CO2 sequestration is tough; we all know it. At the same time, it is heartening to note that a number of efforts are taking place worldwide - both at the academic research level as well at the corporate level - that I hope will bring CCS to a commercial feasibility level soon (see here for a list of
innovative CCS projects funded by the US DOE ) .
What is good to know about the research efforts that are going on is that they are happening at all stages of the CCS value chain - right from what fuel to use (
if bio-based fuels are used, the net CO2 output itself is much lower than in the case of using fossil fuels), to the various capture mechanisms (of specific mention should be the varied efforts into the chemicals used for CO2 capture), as well as into the diverse locations where they can be stored / sequestered. Along the way, we also have interesting concepts such as
algae based CO2 capture and intriguing concepts (such as those of
Calera which sequesters the CO2 in cement!).
Let's hope one or more of these efforts work out quickly enough.