{"id":7110,"date":"2024-05-20T09:30:23","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T07:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodnewenergy.enagas.es\/?p=7110"},"modified":"2024-06-07T13:17:20","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T11:17:20","slug":"carbon-capture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodnewenergy.enagas.es\/en\/sustainable\/carbon-capture\/","title":{"rendered":"Carbon capture: what is it and how does it help combat climate change?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>) is a colourless, odourless gas<\/strong>. One of its best-known properties is its ability to absorb heat and release it into the atmosphere.<\/strong> Although nature itself releases CO2<\/sub> through the decomposition of organic matter or from sources such as volcanoes and hot springs, these emissions are balanced – also naturally – by mechanisms such as absorption by plants or the oceans.<\/p>\n

But activities such as transport, intensive agriculture and industrial processes upset the balance by emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide that remain in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. These emissions are the cause of rising temperatures, melting poles, rising sea levels, species migrations and extreme weather events<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In this context, the use of clean energy<\/a> and a change in society\u2019s consumption habits are two necessary steps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. For sectors where CO2 <\/sub>abatement is difficult or impossible, carbon capture is a solution to reduce the amount <\/strong>emitted into the Earth\u2019s atmosphere. It consists of capturing carbon dioxide and then storing or reusing it. It is also possible to capture it before it enters the atmosphere, at the source of emission itself, if it is the result of various industrial processes, for example in a factory.<\/p>\n

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For sectors where CO2 abatement is difficult or impossible, carbon capture is a solution to reduce the amount emitted into the Earth\u2019s atmosphere<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Once captured<\/strong>, carbon dioxide can be safely and sustainably stored<\/strong> in deep geological formations or converted into a solid form through a process called mineral carbonation. It can also be reused in various chemical processes, mainly for fuel production.<\/p>\n

Carbon capture technology<\/h2>\n

Carbon capture technologies go by different names depending on their purpose:<\/p>\n

CCS <\/strong><\/h3>\n

CCS or carbon capture and storage <\/strong>refers to technologies that capture carbon for the purpose of storing it.<\/p>\n

CCU <\/strong><\/h3>\n

CCU or carbon capture, storage and use<\/strong> are technologies that make the captured carbon usable in different industries.<\/p>\n

BECCS <\/strong><\/h3>\n

BECCS or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage <\/strong>is a technology that captures and stores carbon, removing it from the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

How is CO2 captured?<\/h2>\n

Currently, the main mechanisms in for capturing carbon in industrial processes that generate large amounts of emissions are as follows:<\/p>\n