Carbon dioxide storage schemes: Technology, assessment and deployment

Carbon Capture and Storage is the only technology available to mitigate large-scale greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel based power and industrial sectors in the near future. When technology to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) is relatively mature and commercially available for power and industrial sectors, safe, reliable and long-term storage of captured CO2 remains a key uncertainty affecting wide-spread deployment of Carbon Capture and Storage technology yet. In this paper, the authors assessed techno-economic aspects of geological CO2 storage options, from CO2 transportations, various geological storage approaches, to CO2 leakage monitoring. Compared with depleted oil/gas reservoirs and coal seams, deep saline aquifers possess much larger storage capacities and may be possibly near many CO2 emission sites due to widespread distributions. If CO2 storage is combined with enhanced industrial production (e.g. oil, natural gas), it has a greater potential to reducing the overall cost of CO2 storage. Potential CO2 leakage may be the main barriers to the development of CO2 geological storage. It is recommended to make full use of big data mining approach in selection and approval of CO2 geological sites, estimation of storage capacities, assessment of potential leakage risks, awarding of carbon credits, as well as analysis of public acceptations. At the same time, as a leakage-free CO2 storage option, CO2 mineralization & industrial utilization is to trap CO2 permanently in stable minerals by reactions with metal oxides and forming stable carbonates. These CO2 mineralization & industrial utilization schemes need to guarantee sustainable or environmentally friendly processes and satisfy basic principles of industrial ecology if implemented on a large industrial scale. Currently, most of CO2 storage schemes are still in the early stage of technological development and are still far from large-scale commercialization. The high cost, high energy penalty, safety and reliability, and policy uncertainties are main barriers for the implement of carbon storage schemes.