carbon capture technology stores carbon dioxide

In a video filmed at the sidelines of this year’s European Geosciences Union ( EGU) General Assembly, he explains the study’s main findings to Carbon Brief. The findings suggest that – providing a suitable storage site is chosen – the risk of CO2 leakage would be minimal, says lead author Dr Juan Alcalde, a geologist at the University of Aberdeen. The 12bn-tonne target reflects the EU’s ambition for CO2 storage by 2050. To address the question of leakage, the researchers developed a new model – known as the Storage Security Calculator – which looks at what would happen if 12bn tonnes of CO2 were injected under the ground and left for 10,000 years. It is this second barrier that is addressed by the new research, which is published in Nature Communications. Another barrier is the fear that, once underground, stored CO2 could leak out into the atmosphere. One barrier to the development of CCS is the costs associated with directly capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. In its most recent assessment report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) concluded that avoiding dangerous climate change would cost twice as much without CCS. Though the technology is currently restricted to a few small pilot projects, many view its large-scale development as an essential step to limiting the effects of future climate change. Digging a holeĬarbon capture and storage ( CCS) is a process whereby CO2 is “ captured” from the air and then transported to a storage site – which could be, for example, a depleted oil or gas field or a deep rock reservoir beneath the sea.

The findings help dispel common “misconceptions” about the dangers associated with CO2 storage, a scientist not involved in the study tells Carbon Brief. However, if CO2 storage is poorly managed, higher amounts of leakage can be expected. The research suggests that large amounts of CO2 could be stored under the ground or sea with only a small risk of surface leakage in the following 10,000 years. Storing billions of tonnes of CO2 underground would be a “safe and effective” way to help limit the effects of climate change, a new study says.

Carbon capture technology stores carbon dioxide