Carbon capture in vehicles : a review of general support, available mechanisms, and consumer-acceptance issues.

This survey of the feasibility of introducing carbon capture and storage (CCS) into light vehicles
started by reviewing the level of international support for CCS in general. While there have been
encouraging signs that CCS is gaining acceptance as a means to reduce carbon emissions, the overall
outlook looks somewhat mixed. Recent developments in the US, the UK, Germany, India, and China
are discussed to obtain an indication of how likely it is that CCS technologies will gain acceptance
in each respective country.
Fossil fuels continue to be a versatile means of energy storage, especially compared with
many low-emissions alternatives. This is noted because, apart from reduced fuel consumption
CCS technology is key to reducing CO2 emissions produced by the use of fossil fuels in
transportation.
Primary focus in this review was placed on post-combustion-capture technologies because
these mechanisms are most easily adapted for use with the existing fleet of internal combustion
engines. Three post-combustion-capture mechanisms were described: absorption, membrane
separation, and adsorption.
Considerations about the consumer’s operational costs were discussed, including storage
management of captured CO2, additional energy costs to support separation and storage
discharge procedures, and vehicle maintenance costs. Models of consumer inclination to adopt
new technologies were also reviewed. An important component of a consumer’s motivation to
adopt eco-friendly transport is perceived financial benefit. This suggests that incentives beyond
reduced emissions may be required to motivate consumer adoption of vehicle-based CCS because
the link between emissions and fuel consumption may change.