User:Clayoquot/CCU

CO2 utilization in products
CO2 can be used as a feedstock for making various types of products. As of 2022, usage in products consumes around 1% of the CO2 captured each year. As of 2023, it is commercially feasible to produce the following products from captured CO2: methanol, urea, polycarbonates, polyols, polyurethane, and salicylic acids. Methanol is currently primarily used to produce other chemicals, with potential for more widespread future use as a fuel. Urea is used in the production of fertilizers.

Technologies for sequestering CO2 in mineral carbonate products have been demonstrated, but are not ready for commercial deployment as of 2023. Research is ongoing into processes to incorporate CO2 into concrete or building aggregate. The utilization of CO2 in construction materials holds promise for deployment at large scale, and is the only foreseeable CO2 use that is permanent enough to qualify as storage. Other potential uses for captured CO2 that are being researched include the creation of synthetic fuels, various chemicals and plastics, and the cultivation of algae. The production of fuels and chemicals from CO2 is highly energy-intensive.

Capturing CO2 for use in products does not necessarily reduce emissions. The amount of climate benefit varies depending on how long the product lasts before it re-releases the CO2, the amount and source of energy used in production, whether the product would otherwise be produced using fossil fuels, and the source of the captured CO2. Higher emissions reductions are achieved if CO2 is captured from bioenergy as opposed to fossil fuels.

The potential for CO2 utilization in products is small compared to the total volume of CO2 that could foreseeably be captured. For instance, in the International Energy Agency (IEA) scenario for achieving net zero emissions by 2050, over 95% of captured CO2 is geologically sequestered and less than 5% is used in products. According to the IEA, products created from captured CO2 are likely to cost a lot more than conventional and alternative low-carbon products.