LANDSCAPE • ENVIRONMENT

Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

Sally M. Benson (Stanford University, USA) and Franklin M. Orr, Jr. (Stanford University, USA)

Reducing CO2 emissions from the use of fossil fuel is the Scientists and engineers are working both to lower costs and to
primary purpose of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). increase the efficiency of post-combustion capture. Research
Two basic approaches to CCS are available.1,2 In one approach, opportunities include more efficient and robust chemical solvents
CO2 is captured directly from the industrial source, concen- and membranes for separating CO2 from N2, as well as materials
trated into a nearly pure form, and then pumped deep under- to reduce capital costs of the large separation vessels and contac-
ground for long-term storage (see Figure 1). As an alternative tors needed for industrial-scale capture. New materials that can
to storage in underground geological formations, it has also withstand higher temperatures and pressures could also improve
been suggested that CO2 could be stored in the ocean. This the efficiency of power generation with CO2 capture.
could be done either by dissolving it in the mid-depth ocean Pre-combustion capture might offer lower costs and higher
(1–3 km) or by forming pools of CO2 on the sea bottom where efficiency. Here, the fossil fuel is first gasified to produce syn-
the ocean is deeper than 3 km and, consequently, CO2 is denser gas, a mixture of H2 and CO. In the process of gasification, a
than seawater. The second approach to CCS captures CO2 nearly pure stream of CO2 is produced. If all of the CO is further
directly from the atmosphere by enhancing natural biological converted to CO2 by the water–gas shift reaction, a pure stream
processes that sequester CO2 in plants, soils, and marine sedi- of hydrogen is produced that emits only water after combustion.
ments. All of these options for CCS have been investigated over Gasification is a well-established technology in the chemical
the past decade, their potential to mitigate CO2 emissions has manufacturing and refining industries, but there is only limited
been evaluated,1 and several summaries are available.1,3,4 experience with gasification combined with power generation.
With over 60% of worldwide CO2 emissions coming from A number of projects to demonstrate electricity production with
point sources that are potentially amenable to CO2 capture and pre-combustion capture are underway today, using a technol-
a minimum of 2,000 Gt (billion metric tonnes) of storage capac- ogy called integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC).
ity in deep geological formations, the prospects for CCS to Cost for pre-combustion CO2 capture are estimated to be about
make a large contribution to reducing CO2 emissions are great.1 $20 per tonne,3 but more experience is needed to establish
Technical and economic assessments suggest that, over the ­reliable estimates.1 The third approach, often called oxycom-
coming century, CCS could contribute up to 20% of needed bustion, burns fossil fuels in a pure oxygen environment instead
CO2 emission reductions, on par with expected reductions from of air to avoid the need to separate CO2 from N2 in the exhaust
efficiency improvements and large-scale deployment of renew- gas, which instead consists of a mixture of CO2 and water.
able energy resources.5 Oxycombustion offers the benefit that retrofits of existing

Carbon Dioxide Capture

from Industrial Sources
Carbon dioxide can be cap-
tured directly from industrial
sources by one of three methods:
post-combustion capture, pre-
Gas to
combustion capture, or combus- domestic Coal
tion of fossil fuels in a pure oxygen supply
Biomass

environment. A schematic illus- Gas

Cement / Steel /
refineries etc.
trating these approaches is shown
in Figure 2. Post-combustion Natural gas
capture separates CO2 from +CO2 capture Oil
CO2 Electricity generation Petrochemical
plants
exhaust gas, which consists pri- +CO2 capture
Future
marily of a mixture of N2 and H2 use
CO2, using chemical solvents Mineral carbonation

such as monoethanolamine. The CO2 geological

advantage of post-combustion storage
capture is that existing industrial
facilities and power plants could Industrial uses
be retrofitted for CO2 capture.
However, with today’s technol-
ogy, at a cost of about $40 per Ocean storage
tonne of CO2 avoided3 and an effi- CO2 geological (Ship or pipeline)
storage
ciency reduction of 25%,3 incen-
tives to reduce greenhouse gas Figure 1.  Schematic showing carbon dioxide capture from industrial sources and storage in either deep
emissions will be needed before geological formations or the deep ocean (from Reference 1).
large-scale deployment occurs.

MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 33 • APRIL 2008 • www.mrs.org/bulletin • Harnessing Materials for Energy 303
 LANDSCAPE • ENVIRONMENT

provide the seals above the storage reservoir that can trap buoy-
Overview of CO2 capture processes and systems ant fluids such as oil, natural gas, and CO2 for millions of years.
N2 Because CO2 has a lower density than water, the presence of an
O2
Coal
CO2
overlying, thick, and continuous layer of silt, clay, or evaporite
Post combustion Gas
Biomass
Power & Heat
Separation is the single-most important feature of a geologic formation that
Air CO2 is suitable for geological storage of CO2. These fine-textured
Coal
Air/O2
CO2
rocks physically prevent the upward migration of CO2 by a
Steam
Biomass combination of viscous and capillary forces.
Pre combustion Gasification Reformer
+CO2 Sep.
H2
Power & Heat
N2O2
CO2
One of the key questions for geologic storage is: how long
Gas, Oil
Air
Compression will the CO2 remain trapped underground? Based on a number
of lines of evidence, experts have concluded that retention rates
& Dehydration
Coal CO2
Oxyfuel Gas
Biomass
Power & Heat
of greater than 99% over 1000 years are likely for well-selected
and -managed geological storage reservoirs.1 Support for this
O2
N2
Air Air Separation
Air/O2 conclusion stems from the fact that natural oil, gas, and CO2
Industrial processes
Coal
Gas Process +CO2 Sep.
CO2 reservoirs have trapped buoyant fluids such as CO2 underground
Biomass for millions of years, as well as from practical experience inject-
Raw material Gas, Ammonia, Steel ing and storing gases underground for natural gas storage, CO2-
Figure 2.  Illustration showing different approaches for capturing
enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and acid gas ­disposal. In addition,
carbon dioxide from industrial sources (from Reference 1).
multiple physical and chemical processes contribute to long-
term retention of CO2, including dissolution of CO2 in brine,

f­ aci­lities might also be possible.

However, experience with this
technology is limited, and achiev-
ing the high potential efficiency
of oxycombustion will require
advanced materials and operat-
ing environments that can handle
the higher temperatures required.
Extensive research and develop-
ment (R&D) and several demon-
stration projects are underway to
assess the potential for oxy­
combustion with CO2 capture.
Materials research opportunities
for IGCC and oxycombustion are
similar to those for post-combus-
tion capture, but for IGCC, mem-
branes that separate H2 from CO2
are needed.
After the CO2 is separated, it
must be compressed to a pres-
sure of about 100 bar into a liq-
uid state and transported through
pipeline or ship to the storage
location. Compression and trans-
portation of CO2 is done rou-
tinely today.
Figure 3.  Options for geological storage of CO2 include depleting oil and gas formations, brine-filled
formations (saline formations), and unmineable coal beds (from Reference 1).
Carbon Dioxide Storage
in Deep Geological
Formations
Once the CO2 is captured, as shown in Figure 3, it can be capillary trapping of CO2, adsorption on coal, and mineral trap-
pumped down wells into deep underground formations such as ping; together, these trapping mechanisms increase the security
depleted oil and gas reservoirs, brine-filled formations, or deep of storage over time, thus further diminishing the possibility of
unmineable coal beds. These types of formations occur in potential leakage and surface release. Over hundreds to thou-
basins filled with sedimentary rocks that can accumulate up to sands of years, the majority of CO2 is expected to be immobi-
thousands of meters of sediment. The pore spaces in these sedi- lized through one or more of these trapping mechanisms.
mentary rocks are filled with salt water or, in some cases, oil The technology for storing CO2 in deep underground
and gas. The rocks in sedimentary basins consist of alternating ­formations is adapted from oil and gas exploration and produc-
layers of sand, silt, clay, carbonate, and evaporites that were tion technology. For example, technologies to drill and monitor
long ago deposited in oceans, deltas, lakes, and rivers. The sand wells that can safely inject CO2 into the storage formation are
layers provide storage space. The silt, clay, and evaporite layers available. Methods to characterize a site are fairly well devel-

304 MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 33 • APRIL 2008 • www.mrs.org/bulletin • Harnessing Materials for Energy
LANDSCAPE • ENVIRONMENT

