Seize the "dual carbon" opportunity and explore accelerating the development of carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies in the paper industry

In recent years, the CCUS industry has evolved from exploratory beginnings to a stage of scaled development, currently in an "acceleration phase" transitioning from demonstration to commercialization, with multiple domestic projects of the million-ton scale being successively put into operation. Given the unique dual attributes of the paper industry as both a "carbon source" and a "carbon sink"—where carbon dioxide is emitted during production while carbon sequestration occurs through afforestation under the integrated forest-pulp-paper model and during the use and disposal stages of products—the sector possesses distinctive advantages for advancing CCUS technology. To seize the new track of green and low-carbon transformation and propel the CCUS industry from "point breakthroughs" to "chain momentum," several considerations and recommendations are proposed.

I. Development Advantages

(1) Sichuan Province boasts abundant natural resources and a solid foundation for carbon capture and storage. As a significant sedimentary basin in Southwest China, the Sichuan Basin possesses immense potential for geological CO₂ storage in deep saline aquifers and depleted natural gas fields, with theoretical storage capacities reaching 15.42 billion tons and 5.373 billion tons, respectively. Depleted natural gas fields, in particular, offer inherent advantages for early-stage CO₂ geological storage demonstrations due to their favorable reservoir conditions, high exploration maturity, and well-developed infrastructure. Additionally, Sichuan's bamboo pulp and paper industry holds distinct advantages, accounting for approximately 70% of the country's total bamboo pulp production, providing unique resource endowments and industrial foundations for advancing CCUS technology in the paper industry.

(2) Sichuan boasts abundant scientific and educational resources and outstanding technological research capabilities. As a key hub for national strategic scientific and technological forces, Sichuan is home to numerous large research institutions and universities. Notably, the Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory, the country's first entity focused on "carbon neutrality," operates here, gathering over 60 academicians and experts in the field. Sichuan University houses platforms such as the "Sichuan Provincial Carbon Neutrality Technology Innovation Center"—the first provincial-level carbon neutrality research platform in China—and the Ministry of Science and Technology's Energy Reserve and CCUS International Cooperation Research Base, forming a comprehensive professional talent training system spanning undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. Southwest Petroleum University spearheaded the establishment of the CCUS Technology Innovation International Cooperation Alliance, focusing on joint research to tackle technical challenges in the CCUS field.

(3) Industrial Demonstration Takes the Lead in Pilot Testing, Accelerating Application Scenarios. Currently, Sichuan Province has achieved a series of landmark demonstration results in the industrial application of CCUS technology. Sichuan University and Panzhihua Steel Group have built the world's first 10,000-ton-scale industrial pilot facility for CO₂ mineralization using desulfurization slag and solid waste, achieving a carbonation rate of over 120 kg/t and an annual carbon capture capacity of 15,300 tons. Dongfang Electric Group's Dongfang Boiler Co., Ltd. has constructed the world's largest 4 MWth chemical looping combustion carbon capture pilot plant, with a carbon capture efficiency exceeding 90% and an oxygen supplementation rate below 10%. Hop Green Carbon (Shenzhen) has established the largest CCUS equipment manufacturing base in Southwest China in Nanyu County, with an expected annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons of CO₂ capture equipment.

(4) The policy framework continues to improve, and the industrial ecosystem is accelerating its formation. At the national level, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and 15 other departments issued the "Implementation Opinions on Strengthening Scientific and Technological Innovation in the Ecological Environment Field to Promote the Construction of a Beautiful China," explicitly proposing the deployment of cutting-edge technologies such as hydrogen metallurgy, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), and driving industrial process reengineering.