CCS is seen as a tool to combat global warming. CCS involves separating the carbon in form for carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel before or after combustion in power plants as well as from flue gases resulting from industrial processes. The CO2 is compressed, transported and injected to subsurface reservoirs where it can be safely stored for millenniums (a concept also referred to as Geologic Sequestration of CO2).
Courtesy: Headspin Communication, Trondheim, Norway
The captured CO2 may also be utilized in a range of industrial processes. The most common way, and probably the one with largest potential, is to use the CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) from late life (tertiary) oil fields. This is called CO2-EOR. At the end of the oil production phase the CO2 utilized in the process is permanently stored. The CO2 may also be utilized in production of commodities like building materials, fuels and chemical products. In order to capture this alternative the concept of CO2 capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is used and incorporates also the pure storage option CCS.
More on CCS can be found at here or here or some of the useful links on the home page. More details on the utilization options can be found in this report.