{"id":1278,"date":"2026-08-03T14:09:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/08\/03\/confused-about-carbon-capture-experts-explain-why-we-need-different-types\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T14:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:09:17","slug":"confused-about-carbon-capture-experts-explain-why-we-need-different-types","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/08\/03\/confused-about-carbon-capture-experts-explain-why-we-need-different-types\/","title":{"rendered":"Confused about carbon capture? Experts explain why we need different types"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span> Wang An Qi\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The production of steel, concrete, fuel and agriculture chemicals is energy intensive. These industries critically rely on vast amounts of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) because the electricity grid doesn\u2019t yet have enough capacity to distribute, store and supply renewables at scale. <\/p>\n

Fossil resources are also locked into these industries, with supply chains relying on the chemistry of fossil fuels. During the manufacture of steel, for example, coal is heated without oxygen and converted into coke (another carbon-rich material) \u2013 that coke is used in blast furnaces to make molten iron which gets transformed into steel. Therefore, to limit climate change, these industries eventually need to be carbon free. But we do not have the time to make them completely emissions free before global temperatures get any higher.<\/p>\n

So what can be done? CO\u2082 emissions<\/a> can be captured before they escape into the atmosphere. If that CO\u2082 is captured, some can be used to make additional products, such as the fizz in beer, sustainable concrete or sustainable fuels for aircraft. <\/p>\n

All of this affects us directly in some shape or form, particularly because there have been shortages of CO\u2082 (due to CO\u2082 supply relying heavily on fertiliser (ammonia) and bioethanol plants). As fossil fuels become more expensive, these sources become uneconomical to run and production shuts down. Recent global conflicts have also stalled the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG), further compounding rising energy costs.<\/p>\n

As for the rest of the CO\u2082, it needs to be stored securely. There is simply too much of it to use and letting even more greenhouse gas emissions escape into the atmosphere contributes to climate change. This whole process is known as carbon capture, utilisation (use) and storage (CCUS). <\/p>\n

The CO\u2082 from industry is removed before it\u2019s emitted, and a small amount of captured CO\u2082 is used by other industries that rely on CO\u2082 as a product, then the rest is stored permanently. Using renewable energy to capture the CO\u2082 avoids further emissions during the capture process. <\/p>\n

\n \"aerial<\/a>
\n Carbon capture, utilisation and storage removes CO\u2082 from industry before it can be released into the atmosphere.<\/span>
\n Fahroni\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unfortunately, CCUS alone is not enough. There are currently around 77 facilities<\/a> operating worldwide which capture and store or \u201cgeostore\u201d CO\u2082 in rocks underground and in former oil and gas fields. This only accounts for about 0.01% of humanity\u2019s emissions. The processes are expensive and require huge investments from governments or private companies, so it\u2019s hard to scale. Facility costs vary wildly depending on the capture technology, transport and storage option, but lie roughly between US$300 million (\u00a3224 million) to US$1 billion.<\/p>\n

CCUS facilities simply cannot capture the huge scale of CO\u2082 in these critical industries all the time, everywhere. Even if industry emissions were capped, that only limits current emissions. Past emissions of CO\u2082 are still in the atmosphere, so capture of CO\u2082 directly from the atmosphere is critical. <\/p>\n

There is another form of carbon capture, but with a different source of CO\u2082 \u2013 the legacy of burning fossil fuels for more than 260 years since the industrial revolution began. This is known as carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and includes direct air capture<\/a> which strips the CO\u2082 from the atmosphere. <\/p>\n

Once again, renewable energy is needed to power this process. Another CDR approach is carbon mineralisation<\/a> in which CO\u2082 along with water is injected into basalt and similar rocks, then the CO\u2082 reacts with calcium and magnesium in this water to form solid minerals, rather like the limescale that forms in kettles.<\/p>\n

Understanding the difference between these very important approaches enables governments, industries and research funders to know when and where to use them. Time is short. Global temperatures continue to rise. Industrial and domestic decarbonisation needs to progress in parallel with the remedial processes of carbon capture, its use, and removal.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Jon Gluyas has received funding from the UK government and its Research Councils and well as various industry sources to work on CCUS. He is a founder and shareholder of Geoptic Ltd which has a CO2 monitoring capability and Geoenergy Durham Ltd which has performed consultancy in CCUS.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Ben Kolosz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wang An Qi\/Shutterstock The production of steel, concrete, fuel and agriculture chemicals is energy intensive. These industries critically rely on vast amounts of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) because the electricity grid doesn\u2019t yet have enough capacity to distribute, store and supply renewables at scale. Fossil resources are also locked into these industries, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}