CCS and its Implications
- Shasini Muthuraja Vijayalakshmi
- Apr 28
- 4 min read
CCS and it’s uses
Firstly, what is CCS? CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) is a process by which we can reduce our carbon emissions through capturing the carbon dioxide emitted into the air during industrial processes such as the burning of fossil fuel, burning of waste for electricity. Its main purpose is helping industries with a high carbon footprint to reach net zero in carbon emissions.
The process starts by the emitted carbon being separated from the other gases that are produced in these industrial processes. Then the carbon is captured (usually from the exhaust pipes used in the industrial processes), and compressed into a liquid, since it is much easier to transport a liquid than a gas. The liquified carbon is then transported (generally through pipelines) to a storage site, where it is stored underground.
Currently, there are two different ways of storing the CO2 underground; geologic sequestration and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In the process of geologic sequestration, the captured CO2 is placed into porous rock, at least half a mile or more underground, which thus ensures that the CO2 is trapped. In the process of enhanced oil recovery, the CO2 is placed into underground oil reservoirs to push out the leftover oil, and is then used again in the same process to get more oil, and this process goes on until all the CO2 is trapped underground.
Benefits and Drawbacks of CCS
As mentioned before, the main benefit of CCS is how the process permanently removes carbon from the atmosphere, and it provides a means of reducing net emission, specifically for irreducible emissions/emissions from non-renewable resources. It is also particularly useful in certain industries, such as waste management, since certain types of waste need to be burned, compared to the other alternative of landfill usage, due to how landfills produce significant amounts of methane. However burning the waste would produce CO2, which is where CCS comes in, because it allows for a solution that is better than the alternative of polluting, and enables the possibility of reaching net zero in emissions. Another major benefit of CCS is also that CCS-plants can sell carbon credits to other nations, which entails that a CCS plant would take the waste from countries and burn it, while at the same time capturing the CO2 at a price and selling said capture to countries unable to reduce their own emissions. This also enables them to earn a profit in removing carbon from the atmosphere. CCS can also create local factory jobs, which could then possibly lead to economic growth.
However, even though CCS is a viable means of reaching net zero in carbon emissions, there are still some limitations that must be taken into consideration. One of these being how there is a possibility of the stored CO2 to leak over time, which can be detrimental to the environment and can also cause groundwater contamination. CCS is mainly only targeted for large-scale industrial facilities, because it is only really useful for large-scale facilities. CCS also has a noticeable cost, from the cost of the facility and maintaining it to be transported as liquified carbon, which requires specially designed pipes. It also requires a lot of water for the processes, which presents the issue of potential water scarcity.
Relevance to the Local Community
SYSAV (Sydskånes Avfallsaktiebolag) is a local waste recycling facility located in Mälmo. The facility is owned by 14 municipalities in Skåne: Burlöv, Kävlinge, Lomma, Lund, Malmö, Simrishamn, Sjöbo, Skurup, Staffanstorp, Svedala, Tomelilla, Trelleborg, Vellinge and Ystad. SYSAV collects waste from households, businesses, and industries, and then processes the waste, most waste is attempted to be made into new resources. During the process of treating the waste that needs to be burned, energy is also generated, which is used as electricity and heating for the local community.
During my school trip to SYSAV, I was able to meet with a representative from SYSAV, who explained the different processes at SYSAV, and also discussed future plans that SYSAV has regarding CCS. SYSAY is planning on building a CCS facility by 2030 that is estimated to cost 1500 kr - 3000 kr per tonne, which when compared to the estimated cost of direct carbon capture (600$ to 1000$ per tonne according to the World Economic Forum) is significantly cheaper.
Katte Gazette was also able to ask Mayor of Simirshmn Jeanette Ovesson and Mayor of Lund Anders Almgren on their opinions about CCS at SYSAV, and here’s what they said:
“Simrishamn municipality is a co-owner of SYSAV, as such we have taken a positive view toward their financing application. We see this as an interesting opportunity. If we did go ahead with CCS, it could absolutely be a good way of compensating for our emissions.”
Jeanette Ovesson
Anders Almgren says that Lund is one of Europe’s most climate-ambitious municipalities, being awarded the title of global winner of the One Planet City challenge along with Colombia's capital Bogotà in 2022. One of Lund’s goals is to be climate neutral by 2030, and Lund has been working on this by testing different approaches, one of them being carbon capture by biochar (which is another process used to capture and store CO2 to reduce emissions), and another method being CCS. Lund supports SYSAV’s plans for CCS and intends on using it in the future when the facility is built.
Conclusion
Carbon Capture and Storage is a process used to mainly capture the CO2 emitted by industrial processes to reach net zero in emissions, and there are two ways of storing the carbon: geologic sequestration and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). CCS has various benefits and downsides, for example, CCS helps reach net zero in emissions and makes burning waste a far better alternative than landfills. However, there is also the possibility that the stored carbon can leak over time, it is an expensive process that also requires a lot of water. Overall, CCS is supported by the leaders of the local community and is a process that has the potential to reduce our emissions significantly to reach net zero in emissions.
Sources used:
Mayor of Simrishamn Jeanette Ovesson
Mayor of Lund Anders Almgren
SYSAV
