Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and its Environmental Impact Analysis

This report investigates the environmental implications of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, a crucial method for mitigating climate change. It begins with an introduction to global warming and the need for policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions, followed by a literature review exploring the effects of carbon dioxide emissions and the barriers to CCS adoption. The methodology section details the use of questionnaires and interviews to gather data on public and expert opinions regarding CCS. Data and analysis are presented, including tables comparing power plants with and without CCS and assessing environmental impacts. The report then outlines the CCS chain, covering carbon dioxide capture, transportation, and storage. Finally, the report offers recommendations and a conclusion, emphasizing the importance of CCS in addressing global warming and highlighting areas for future research and development, all while referencing international environmental law.

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 1
Carbon Capture and Storage and its Impacts on climate change.
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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 2
ABSTRACT
Since the industrial revolution started, the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide has
increased because of burning fossil fuels and large scale deforestation. If the emission of
greenhouse gases continues at its current rate, it is estimated that global temperatures could
exceed historical values in the near future. This is undesirable because they will harm the
earth's ecosystems, biodiversity and will also affect the lives of many people on the globe.
Global warming is the most challenging environmental problem in the world currently. There
needs to be the formulation of policies that would limit the production of CO2 and other
GHGs as well as their consequences. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is a
crucial method that can be used to reduce CO2 gas and hence decrease the rate of global
warming. However, there are some features of using CCS technology, especially in regards to
coming up with regulations, that should be considered by all nations in the world. The paper
focusses on the results of implementing CCS to reduce pollution of air and global warming as
well as its side effects in the setting of international environmental law.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 2
Literature review………………………………………………………………..4
Research Methodology………………………………………………………….7
Data and Analysis………………………………………………………………..11
The CCS Chain…………………………………………………………………12
Recommendations………………………………………………………………..12
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………13
References……………………………………………………………………….14

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INTRODUCTION
The atmosphere of the earth is being changed at a high rate, mainly by the energy
consumption of humanity and such changes depict a threat to global security and health.
Policies should be developed and implemented quickly to protect the atmosphere of the
planet (Spitz et al. 2018 pg. 302). Global warming according to the scientist's reports, can be
defined as raising the temperature of the atmosphere, particularly a rise enough spark changes
in the climate conditions of the Earth’s atmosphere. Global warming can be termed as
Enhanced greenhouse effect, meaning a rise in the level of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere of the earth, resulting in solar radiation, and therefore leading to an increase in
the temperature of the earth (Bellamy et al., 2017 pg. 199).
The earth’s heating situation in itself results in the life of humanity to be at risk. The
world is characterized by natural and geopolitical changes and the conclusions drawn by
scientists are alarming. In order to avoid disputatious climate change as well as its ample
effects on creatures worldwide, it is important to take necessary actions (Cuéllar-Franca,
2015, pg. 100). There is a scientific agreement that human activities that how we transform
and utilize energy (fossil fuel), are mainly responsible for an increase in the concentrations of
carbon dioxide in climate change and atmosphere. It is important to state that the global
temperatures have increased over the past years, and the levels of carbon dioxide gas have
excessed in the atmosphere all records of the reports. The crucial discovery from an
examination of different periods of Earth’s history is that major results amplify at the first
levels any warming. As a result, the climate has so dramatically changed.
Positive feedbacks take any changes in temperature and amplify them. Such
feedbacks are the reason climate is very sensitive to gases. Of all the greenhouse gases

