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CO₂ : from capture to storage

CO₂, a greenhouse gas and a prime factor in global warming, is partially produced as a result of the burning of fossil fuels. Factories which emit large quantities of CO₂ can be equipped with a CO₂ capture and storage solution to prevent the mass release of the gas into the atmosphere.

How it works

The capturing and storing of CO₂ through the oxy-combustion process

The concentration to improve capture

Three technologies are envisaged for capturing CO₂:

Post-combustion, whereby the CO₂ contained in fumes is held after combustion by liquid solvents, for example.
Pre-combustion, whereby the fuel is converted into hydrogen and CO₂ after it is converted into vapor. The CO₂ is then separated and captured before combustion and the combustion of hydrogen only produces water.
Oxy-combustion, which consists of extracting the nitrogen from the air so that only oxygen is used during the combustion process. The fumes which are concentrated in CO₂ are a direct product of this solution.

Purification

The CO₂ is then dried and purified, which is essential for eliminating any water and impurities contained in the emissions.

Transportation and storage

Once the CO₂ has been transported to the storage site by boat or by pipe it is finally injected into the sub-soil where it is trapped, either in exhausted or nearly exhausted oil or natural gas wells, or in deep saline aquifers.

Air Liquide and the storage of CO₂

Air Liquide is involved in every stage of the CO₂ capture and storage chain and has a sound knowledge of all three technological solutions designed to concentrate the CO₂. The Group’s main area of innovation is that of oxy-combustion.