Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage

Published on 06 Apr 2025

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is a method for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from high-polluting sectors such as steel, cement, oil, gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, and fertilizers. It is vital for the country to achieve net zero by 2070.

Significance of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage

• Decarbonising Critical Sectors: Iron and gas, steel, cement, petrochemicals & chemicals, fertilizers, and other hard-to-electrify industries can all be decarbonized with the help of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage technology.

• Encouraging the Sunrise Sectors: By producing blue hydrogen, CCUS facilitates the least expensive low-carbon hydrogen generation and is anticipated to be a key factor in the development of India's hydrogen industry.

• Important role in meeting Paris Agreement Target: Almost all decarbonization options that adhere to the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C objective involve some kind of carbon capture, utilization, and storage.

• Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: It can facilitate the shift to a low-carbon economy by allowing the continued use of fossil fuels while reducing their negative environmental effects.

Challenges of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage

• Infrastructure Development: Constructing the pipelines and storage facilities that are required for CCUS is a difficult undertaking that calls for significant funding and cooperation.

• Costs and Economic Viability: Significant obstacles include high upfront expenses and concerns about the CCUS projects' economic feasibility.

• Lack of Geological Data about Storage: There is a lack of geological information regarding the availability of pore space in India for CO2 storage, particularly with regard to saline aquifers and basaltic storage.

• Lack of Technological Advances: It is regarded as an essential and relatively low-risk strategy to decarbonization, but the technology is not developing quickly enough to achieve a 1.5° or even 2.0° pathway.

• Negative Outcomes: It may further jeopardize biodiversity and ecosystem services, endanger human rights, weaken the resilience of our ecosystems, and cause issues with environmental injustice.

• Example: Leakage in underground pipe can lead to contamination of water

Way Forward

• Converting Captured CO2 to Value-Added Products: The circular economy can be advanced by converting captured CO2 into value-added products that have a ready market in India by carbon utilization technology.

• Scale-Up Demonstrations: Large-scale demonstration projects can aid in demonstrating the viability and dependability of CCUS technology, promoting additional funding and uptake.

• Prioritizing Critical Sectors for Utilization: India may fund CCUS demonstration projects in areas such as coal-based power, steel, cement, refineries & petrochemicals based on commercially established technologies.

• Research and Innovation: To advance CCUS technology, boost productivity, and find new applications, research and development must continue.

Data Collection for Carbon Storage: Focusing on the fields of geological characterization of the most potential CO2 storage regions & basins, pore space mapping, and source-sink mapping.

Tags:
Environment

Keywords:
Climate change Climate change mitigation CCUS Paris agreement

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 3

Topics:
Environment and Climate Change