The major techniques, advantages, and pitfalls of various methods used in geological carbon sequestration

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major component of greenhouse gases and a driver of climate change and associated challenges like global warming, drought, flooding, etc. There is, therefore, an urgent need, to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it to deplete its concentration and consequently, mitigate its adverse effects on the environment. Geological formations have huge potential for underground CO2 storage and therefore, present viable options for storing CO2 and reduction of greenhouse gases in general and CO2 in particular. This review outlines the various techniques, strengths and pitfalls associated with the various techniques applied to the three major geological formations used for carbon sequestration. The advantages of the various techniques are enormous and generally vary from one geological formation to the other. The applicability of these techniques, which is based on data from various sources including laboratory studies, numerical modelling, pilot field testing and commercial carbon capture projects have been documented in key literature for various regions of the world. Despite the immense advantages of carbon capture and utilization, Sub-Saharan Africa is still lagging and is yet to fully delve into this trajectory of research owing to a lack of interest, dearth of research funding and expertise. This review will highlight the various perspectives of carbon capture and storage that may help solve some of the problems burgeoning the energy industry as well as mitigate climate change problems, thus triggering the required thrust for research in the area.