Technical Perspective of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas contributing to anthropogenic climate change which is associated with human activities. The majority of CO2 emissions are results of the burning of fossil fuels for energy, as well as industrial processes such as steel and cement production. Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is a sustainable technology promising in terms of reducing CO2 emissions that would otherwise contribute to climate change. From this perspective, the discussion on carbon capture focuses on chemical absorption technology, primarily due to its commercialization potential. The CO2 absorptive capacity and absorption rate of various chemical solvents have been summarized. The carbon utilization focuses on electrochemical conversion routes converting CO2 into potentially valuable chemicals which have received particular attention in recent years. The Faradaic conversion efficiencies for various CO2 reduction products are used to describe efficiency improvements. For carbon storage, successful deployment relies on a better understanding of fluid mechanics, geomechanics, and reactive transport, which are discussed in details.