It’s likely that large volumes of captured CO₂ will need to be disposed of as coal-based power plants are equipped with CO₂ emissions control technologies necessary to comply with Federal and/or state regulatory requirements to address global climate change.  Prevailing industry thought is that a majority of the captured CO₂ will require permanent storage (sequestration) via the injection of CO₂ into underground reservoirs, e.g. saline formations.   In addition, some of the captured CO₂ can be put to beneficial use via injection into oil and gas reservoirs and unmineable coal seams that can facilitate enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and enhanced coal bed methane recovery (ECBM), respectively.  Limited quantities of CO₂ are currently used in a number of commercial and industrial processes that could serve as niche markets for a small portion of the captured CO₂.  However, DOE/NETL is working to develop new technologies that will enable the beneficial use of a greater percentage of the captured CO₂.  DOE/NETL funded CO₂ beneficial use projects are shown in the table below.

Click on a project title in the table below to get more information