What happens to captured CO2? Where is it stored and would it still cause global warming when it eventually gets released?
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Global warming is the phenomenon we are experiencing due to the trapped co2 being released, CO2 is fixed into alternate Carbon forms. What that means is plants when they do photosynthesis make glucose, and from the glucose they make the rest of the plant very efficiently (biochemistry is actually so fun but too complex for my dumbass to explain). Millions of years ago, the earth had only Carbon and sulfide in the atmosphere, then the great oxygenation event happened and most of the Carbon became living matter.
Photosynthesis is CO2 to Glucose 6-sugars
Glucose can be turned into any organic plant or animal matter with the right biochem (livin organism)
When coal is processed, some of the carbon is lost in Carbon, Carbon Monoxide, or Dioxide forms and many different kinds of Hydrocarbons and organics. The blackish soot you see on stacks.
When coal products are burnt, the last set of reactions take place returning the complex hydrocarbons into simple C, CO, and CO2 which is released and cause the Carbon to cycle back. This Carbon products are returned to CO2 form.
Captured CO2 can be used in several ways. First, it can be pumped into the ground and essentially turned into rock which is a form of sequestration, that is, hiding away the CO2 for the long term. Second, captured CO2 can be used directly in products like carbonated beverages or dry ice. And third, CO2 can be used as an ingredient in other products including synthetic fuels.
If you tuck it away in rocks, it’s not in the atmosphere so it can’t increase global warming.
If you put it into soda cans, or put it into fuels you then burn, yes, it returns to the atmosphere and contributes to climate change, but at least you’re not adding *new* CO2 to the atmosphere, you’re reusing CO2 that’s already there.
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