Carbon Dioxide Recycling / Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU)
Recycling CO2 may offer a response to the global challenge of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from major stationary (industrial) emitters in the near to medium term, but is usually considered a different technological category from CCS. Technologies under development, such as Bio CCS Algal Synthesis, utilises pre-smokestack CO2 (such as from a coal-fired power station) as a useful feedstock input to the production of oil-rich algae in solar membranes to produce oil for plastics and transport fuel (including aviation fuel), and nutritious stock-feed for farm animal production. The CO2 and other captured greenhouse gases are injected into the membranes containing waste water and select strains of algae causing, together with sunlight or UV light, an oil rich biomass that doubles in mass every 24 hours.
The Bio CCS Algal Synthesis process is based on earth science photosynthesis: the technology is entirely retrofittable and collocated with the emitter, and the capital outlays may offer a return upon investment due to the high value commodities produced (oil for plastics, fuel and feed).
Bio CCS Algal Synthesis test facilities are being trialed at Australia's three largest coal-fired power stations (Tarong, Queensland; Eraring, NSW; Loy Yang, Victoria) using piped pre-emission smokestack CO2 (and other greenhouse gases) as feedstock to grow oil-rich algal biomass in enclosed membranes for the production of plastics, transport fuel and nutritious animal feed.
Another potentially useful way of dealing with industrial sources of CO2 is to convert it into hydrocarbons where it can be stored or reused as fuel or to make plastics. There are a number of projects investigating this possibility.
Carbon dioxide scrubbing variants exist based on potassium carbonate which can be used to create liquid fuels, though this process requires a great deal of energy input. Although the creation of fuel from atmospheric CO2 is not a geoengineering technique, nor does it actually function as greenhouse gas remediation, it nevertheless is potentially useful in the creation of a low carbon economy.
Other uses are the production of stable carbonates from silicates (i.e. Olivine produces Magnesium carbonate. This process is still in the R&D phase.
Read more about this topic: Carbon Capture And Storage
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