The term sequestration is based on the Latin sequestrare, which means set aside or surrender. Hence CCS is a technology application that utilises artificial carbon sequestration techniques. The IPCC however defines CCS as 'a process in which a relatively pure stream of carbon dioxide (CO 2) from industrial sources is separated, treated and transported to a long-term storage location'. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines carbon sequestration as follows: 'Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide.' Therefore, the difference between carbon sequestration and carbon capture and storage (CCS) is sometimes blurred in the media. : 2248 Subsequently, a pool is defined as 'a reservoir in the Earth system where elements, such as carbon and nitrogen, reside in various chemical forms for a period of time'.

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report defines it as 'The process of storing carbon in a carbon pool'. The term carbon sequestration is used in different ways in the literature and media. The idea of direct deep-sea carbon dioxide injection has been abandoned. To enhance carbon sequestration processes in oceans the following technologies have been proposed but none have achieved large scale application so far: Seaweed farming, ocean fertilisation, artificial upwelling, basalt storage, mineralization and deep sea sediments, adding bases to neutralize acids. These methods are considered non-volatile because they remove carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it indefinitely and presumably for a considerable duration (thousands to millions of years). Carbon dioxide that has been removed from the atmosphere can also be stored in the Earth's crust by injecting it into the subsurface, or in the form of insoluble carbonate salts ( mineral sequestration). For example, natural events, such as wildfires or disease, economic pressures and changing political priorities can result in the sequestered carbon being released back into the atmosphere. However, these biological stores are considered volatile carbon sinks as the long-term sequestration cannot be guaranteed. Other technologies that work with carbon sequestration include bio-energy with carbon capture and storage, biochar, enhanced weathering, direct air carbon capture and sequestration (DACCS).įorests, kelp beds, and other forms of plant life absorb carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, and bind it into biomass. Artificial processes have been devised to produce similar effects, including large-scale, artificial capture and sequestration of industrially produced COĢ using subsurface saline aquifers or aging oil fields. These changes can be accelerated through changes in land use and agricultural practices, such as converting crop land into land for non-crop fast growing plants.

Ģ) is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. There are two main types of carbon sequestration: geologic and biologic (also called biosequestration). : 2248 Carbon sequestration is a naturally occurring process but it can also be enhanced or achieved with technology, for example within carbon capture and storage projects. Ĭarbon sequestration (or carbon storage) is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. Schematic showing both geologic and biologic carbon sequestration of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere emitted by human activities.

Carbon sequestration engineer