Introduction
The threat of global warming is becoming increasingly severe, with frequent extreme weather events and serious damage to the ecological environment. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change once again warns that immediate and decisive action must be taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions, or we will face irreparable ecological disasters.
Against this backdrop, countries have made commitments to reduce emissions, establishing carbon neutrality as an urgent priority. As a responsible major country, China officially proposed the "dual carbon" goals of achieving carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 at the UN General Assembly in September 2020, fully demonstrating its determination to promote global sustainable development.
Overview of Carbon Capture Technology
Carbon capture technology refers to a series of technical approaches to capture carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion or industrial process emission sources. The main routes include post-combustion capture, oxy-fuel combustion capture, pre-combustion capture, and biomass-based capture. Among these, post-combustion capture is the most mature and widely applied technology route. Specifically, it utilizes chemical absorbents or adsorbents to separate and capture CO2 from combustion flue gases.
After capture, the CO2 needs to be processed through geological storage (injecting CO2 into underground enclosed formations or oil and gas reservoirs for permanent storage) or utilization (producing chemical products, enhanced oil recovery, etc.).
Although carbon capture technology points the way towards near-zero emissions for fossil fuels, it currently faces technical challenges such as low capture efficiency and high operating costs. In the future, continuous innovation is needed to improve the selectivity of capture agents, develop efficient absorbents and adsorbents, optimize system integration, and continuously enhance capture efficiency while reducing the cost barriers that limit large-scale applications.
Status of Carbon Capture Application in Stationary Sources
Carbon capture technology is most widely applied in stationary emission sources on land. The power industry is a key application area. To date, multiple large-scale CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) demonstration projects have been established domestically and internationally:
In China, this includes the Guohua Jinjie 150,000 tons/year project (successfully commissioned in 2021, becoming the first carbon capture project for a coal-fired power plant in China) and the Jiangsu National Energy Taizhou 500,000 tons/year project (commissioned in June 2023, the largest in Asia).
Internationally, there are also several demonstration projects, such as the Boundary Dam project in Canada with a capture capacity of 1.1 million tons/year, and the Petro Chemical Plant project in the US with 600,000 tons/year. While achieving significant emission reductions, these projects have also accumulated valuable experience for accelerating the low-carbon transition in the power industry.
Beyond power generation, the application of carbon capture technology is also gradually being promoted in high-emission industries such as steel and cement. Simultaneously, key equipment such as absorbers and regenerators are being continuously optimized and innovated to reduce energy consumption and improve CO2 absorption and separation efficiency. The development of new, highly efficient absorbents and adsorbents holds promise for fundamentally enhancing capture performance.
Onboard Carbon Capture Systems
As the technology matures, carbon capture is expanding its application from stationary sources to mobile sources. In January 2024, the world's first onboard carbon capture system (OCCS) retrofit project, the "ALKIMOS" bulk carrier, was successfully delivered and put into operation in Shanghai.
The working principle of OCCS is to install a dedicated CO2 capture system on ships to capture and separate CO2 from the exhaust gas or fuel emissions, thereby significantly reducing the carbon emissions of vessels. By utilizing onboard capture technology, ships can achieve carbon emission reductions while still using economical traditional fossil fuels.
The successful application of this technology has opened up a new path for the green and low-carbon development of the shipping industry. However, the promotion of OCCS technology also faces several challenges, such as limitations on the size and weight of onboard equipment, low capture efficiency, and high energy consumption. Further optimization and improvement are needed to enhance the integration and compactness of shipboard capture systems, reduce energy consumption, and improve capture efficiency—all of which are key factors for large-scale applications in the shipping industry.
Innovations and Contributions of Sutong Company in Carbon Capture
In the field of carbon capture equipment in China, Nantong Sutong Separation Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. has been a frontrunner in the industry. The company has maintained a long-term industry-academia-research collaboration with Qingdao University of Technology, dedicated to research and development in the field of key components, and has achieved a series of significant innovations.
Its independently developed high-affinity ionic liquid absorbents, highly efficient absorption tower packings, and other core components have been successfully applied in multiple large-scale CCUS demonstration projects in China, effectively improving the capture efficiency and energy efficiency of carbon capture systems. In particular, the high-hydrophilicity absorption packing developed by Sutong played a crucial role in the aforementioned Guohua Jinjie 150,000 tons/year CCUS project due to its outstanding performance.
Moreover, Sutong was also the core component supplier for the world's first OCCS system installed on the "ALKIMOS" and other projects. It can be said that the company has achieved a dual-track layout in both land-based and shipboard carbon capture and continues to lead the development and progress of this technology in China through continuous innovation.
Future Outlook
Currently, against the backdrop of countries formulating "carbon neutrality" roadmaps and emission reduction policies, the importance and application prospects of carbon capture technology are becoming increasingly prominent. On one hand, it provides a viable pathway for existing coal-fired power plants, steel mills, and other high-emission industries to achieve "near-zero emissions"; on the other hand, during the transition period towards renewable energy sources, it can serve as a powerful complement in addressing climate change challenges.
As the technology further matures and capture costs gradually decrease, carbon capture technology will accelerate its adoption in emission-intensive industries such as power generation, steel, cement, and shipping. Large-scale applications will not only make significant contributions to global greenhouse gas emission reductions, thereby facilitating the achievement of various countries' "dual carbon" goals but will also drive the development of emerging environmental protection industries.
Looking ahead, carbon capture technology is expected to play an increasingly vital role in promoting energy transition, developing new low-carbon technologies, and fostering economic transformation. With continuous technological breakthroughs and policy support, the prospects for its widespread application are promising. However, challenges such as further reducing costs and improving overall system performance still need to be addressed through persistent innovation and optimization.
Conclusion
Carbon capture technology has paved the way for fossil fuels to achieve "near-zero emissions" and serves as a powerful ally in realizing carbon neutrality goals. Currently, applications in both land-based and mobile sources are comprehensively advancing, and key core technologies are continuously innovating and breaking through barriers. We have reason to expect that in the not-too-distant future, this technology will be widely applied and play a significant role in achieving the "dual carbon" goals.
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