Because CO2 is a stable and non-reactive molecule-meaning that it won’t react to form other chemicals unless a substantial amount of energy is added-processes to convert it to other products can be expensive.
#CARBON CAPTURE COMPANIES HOW TO#
The trick is figuring out how to do it so the product is cost-competitive with fossil fuel-derived products and ends up benefitting the environment. There are challenges, but I think with enough investment and enough commitment, many of those can be overcome.”Ĭaptured CO2 can theoretically be made into any kind of fuel or chemical that is currently based on petroleum. “If we had genuinely marketable products using CO2, that could be transformational with respect to carbon capture technology. “I think it has very high potential and could be an important part of the climate mitigation tool kit,” said David Sandalow, a fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, an affiliate of the Earth Institute and co-author of a report on CO2 utilization. The Global Carbon Initiative projects that, with the proper incentives, by 2030 the overall CO2 based product industry could utilize seven billion metric tons of CO2 each year-about 15 percent of our current global emissions. McKinsey & Company estimates that by 2030, CO2-based products could be worth between $800 billion and $1 trillion, and the use of CO2 for producing fuel, enriching concrete and generating power alone could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a billion metric tons yearly. But today, many companies and researchers are developing new uses and products for captured CO2, such as varieties of concrete, chemicals and fuels. It has also been pumped into greenhouses to boost plant growth.
Finding new commercial uses for the captured CO2 is key to lowering the costs of these technologies and scaling them up.Ĭaptured CO2 has long been injected into depleted oil fields to enhance oil recovery. The problem is that many of these strategies are still relatively expensive.
Besides capturing carbon from fossil fuel plants directly, there are a variety of ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. This cannot be achieved, however, without removing CO2 from the atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that we need to limit global warming to 1.5˚C to avert the most catastrophic effects of climate change. The last time CO2 levels were this high was probably 2.5 to 5 million years ago, when temperatures were 2 to 3˚C higher than today. On May 11, carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere reached 415.26 parts per million for the first time in human history. CO2 captured from power plants can be put to good use.
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