Impact and potential of carbon sequestration and utilization: fundamentals and recent developments

TL;DR: This review explores carbon sequestration methods, including direct air capture and utilization of captured carbon in industries, with potential applications in fuel production and reduced power consumption, emissions, and operational costs.

Abstract: Carbon dioxide is a primary greenhouse gas that plays a vital role in shaping life on Earth. However, the continuous anthropogenic emissions of CO2 at prominent levels have caused severe damage to the earth as they increase the global average temperature of the earth, causing global warming. To restrict the further rise in global temperature, it is necessary to capture anthropogenic CO2 emissions efficiently by various means. Technological carbon sequestration would benefit the manufacturing industry by minimizing carbon emissions and saving on carbon taxes. This review article would explore various methods to capture carbon efficiently by improving carbon storage technology, using captured carbon economically in industries, and making fuel from captured carbon. Cooling towers can be used to capture carbon through the direct air capture (DAC) method and can be integrated with Natural Draft Dry Cooling Tower systems (NDDCTs) to lower the power consumption requirements and thus the operational costs. The captured carbon is used to make fuel by employing solid carbon directly as both an anode and fuel, with 80% higher efficiency than solid oxide fuel cells. It also emits fewer pollutants than typical coal-burning power plants.