Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the main driver of climate change. Currently, CO2 utilization is increasingly attracting interest in processes like enhanced oil recovery and coal bed methane and it has the potential to be used in hydraulic fracturing processes, among others. In this review, the latest developments in CO2 capture, utilization, conversion, and sequestration are examined through a multi-scale perspective. The diverse range of CO2 utilization applications, including mineralization, biological utilization, food and beverages, energy storage media, and chemicals, is comprehensively presented. We also discuss the worldwide research and development of CO2 utilization projects. Lastly, we examine the key challenges and issues that must be faced for pilot-scale and industrial applications in the future. This study demonstrates that CO2 utilization can be a driver for the future development of carbon capture and utilization technologies. However, considering the amount of CO2 produced globally, even if it can be reduced in the near-to mid-term future, carbon capture and storage will remain the primary strategy and, so, complementary strategies are desirable. Currently, the main CO2 utilization industry is enhanced oil and gas recovery, but considering the carbon life cycle, these processes still add CO2 to the atmosphere. In order to implement other CO2 utilization technologies at a large scale, in addition to their current technical feasibility, their economic and societal viability is critical. Therefore, future efforts should be directed toward reduction of energy penalties and costs, and the introduction of policies and regulation encouraging carbon capture, utilization and storage, and increasing the public acceptance of the strategies in a complementary manner.

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Recent advances in carbon dioxide utilization

Advancing CO2 enhanced oil recovery and storage in unconventional oil play—Experimental studies on Bakken shales

Wettability of reservoir minerals and rocks is a critical factor controlling CO(2) mobility, residual trapping, and safe-storage in geologic carbon sequestration, and currently is the factor imparting the greatest uncertainty in predicting capillary behavior in porous media. Very little information on wettability in supercritical CO(2) (scCO(2))-mineral-brine systems is available. We studied pore-scale wettability and wettability alteration in scCO(2)-silica-brine systems using engineered micromodels (transparent pore networks), at 8.5 MPa and 45 °C, over a wide range of NaCl concentrations up to 5.0 M. Dewetting of silica surfaces upon reactions with scCO(2) was observed through water film thinning, water droplet formation, and contact angle increases within single pores. The brine contact angles increased from initial values near 0° up to 80° with larger increases under higher ionic strength conditions. Given the abundance of silica surfaces in reservoirs and caprocks, these results indicate that CO(2) induced dewetting may have important consequences on CO(2) sequestration including reducing capillary entry pressure, and altering quantities of CO(2) residual trapping, relative permeability, and caprock integrity.

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Dewetting of silica surfaces upon reactions with supercritical CO2 and brine: Pore-scale studies in micromodels - eScholarship

Review of experimental sorption studies of CO2 and CH4 in shales

Experimental investigation on the mechanical properties of a low-clay shale with different adsorption times in sub-/super-critical CO2

Physical and structural changes in shale associated with supercritical CO2 exposure

Adsorption equilibrium isotherms of CO2, CH4, and mixtures of CO2/CH4 on shale sampled from Nanchuan, southeastern Sichuan Basin, were measured at 278, 298, and 318 K by an accurate gravimetric method. The adsorption equilibrium data of CO2 and CH4 were fitted using both the virial model and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) model, and the isotherms of CO2/CH4 mixtures were fitted by an extended BET model. On the basis of adsorption data, the adsorption selectivity factors for CO2 over CH4 (αCO2/CH4) and thermodynamic parameters were estimated. Nanchuan shale was characterized with a high total organic carbon (TOC), having inorganic minerals and wide pore size distribution ranges. The adsorption heat, negative Gibbs free energy change, and negative surface potential of CO2 are larger than those of CH4, and the entropy loss of CO2 is larger than that of CH4, suggesting that adsorbed CO2 is in a more highly ordered arrangement than CH4 on shale. αCO2/CH4 values at different temperatures are all larger than 2.5.

Xuefu Xian

Papers

Physical and structural changes in shale associated with supercritical CO2 exposure

Adsorption Equilibrium of CO2 and CH4 and Their Mixture on Sichuan Basin Shale

Experimental study of the effects of sub- and super-critical CO2 saturation on the mechanical characteristics of organic-rich shales

Supercritical carbon dioxide fracturing in shale and the coupled effects on the permeability of fractured shale: An experimental study

Measurements and modelling of CH4 and CO2 adsorption behaviors on shales: Implication for CO2 enhanced shale gas recovery