Carbon ‘capture’ climate tech is booming, and confusing, Energy News, ET EnergyWorld X We use cookies to ensure best experience for you
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Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC) are both complex industrial processes that isolate CO2 but these newly booming technologies are fundamentally different and often conflated.
Here’s a primer on what they are and how they differ.
– What is carbon capture? –
CCS syphons off CO2 from the exhaust, or flue gas, of fossil fuel-fired power plants as well as heavy industry.
The exhaust from a coal-fired power plant is about 12 percent CO2, while in steel and cement production it is typically double that.
Unlike CCS, which by itself only prevents additional carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, DAC extracts CO2 molecules already there.
Crucially, this makes DAC a “negative emissions” technology.
It can therefore generate credits for companies seeking to offset their greenhouse gas