CO2 Management

Carbon dioxide is one of the substances that make a significant contribution to global warming and climate change. Reducing the amount of CO₂ in the air is therefore one of the greatest challenges for the current generation – although it would be much better if there were no CO₂ emissions at all.

There are various ways of achieving zero emissions. The key issue here is to decarbonise production processes, i.e. avoid generating CO₂ during production.Technical processes that require heat, for example, can use climate-friendly alternative fuels in the future, such as hydrogen or electricity generated by renewable resources, instead of carbonaceous ones such as oil, coal or natural gas.

Some industrial processes – such as aluminium production for instance – do not yet work without carbon as an auxiliary raw material. In this case, new production processes need to be developed where carbon no longer plays a role. This is the only way to avoid generating more CO₂.

Climate-neutral fuels and new industrial processes are crucial to avoid carbon emissions

In processes where it is not possible to avoid carbon, there is another solution: instead of relying on fossil carbon sources, alternative sustainable sources of carbon such as sustainable biomass, residual material and recycled material can be used. This process is also known as defossilisation. To ensure the global carbon cycle is kept in balance, a production process should only generate as much CO₂ as can be taken in by the Earth’s plants and oceans in a natural way in the same time period.

Fossil fuels push the global carbon cycle into imbalance

This closed global carbon cycle does not work with fossil carbon sources such as coal, natural gas or oil: they have formed over millions of years – long before human life was possible on the planet – and have stored up huge quantities of carbon in the process. By using and burning fossil fuels, this carbon is released again at a speed that never existed before. This carbon released in the form of CO₂ can only be slowly transformed into biomass or even future fossil resources and therefore carries on concentrating in the atmosphere – resulting in global warming. 

Storing or continuing to use captured CO₂

In many processes, however, it is not possible to avoid emitting CO₂ entirely;for example, the raw material limestone itself releases CO₂ during the burning process during cement production. In these cases, a way of handling the CO₂ that is generated needs to be found. The important thing is to prevent the CO₂ being released into the atmosphere. This means that CO₂ separation technology must be incorporated into the plants where the CO₂ originates. The CO₂ that is captured is then taken to a location where it can be further utilised. Alternatively, it is taken to geological sites where it is stored for the long term.