Sequestration and use of carbon dioxide: the essence of technology and approaches to the classification of the projects

Currently, increasing the mass of carbon dioxide emissions is regarded as the main factor of increasing the greenhouse effect that is considered by the scientists to be the cause of the global warming. The problem has stimulated the development and implementation of various options of decarbonization including the sequestration technology (CCS – capture and storage) and carbon dioxide utilization (CC(U)S technology – carbon capture, utilization and storage). The technologies are aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions by capturing the gas at the industrial premises (rarely from the atmosphere) and can be regarded as complementary and crucially essential for achieving carbon neutrality as they allow avoiding radical transformations of energy and industrial processes. The study is directed towards analyzing the world experience and the essence of CC(U)S initiatives to develop complex classification of sequestration projects and use of CO2 to systematize the existing knowledge and practical aspects on the subject. The authors suggest a variant of complex classification of the projects that involves grouping the features by basic, technological and organizational and economic characteristics and identifying different types of projects according to the suggested features. In order to test the classification the authors introduce a classification profile on the existing CC(U)S projects implemented in the USA, the UK and China. The findings can be used for planning the activities in the area of development of sequestration and carbon dioxide utilization technologies in Russia, for making decisions on these initiatives including those regarding financing and support of such projects at the government level.