrol, diesel and LPG (liquified petroleum gas). ![]() Hyper-scale gasification of domestic coal along with CCUS is seen as a means for large-scale carbon-neutral industrialisation with domestic production of methanol, ammonia (fertiliser), olefins, steel, and power that will also enhance India’s oil production from its depleting oilfields. Mainstream opinion (official) in India is in favour of the use. Removing CO 2 from the atmosphere by increasing its uptake in soils and vegetation (e.g., afforestation) or in the ocean (e.g., iron fertilisation), is also a form of carbon sequestration through natural sinks. The storage period for CO 2 exceeds the estimated peak periods of fossil fuel exploitation so if CO 2 re-emerges into the atmosphere, it will occur past the predicted peak in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. The rationale for carbon capture and storage is to enable the use of fossil fuels while reducing the emissions of carbon-di-oxide (CO 2) into the atmosphere, thereby mitigating global climate change. This article is part of the series Comprehensive Energy Monitor: India and the WorldĬarbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) may be defined as the capture, use and secure storage of carbon that would otherwise be emitted to, or remain, in the atmosphere.
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