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carbon dioxide is the most crucial driver of climate change. CSS that is, carbon capture and
storage is anticipated to play a crucial role in mitigation strategies of climate change (Grant et
al. 2018). Carbon capture and storage could be lowered from power stations by the use of
fossil fuel including coal, and it has been regulation no power plants ought to build without
the carbon capture and storage facilities around.
It is crucial to note that the build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere will have harmful
effects on future generations. In this paper, the focus will be on the environmental effects of
CCS especially its effect on global warming and the future of carbon capture and storage
technology and how it works (Størset et al. 2019 pg. 213). The paper incorporates some
important up to date and new information on the relation between human common heritage
and technology of carbon capture storage as a global concept that is regarded to be new.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The emission of carbon dioxide has widespread effects on the environment with the
most significant being increased global warming. The most extensively used fossil fuel is
coal. About 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide are produced for burning each ton of coal. Due to this,
and the high rate of utilization, coal is the biggest source of CO2 emissions. Coals denote
thirty percent of the share of fuels of world energy supply though it emits 43 % of CO2 from
the use of fossil fuel.
There are many barriers facing the adoption of CCS technologies ((Muratori, and Calvin,
2016). They include the lack of clear legal structure, the economic and financial feasibility,
the carbon lock-in, lack of knowledge in certain areas, diversity in CCS pathways, need for
robust incentives and low CO2 price among others.
Coherent and consistent Framework: International and National Frameworks ought to be
consistent, which can be attained through the inclusion of all actors such as research

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organizations, industry and government, in a consultative process during the development of
the framework (Hope and Jones, 2014 pg. 56). Moreover, there exists no coherence in
national frameworks that are affecting a faster carbon capture and storage deployment and
development. In Canada for instance, carbon dioxide storage is under agencies that control
the energy industry (power, gas and oil generation), while groundwater protection lies in the
ministry of environment (2011) that can make things complex, mainly when verification,
monitoring, liability, and property issues arise (Lim et al. 2016 pg. 775). This can be
mitigated, for instance, implanting and establishing a carbon capture and storage oversight
bureau which can coordinate thing among jurisdictions and agencies. Such instances, at the
moment, exist for only a few nations.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research methodology of this paper was based on two parts: Personal interviews
and questionnaires. The questionnaire was made up of short answers and multiple-choice
questions associated with the problem of climate change, about carbon and capture storage.
This was conducted to know whether the opinion of participants has changed after being
versed with CSC. The questionnaire was taken to the public online (through email and
Facebook, through Surveymonkey.com) and they asked to respond to questions regarding
their knowledge and opinion
However, interviews were carried out face to face. The participants were selected to
represent other stakeholders. These involved people from the Government Office of climate
change, Environment Agency, and Environment and Spatial planning as well as professors.
The main aim of this study was to research the societal effect of carbon capture and storage,

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the link specifically to the online questionnaire was sent to people. As a result of the
interviews as well as carried out in Alabama.
Thirty-five people, in the end, completed filling the online questionnaire, and others
skipped some questionnaires. The (Q1) asked whether; environment, crime/violence, and
economy they take into consideration to be the most crucial issue to them. The economy was
ranked first, with forty percent, environment, and poverty tied with twenty-five percent.
Eighty-eight percent replied that they strongly agree or agree when inquired whether they
view climate change as a serious threat. Also over eighty percent agreed with the idea that
humans are to a big extent the cause of climate change. Also, climate change can be slowed
down or stopped. When inquired to pick between changes in technology and
behaviour/lifestyle as the most crucial methods of mitigating climate change, thirty-one
percent picked former and sixty-nine percent picked latter.
The numbers to the questions were all not surprising, maybe because of the
environmental challenges always seen in the media, and because a lot of the participants were
educated people, or were studying at the University, therefore were conversant with climate
change. Another question asked the best ways to mitigate or reduce emissions of carbon
dioxide, with opting to lower-carbon technologies for the generation of power (52%) being
the 1st choice. Surprisingly fifty-six percent of the respondents had familiarised themselves
with carbon capture and storage technology, which was due to the high education levels of
the participants in the study.
Because the study aimed to evaluate the levels of acceptance and awareness of carbon
capture and storage, the question eight asked if social acceptance was regarded as crucial to
the eventual deployment and development of carbon capture and storage, with the vast
majority(eighty-two percent) either strongly agreeing or (agreeing) with the said statement.

