CO₂ Capture Technologies
Compare pre-combustion, post-combustion, oxy-combustion, and direct air capture
Your Progress
Section 2 of 5Four Pathways to Capture CO₂
Carbon capture is not one technology—it's a toolkit. The right choice depends on your facility, fuel, and CO₂ concentration. Post-combustion capture treats exhaust from existing plants using chemical solvents (amine scrubbing). It's the most mature and flexible but carries a 25-35% energy penalty. Pre-combustion capture converts fuel to hydrogen + CO₂ before burning, achieving lower costs ($15-30/t) but requiring entirely new infrastructure. Oxy-combustion burns fuel in pure oxygen instead of air, producing nearly pure CO₂ exhaust—elegant but energy-intensive. Direct air capture (DAC) extracts CO₂ from ambient air at 400ppm—essential for negative emissions but currently $200-600/t. Each technology has proven commercial examples; the challenge is scaling deployment 100x by 2050.
Interactive Technology Comparison
Select a capture technology to explore its process flow, economics, and ideal applications
Select Capture Technology
🏭Post-Combustion Capture
Capture CO₂ from flue gas after fuel combustion
Process Flow
✓ Advantages
- •Retrofit existing plants
- •Proven at scale
- •Flexible operation
✗ Challenges
- •High energy penalty
- •Solvent degradation
- •Large equipment footprint
Best Applications
⚙️ Technology Selection Framework
- •New plants: Consider pre-combustion or oxy-combustion from day one
- •Existing facilities: Post-combustion retrofit is only option
- •Pure CO₂ streams: No capture needed—just compress and transport
- •Negative emissions: DAC or bioenergy with CCS (BECCS)
📊 Cost Drivers
- •Energy penalty: 10-35% of plant output to run capture
- •Capital cost: $500-1500/kW capture capacity
- •Solvent/sorbent: Degradation and makeup costs
- •CO₂ purity: Dilute streams cost 2-10x more to capture
Explore CO₂ Utilization
Discover how captured CO₂ can be transformed into fuels, chemicals, and materials