User:Clayoquot/CCUS

First paragraph of lead - CCUS
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is a family of processes in which CO2 is separated from the other gases coming out of a facility before it enters the atmosphere, and then put to use and/or permanently stored. Typically, the CO2 is captured from large point sources, such as a natural gas processing plant or a bioenergy plant, treated, transported, and then stored in a suitable geological formation.

Captured CO2 can also be incorporated into certain types of products, such as concrete or chemicals, in which case it is considered to be utilized and may also qualify as being stored. CCUS can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus mitigate climate change. For example, CCS retrofits for existing power plants can be one of the ways to limit emissions from the electricity sector and meet the Paris Agreement goals.

Terminology
CCS is well known process of capturing CO2 from stationary sources of carbon emissions and permanently storing it, before it is released into the atmosphere.

Sources of carbon dioxide
As of 2021:


 * power generation (26 facilities with 62.51 MtCO2/year)
 * natural gas processing (20 facilities with 42.95 MtCO2/year),
 * chemical production (9 facilities with 13.72 MtCO2/year),
 * hydrogen production (16 facilities with 13.45 Mt CO2/year),
 * ethanol production (39 facilities with 10.85 MtCO2/year),
 * fertilizer production (7 facilities with 7.45 MtCO2/year)
 * cement (3 facilities with 3.2 MtCO2/year).

Enhanced oil recovery
As of 2022, around 73% of the CO2 captured annually is used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In EOR, CO2 is injected into partially depleted oil fields to enhance production. This increases the overall reservoir pressure and improves the mobility of the oil, resulting in a higher flow of oil towards the production wells.

CO2 has been injected into partially depleted oil fields for several decades for enhanced oil recovery. This has been criticised for producing more emissions when the gas or oil is burned.

CO2 utilization in products
CO2 can be used as a feedstock for making various types of products. As of 2022, around 1% of captured CO2 is used in this way. These uses vary in terms of their ability to sequester CO2 for long periods, their economic profitability, and the scale of the market for the product.

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 is considered one of the most promising routes for carbon sequestration, 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.

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. The IEA predicts that products created from captured CO2 are likely to cost a lot more than conventional and alternative low-carbon products.