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However when inquired that they observed as the biggest barrier for carbon capture storage,
economics was ranked first with sixty-three percent, then social acceptance with six percent,
followed by legal and regulatory design and social acceptance lastly. The participants picked
leakage as the top as for risks related to carbon capture storage. The views of field experts on
CCS were also sought in the survey.
Data and Analysis
The following data shows the parameters of a typical power plant with and without CCS.
Table 1.
Parameter Power plant without CCS Power plant with CCS
Nominal power output
(MW)
250 250
Net power output (MW) 226 164
Yearly operation (h) 6300 6300
Electricity produced
(MWh/y)
1423800 1033200
CO2 produced (t/MWh) 0.933628 0.128049
CO2 captured (t/MWh) 0 1.158537
Table 2: Environmental impacts of CO2 capture on a power plant
Category Power plant Power plant with

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without CCS CCS
Mineral resource depletion (kg SB eq.) 6.67*10-9 1.31*10-8
Fossil fuels depletion (MJ) 1.22 4.29
Climate change (kg CO2 eq.) 2.18 5.25*10-4
Ozone layer damage (kg R-11 eq.) 8.38*10-12 2.48*10-11
Photochemical oxidation (kg C2H2 eq.) 0.00011 0.00012
Acidification (kg SO2 eq.) 0.0024 0.0022
Eutrophication (kg PO4 eq.) 0.00032 0.00021
The CCS Chain
1. Capturing Carbon Dioxide
CCS technologies are used to separate CO2 from other gases that are produced during
power generation and other industrial processes. This is done through pre-combustion
capture, post-combustion capture and oxy-fuel combustion.
For post-combustion capture, the fossil fuel is burnt first before trapping CO2. Flue
gases are produced when fossil fuels are burnt. These include carbon dioxide, water
vapour, sulphur dioxides, and nitrogen oxides. Carbon dioxide is separated and
trapped from the other flue gases (Krause and Möst, 2016, pg. 649). The process has
the main advantage of allowing older power plants to be retrofitted by adding a filter.
The filter traps CO2 that travels up a chimney. It is a solvent that absorbs CO2.

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In pre-combustion, CO2 is captured before the burning of fuel. CO2 is therefore
trapped before it is adulterated with the other flue gases. The fuel is heated in pure
oxygen resulting in a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (Pfennig et al. 2017).
The mix is then treated in a catalytic converter with steam which gives more hydrogen
and CO2. Amine is added to the gaseous mix, combining with carbon dioxide and
falling to the bottom while hydrogen rises.
For oxy-fuel combustion, fossil fuel is burned in oxygen. This results in mostly steam
and carbon dioxide (Reddy et al. 2016 pg. 669). These are separated by cooling and
compression of the gaseous mix. This is a high-cost procedure because it requires
oxygen. It estimated that this technique can prevent around 90% of the emissions
from a power plant from entering the atmosphere.
2. Transporting CO2.
This is done by pipeline which usually starts at the place of capture to the place it is
stored. The CO2 can be transported in gaseous, liquid and solid states (Lake et al.,
2016 pg. 13). However, it is not economical to transport CO2 as dry ice (solid). It is
commonly transported in gaseous state with a compressor pushing the gas through the
pipeline. CO2 must be clean and dry, otherwise, it may corrode the pipeline.
3. Storing Carbon Dioxide Emissions.
The CO2 is stored underground or underwater. Underground storage allows the
storage of large amounts of CO2 in a small area because it behaves more like a liquid
due to high pressures (Kim et al. 2017 pg. 1281). It is also believed that CO2 can be
stored in oceans as long as it is released of around 3500m where it will compress to a
mushy material and drop to the floor of the ocean.
The capture of CO2 is pleasantly beneficial to climate change. Nonetheless, as seen,
increased mineral resources and fossil fuel depletion can be observed for the power plant with

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CO2 capture as well as increased ozone layer damage. Photochemical oxidation and
acidification are unchanged from the data. There is also a slight decrease in eutrophication
occurred when CO2 capture is included.
It has been seen that CCS reduces the release of CO2 gas which has significant benefits on
climate change. However, it leads to increase of gases that are pollutant and harmful to
human health even though they do not have the greenhouse effect. These gases are produced
from the additional materials and energy required for CCS (Jana et al., 2016). The harm to
human health is caused by the impacts of ozone depletion, the formation of particular matter,
ionizing radiation and photochemical oxidation. Building and operating CCS technology also
severely depletes natural resources. For example, due to the extra energy required for the
capture of CO2, there has been a huge depletion of fossil fuels.
The greatest danger associated with CCS during transportation of CO2 to storage sites is
leakages from pipelines. While CO2 is not a poisonous gas, it can lead to asphyxiation if its
concentration is high enough. CCS also leads to additional fossil fuel demand. This is due to
the extra fuel needed for CO2 capture.
The leakage of CO2 from storage sites poses the highest risk in CCS. Abrupt leakages of
stored CO2 may potentially lead to the death of humans and animals as evidenced by the
natural leakage experience in Lake Nyos, Cameroon in 1986. Gradual leakages may be
caused by incorrect selection of a storage site and inadequate preparation. This would
compromise the initial objective of removing CO2 from the atmosphere. CCS is also a
potential environmental risk to fresh groundwater resources and should, therefore, be only
considered in geological formations that are potential groundwater resources.
The toxicological impacts of solvents used to chemically trap CO2 are also significant to the
environment. Amine added during pre-combustion may lead to the formation of aerosol