oped, although much more experience is needed to reliably sphere. Over hundreds to thousands of years, some fraction of
assess seals and the storage capacity of saline aquifers. Models the CO2 stored in the ocean would return to the atmosphere as
are available to predict where CO2 will move when it is pumped a result of circulation in the ocean. Concern over biological
underground, although more work is needed to develop and test impacts and negative public opinion about ocean storage have
these models further. Monitoring of the subsurface movement curtailed interest and R&D in this area.1 As an alternative to
of CO2 is currently being successfully conducted at several direct injection in the water column, a new approach to sea-
sites, although again, more work is needed to refine and test bottom storage involving injection under the sea-bottom sedi-
monitoring methods. The health, safety, and environmental ments that would overcome many of the concerns described
risks associated with geological storage are comparable to the here has been proposed,10 although this option is in the early
nature and magnitude of the risks associated with analogous stages of R&D.
activities such as natural gas storage, enhanced oil recovery,
and acid gas injection.1 Cost of CO2 Capture and Storage
Three industrial-scale CCS projects are operating today, a Estimated additional costs for generating electricity from a
fourth was scheduled to start in late 2007,6–8 and numerous other coal-fired power plant with CCS range from $20 to $70/tonne
projects are in advanced stages of planning. The first of these of CO2 avoided, depending mainly on the capture technology
projects, the Sleipner Saline Aquifer Storage Project, began 11 and concentration of CO2 in the stream from which it is cap-
years ago.6 Annually, 1 Mt (million metric tonnes) of CO2 are tured.1 At these rates, electricity-generating costs would increase
separated from natural gas and stored in a deep sub-sea brine- from 50% to 100% over those of plants with CO2 capture.1
filled sandstone formation.5 The In Salah Gas Project in Algeria Capture and compression typically account for over 75% of the
began in 2004 and is storing 1 Mt of CO2 annually in the flanks costs of CCS, with the remaining costs attributed to transporta-
of a depleting gas field.7 The third industrial-scale CCS project, tion and underground storage. Pipeline transportation costs are
located in Saskatchewan, Canada, uses CO2 from the Dakota highly site-specific, depending strongly on economies of scale
Gasification Plant in North Dakota to simultaneously enhance and pipeline length. The R&D efforts discussed are underway
oil production and store CO2 in the Weyburn Oil Field.8 A new to reduce the cost of capture and compression, making wide-
1000 MW coal-fired power plant can emit about 6 Mt CO2 annu- spread deployment of CCS more viable.
ally.3 These quantities are larger than the existing capture and
storage projects, but experience suggests that capture and storage References
of this magnitude should be possible. However, the task of stor- 1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Special Report on Carbon
ing the billions of tonnes of CO2 generated annually from power Dioxide Capture and Storage (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK,
production alone is ­daunting—and is likely to require an infra- 2005).
2. S.M. Benson, T. Surles, Proc. IEEE 94 (10), 1795 (2006).
structure on the scale of today’s oil and gas infrastructure. 3. The Future of Coal (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Materials research into more durable and corrosion-resistant MA, 2007).
cements, self-sealing and self-healing well-completion materi- 4. Battelle, “Technology Report from the Second Phase of the Global Energy
als, and lower-cost corrosion-resistant pipe for injection wells Technology Strategy Program” (2007).
would be beneficial. In addition, nondestructive methods for in 5. “IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers,” in Climate Change 2007:
situ characterization of the condition of pipes, cement, and Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, B. Metz, O.R. Davidson,
other well-sealing materials could improve methods for moni- P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer, Eds. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
toring the condition of wells. UK, 2007).
6. T.A. Torp, J. Gale, in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on
Carbon Dioxide Storage in the Ocean Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-6), J. Gale, Y. Kaya, Eds., 1
Storing captured CO2 in the ocean has also been proposed.1 (10) (Kyoto, Japan, Pergamon, Amsterdam, 2002), 311.
Compressed CO2 would be transported by pipeline or ship and 7. F.A. Riddiford, A. Tourqui, C.D. Bishop, B. Taylor, M. Smith, in Proceedings
of the 6th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies
then pumped into the deep ocean. The CO2 could be injected (GHGT-6), J. Gale, Y. Kaya, Eds., 1 (10) (Kyoto, Japan, 4 Pergamon, Amster­
through a diffuser to accelerate dissolution into the water col- dam, 2002), 601.
umn, or alternatively, it could be pumped into “lakes” on the 8. R. Moberg, D.B. Stewart, D. Stachniak, in Proceedings of the 6th
sea bottom. At depths below about 350 m, CO2 forms a solid International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-
clathrate that is denser than seawater, but then dissolves rela- 6), J. Gale, Y. Kaya, Eds., 1 (10) (Kyoto, Japan, 4 Pergamon, Amsterdam,
2002), 219.
tively rapidly in the surrounding seawater.9 Sea-bottom storage 9. P.G. Brewer, G. Friederich, E.T. Peltzer, F.M. Orr, Jr., Science 284, 943
requires water column depths of at least 3 km to ensure that (1999).
CO2 is denser than the ocean water; otherwise, the CO2 would 10.  K.Z House, D.P. Schrag, C.F. Harvey, K.S. Lackner, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
rise through the water column and return quickly to the atmo- 103 (33), 12291 (2006). 

MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 33 • APRIL 2008 • www.mrs.org/bulletin • Harnessing Materials for Energy 305