China’s first standards for defining terms of CCUS

On Dec. 22, 2021, the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences released standards called “Terms of carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage (CCUS)” (T/CSES 41-2021), which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, as China’s first standards for CCUS. This set of standards are classified as “association standards” in the country’s standards system.

These standards define technical terms used in CCUS. These definitions are referred to in CCUS-related research as well as the management and production of things related to CCUS in the chemical and other carbon intensive industries. The Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences is expected to promote its standards and accelerate the industrial implementation of CCUS in coming years.

Scope

The standards are used in research and education as well as the management and production of things in CCUS-related fields, such as carbon capture, chemical production, mining and underground storage, in carbon intensive industries, including the chemical, thermal power generation, steel and cement industries.

Examples of technical terms used in CCUS

• Carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is defined as reducing emissions of carbon dioxide or removing carbon dioxide by removing it from the atmosphere or emission sources in the industry or energy sector, directly utilizing it or storing it.
• Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is defined as removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or emission sources in the industry or energy sector and storing it in an underground storage layer to isolate it from the atmosphere for a long period.
• CO₂ capture is defined as the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or industrial or energy-related facilities and putting it into high density CO₂ streams easy to transport, store and utilize.
• CO₂ chemical utilization is defined as converting carbon dioxide and other reactants into materials that will be utilized for the production of organic or inorganic chemicals, materials or energy, or utilized for other purposes while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The full text of the standards (in simplified Chinese) is available at
http://www.ttbz.org.cn/Pdfs/Index/?ftype=st&pms=56652