Research progress of CO₂ capture, utilization and storage technology

With the extensive use of fossil fuels, the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere continues to rise, exacerbating the issue of global climate warming. To achieve the temperature control targets of the Paris Agreement, Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technology has become one of the key pathways to reduce carbon emissions. A comprehensive analysis method is adopted, combining theoretical discussions and actual project cases, to conduct an in-depth analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of CCUS technology and the current status of project development. Firstly, it provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in CO₂ capture technologies such as chemical absorption, physical absorption, adsorption, membrane separation, and low-temperature distillation. Various CO₂ utilization and storage technologies, including CO₂ physical utilization, CO₂ biological utilization, CO₂ geological utilization/storage, and CO₂ chemical utilization, were introduced in detail, and the application prospects of these technologies were analyzed. Secondly, based on the characteristics of China's energy structure, the layout, technical path, and implementation of CCUS projects in industries such as thermal power, coal chemical, petrochemical, metallurgy, and building materials were analyzed, as well as the technical challenges and development needs faced. Although CCUS technology has been widely applied in China, issues such as high costs and insufficient technological maturity persist, making it particularly important to strengthen research and development of CCUS technology and promote the construction of CCUS full-chain projects in industries that use fossil fuels. In the future, developing efficient, low-energy-consuming, non-toxic, and non-corrosive capture solvents and systems will be at the core of CO₂ capture technology development, while producing high value-added chemical products and ensuring the safe and permanent storage of CO₂ will be an important direction for the development of CO₂ utilization/storage technology. Various CO₂ utilization and storage technologies are analyzed and compared, and it is found that CO₂ mineralization utilization/storage technology has outstanding advantages. As an efficient and safe permanent CO₂ storage solution, it can not only transform alkaline solid waste on a large scale, but also provide raw materials for the construction industry, achieving the recycling of construction waste. The on-site emission reduction feature of this technology can effectively solve the problem of supply-demand mismatch between CO₂ emission sites and consumption sites, ensuring that carbon consumption sites have carbon available while carbon sources are utilized on-site. Building CO₂ capture-utilization-storage integrated operation systems at sites suitable for CO₂ mineralization utilization/storage technology can reduce the operating costs of the entire industry chain, and promote the development of the CO₂ capture-utilization-storage full-chain industry, bringing significant environmental and economic benefits. Looking ahead, while adjusting its energy structure, China should increase efforts to transform or construct CCUS in related industries, especially the implementation of full-chain CCUS projects, to achieve effective carbon sequestration. CO₂ mineralization utilization/storage technology, as an efficient and highly reliable permanent CO₂ storage technology, will become one of the important methods for carbon emission reduction and utilization in the future, showing tremendous development potential.