CO2 Capture and Storage from Fossil Fuel Power Plants

Fossil fuel power plants generate significant amounts of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, which are believed to be the main cause of climate change. Among CO2 mitigation options, carbon capture and storage is considered the only technology that can significantly reduce the emissions of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion sources. There are mainly three technological routes for CO2 capture from power plants: post-combustion, pre-combustion and oxy-fuel combustion. Unfortunately, their application may reduce the net efficiency of a plant by up to 14% points and increase the cost of electricity by 30-70%. This paper briefly reviews the performance of power plants with carbon capture, and presents current research and development, and demonstration activities on CCS.