What Role Can Carbon Capture Technology Play in Reducing Future CO2 Emissions?

Author
Date
Nov 2016
2016 will surely be the hottest year since records began in the 19th century. The increase will be very close to the target set in the Paris Agreement to avoid an increase in global temperature by 1.5 °C. Average temperaturesin 2016 have risen to 1.2 °C above what they were before the industrial revolution. The dilemma facing the world today, in view of these data, becomes even more urgent: How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, accepting that their demand will continue to exist in the coming decades? In the energy sector, many solutions have been proposed to completely replace fossil fuels for electricity generation, such as massive deployment of renewable energy generation and increased energy efficiency. There are many restrictions, however, to achieve this result in the
medium term, ranging from technological limitations in the massive deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energies, to the political economy of countries that are unlikely to reduce their oil production And
carboniferous as long as demand exists. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) offers an alternative to mitigate CO2 emissions from fossil fuel power plants, considering that, given current and future energy needs, the operation of these plants will continue in the coming years. CAC could mitigate up to 90% of the carbon dioxide emitted by the use of fossil fuels in electricity
generation and industrial processes. Additionally, the use of CAC with renewable biomass is one of the few carbon reduction technologies that can be used in a "carbon-negative" mode. If biomass from fuelwood crops were used, carbon could be absorbed and simultaneously generate electricity. CCS, therefore, is a viable alternative to solve the dilemma of reducing emissions while satisfying the growing energy needs of the world.