CO₂ Capture

Over 90% of the CO₂ produced by fossil fuels at large fixed installations can be captured and prevented from reaching the atmosphere. There are three main technology types for CO₂ capture - pre-combustion, post-combustion and oxy-firing - allowing CO₂ to be captured from industrial processes such as power generation, oil refining and cement manufacture.

Pre-combustion capture

Pre-combustion capture involves partial combustion of CO₂ to produce hydrogen and CO₂. Hydrogen combustion produces no CO₂ emissions, with water vapor being the main by-product. The component parts of pre-combustion technology exist today at commercial scale; the challenge now is to integrate these in a power application.

Post-combustion capture

In post-combustion capture, the CO₂ is removed after combustion of the fossil fuel. CO₂ is captured from exhaust gases and other large point sources. Post-combustion can be installed on both new and existing power plants – of vital importance given that the average power plant operates for 40 years. The challenge around post-combustion is scale-up of the technology to commercial scale in a power application, as well as integration.

Oxy-firing capture

Oxy-firing involves burning fuel in pure oxygen instead of air. This results in an exhaust gas (made up largely of CO₂ and water) which is ready to be dried and compressed for storage.

Oil refinery - one of the industries for which capture technologies are being developed. Image courtesy of Suncor.