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particles which are a risk to human health and also cause air pollution and reduce visibility
(Chen et al., 2018 pg. 198). It also leads to the degradation of nitramines and nitrosamines
which can lead to cancer. Amine may also lead to the production of tropospheric ozone which
is an irritant gas and also damages plants.
Leakage of stored CO2 on land may also affect the soil quality. This may reduce the pH of
soil leading to the soil becoming oxygen-deficient and also mobilising heavy metals. These
would decrease the quality of soil leading to potentially be poisonous to plant life. Injection
of CO2 may also affect the temperature and composition of the storage formation in the
short-term.
If the storage sites are in close proximity to aquatic environments, constructed structures may
lead to loss of habitat for aquatic species. Noise made during construction may also affect
aquatic life. Contamination of seawater beyond acceptable limits may affect aquatic life. The
quality of surface water may also be affected during the construction of related infrastructure
due to discharges from the pipeline. Construction may also affect agricultural land onshore as
well as offshore fishing grounds.
There are many important regulatory challenges that face the implementation of CCS
technologies. These include:
i) Permission for CO2 storage.
The storage sites for CO2 should not be operated without first securing a storage
permit from the relevant authorities according to the European CCS Directive.
However, securing these permits is a long and tiresome process that involves
circumventing a lot of bureaucratic policies. This has led to countries such as
Norway to independently address issues regarding the regulatory challenges faced
by the CCS. The country’s success in carbon dioxide storage shows that the

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permitting process hugely depends on the cooperation between developers of the
project and the regulatory authorities within the country involved.
ii) Property rights
The right of property for storage of CO2 is very important legally for any CCS
operation. The owner of the required surface and subsurface rights and whether
they are transferable directly affects the liability of a CCS project. Generally, the
operator is fully liable during the injection phase and the liability is then shifted to
a public regulatory body after being closed.
Recommendations
CCS projects should be ecologically sustainable. They should also ensure that they observe
occupational health and safety principles as articulated by law. The relevant authorities
should assess and approve all projects. In the case that the risks involved with the CCS
technologies change, the risks should be analysed and approved. This should be especially
implemented in the adoption of new technologies as well as before using new locations.
Due to the initial failures in the implementation of early CCS projects, there has been
widespread opposition by the public towards the technology. The public fears CO2 leaks,
water contamination and industrialisation of rural areas. It is therefore important to have a
successful communications strategy to ensure that the public understands the entire CCS
process. The strategy should involve engaging the public early in the process, encouraging
and taking into account feedback from the community. This will ensure that trust is built and
maintained. Educating the public will also enable project developers to gain acceptance of
their projects.
Storage sites should be carefully selected. The design and layout of the capture site and the
routes used for transport should also be analysed to minimise their effects to the environment.

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Implementation of the EIA should be followed thoroughly to avoid potential leakage
pathways during the CCS process.
Conclusion
The challenges lie in three main areas. The commercialization of the technology will
be needed in my view. Various technological and scientific problems are present and
continue to be present even when CCS is deployed. The extent of carbon capture deployment
will depend essentially on the political arena developments. Carbon capture and storage,
without a doubt, plays an important tool in climate change mitigations and emissions
reduction efforts. The adoption of CCS technologies is crucial to negate the harmful effects
of CO2 on the environment. However, care should be taken to ensure that the benefits of CCS
far outweigh its negative impacts to the environment.

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