The water condenses through cooling and the result is almost pure CO 2 that can be transported and stored.Įlectricity plant processes based on oxyfuel combustion are sometimes referred to as ‘zero emission’ as nearly all the CO 2 is captured. The resulting flue gas consists of mainly CO 2 and water vapour. In oxyfuel combustion, the fossil fuel is burned in oxygen instead of air. It is a cheaper option than post-combustion but cannot be retro-fitted to older power plants. Pre-combustion is used in the production of fertiliser, chemical gas fuel and power production. The process also produces hydrogen, which can be separated and used as fuel. CO 2 can be captured from this relatively pure exhaust stream. First, the fossil fuel is partially burned in a ‘gasifier’ to form synthetic gas.

This technique traps CO 2 before burning the fossil fuel. The technology is well understood and is currently used in other industrial applications. This is the method that would be applied to most conventional power plants as it can be retro-fitted. CO 2 is captured (‘scrubbed’) from the exhaust (or ‘flue’) gases.

In this process, CO 2 is removed after burning the fossil fuel. Where fossil fuels are burnt at power plants, there are three techniques to remove or ‘scrub’ CO 2: Capture from the open atmosphere is also possible. What are we doing about climate change?ĬO 2 can be captured from large sources, such as power plants, natural gas processing facilities and some industrial processes.Understanding carbon capture and storage.What causes the Earth’s climate to change?.NGR hydrocarbons (well samples) database.Palaeontology and biostratigraphy collections.Donations and loans of materials collections.Engineering and Geotechnical Capability.Integrated resource management in Eastern Africa.Rock Volume Characterisation Laboratory Cluster.Fluid and Rock Processes Laboratory Cluster.Equality, diversity and inclusion at the BGS.Environmental policy and sustainability strategy.

Carbon capture and storage