New centre for carbon capture utilisation at IIT Bombay

New centre for carbon capture utilisation at IIT Bombay

TOPIC: Environment

Context- The Department of Science & Technology (DST) under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology has established the National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (NCOE-CCU) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

Concept-

About NCOE-CCU:

• This Centre of Excellence explores and unlocks the potential of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technologies to set India on the path to achieving its climate goals and commitments.
• The Centre’s primary focus of research will involve understanding the role of CO2 in the global climate and mitigation strategies of the CO2 emitted from the industrial and energy sector.
• The NCOE-CCU, is the country’s first such centrally funded by the DST. It was formally sanctioned in December 2021.
• The NCOE has partnerships with several academic and research institutes (such as other IITs, universities, and CSIR labs) and industries including petroleum, cement, power, and steel.
• The NCOE will be nodal for state-of-the-art research and application-oriented initiatives in the field of CCUS.

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS):

• CCUS technology is designed to capture CO2 emissions from combustion of fossil fuels.
• It can absorb 85-95% of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.
• The process starts with the capture of generated CO2 which undergoes a compression process to form a dense fluid. This eases the transport and storage of the captured CO2.
• The dense fluid is transported via pipelines and then injected into an underground storage facility. Captured CO2 can also be used as a raw material in other industrial processes such as bicarbonates.