Carbon capture as an economic opportunity

The concept of CO2 utilization moves toward commercial viability

As climate change strategies go, think of this as the polar opposite of the underground movement.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) was developed as a means of combating the greenhouse effect—with CO2 captured, turned into a solid or liquid for transportation, and permanently stored deep under the earth’s surface.

But there’s another approach that is gaining traction—carbon capture and utilization (CCU). In other words, looking at CO2 as an economic opportunity.

“The economics of capturing CO2 could be improved if the captured carbon could be utilized,” the Pembina Institute’s Duncan Kenyon wrote in a 2015 blog post. “Carbon utilization processes either convert CO2 into a new product, or use CO2 in a modified process to generate revenue and, in some cases, reduce overall carbon emissions.”

The CCU process can use captured CO2 for a variety of products (concrete, liquid fuels, chemicals, polymers) and applications (enhanced oil recovery, algae cultivation, desalination). Some of those applications, such as enhanced oil recovery, are already commercially viable.

And now, CCU has made another breakthrough. In Japan’s Saga Prefecture, Toshiba has combined a commercial CCU system with a municipal waste incineration plant for the first time anywhere. Operation is expected to begin Aug. 26.

Through construction of a pipeline, the Saga plant will use the stored CO2, which can act as an excellent fertilizer, to grow algae and other crops.

“If carbon capture and utilization technologies are to be financial feasible and environmentally significant,” says Kenyon, “they must be able to use significant amounts of CO2 in a timely fashion.”

The Pembina Institute worked with the Integrated CO2 Network to develop a fact sheet on the possibilities of CCU. Download it here.

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