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Carbon geological utilization and storage in China: current status and perspectives

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Abstract

As an emerging technology with the potential to enable large-scale utilization of fossil fuels in a low-carbon manner, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is widely considered to be a strategic technology option to help reduce CO2 emissions and ensure energy security in China. In principle, CCUS can be divided into three categories, namely chemical utilization, biological utilization and geological utilization. Of the three categories, carbon geological utilization and storage (CGUS) technology has obtained the most attention lately due to its ability to utilize underground resources and conditions, to generate further economic benefits, a feature that distinguishes it from other CO2 reduction technologies. The CGUS technology related in this paper has various types, each with its own potential, difficulties and characteristics. This paper summarizes China’s research findings on the various types of CGUS technology, analyzes their research status, development potential, early opportunities and long-term contributions and recommends major geological utilization methods to policy makers and investors based on China’s natural resources and industrial characteristics. Besides, this paper analyzes the status, mechanisms and limitations of China’s relations with other countries in this field, as a means to promote research cooperation on an international level.

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Acknowledgments

The Sino-German Cooperation Group “Underground storage of CO2 and energy,” which is funded by the Sino-German Center for Research Promotion in Beijing (a joint center of NSFC and DFG), is gratefully acknowledged for its role in managing and supporting this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of CCUS and CO2 Mineralization and Utilization, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Heping Xie

  2. State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei, China

    Xiaochun Li, Zhiming Fang, Qi Li, Lu Shi, Bing Bai & Ning Wei

  3. Key Laboratory of Energy Engineering Safety and Mechanics on Disasters, The Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Yufei Wang

  4. Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany

    Zhengmeng Hou

  5. Sino-German Energy Research Center, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Zhengmeng Hou

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  1. Heping Xie
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Correspondence to Xiaochun Li.

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Xie, H., Li, X., Fang, Z. et al. Carbon geological utilization and storage in China: current status and perspectives. Acta Geotech. 9, 7–27 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-013-0277-9

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