CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) represents a critical technological pathway for deep decarbonization in process industries such as chemicals, petrochemicals, and coal chemicals. Its core framework comprises three sequential stages: capture, utilization, and storage. As the starting point of the entire technological chain, carbon capture can be categorized by technical route into post-combustion capture, pre-combustion capture, and Direct Air Capture (DAC). Among these, post-combustion chemical absorption is the most widely adopted scheme for industrial flue gas treatment, with alkanolamine-based absorbents serving as the core material in this process. 2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol , a sterically hindered amino alcohol, has drawn considerable industry attention as a specialty solvent. Owing to the steric hindrance effect of its molecular structure, 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol preferentially forms bicarbonate rather than the more stable carbamate upon reaction with CO₂. Compared with conventional monoethanolamine (MEA), 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol offers higher CO₂ loading capacity, lower regeneration energy requirements, and superior thermal stability. It is often blended with other amines for use in low-concentration flue gas conditions. However, pure 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol systems exhibit limited absorption kinetics and carry a risk of crystallization under high-loading conditions; therefore, engineering practice generally employs blended formulations to optimize overall performance. DAC, which targets the ultra-low CO₂ concentrations in ambient air, operates under conditions substantially different from industrial flue gas streams and does not directly adopt the 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol-based solvent systems used for flue gas capture; rather, it requires specially developed adsorbent materials tailored to its unique operating environment. 

In recent months, a number of CCUS demonstration projects in China have successively commenced operations, completed registration, or been put into commission, spanning diverse scenarios including petrochemicals, coal chemicals, oilfields, and industrial-park DAC installations -illustrating a concurrent push for technological iteration and large-scale project implementation. 

In the petrochemical sector, the world's first large-scale carbon-recycling core facility adapted to ethylene cracker flue gas has been commissioned at the Tarim base of Dushanzi Petrochemical in Xinjiang. The project comprises two 400, 000 t/y parallel low-concentration CO₂ integrated capture units, with a combined processing capacity of 800,000 tonnes per annum. The units completed feed-in trial operation in July 2026 and have now officially entered commercial operation. The flue gas emitted from ethylene crackers contains only about 8% CO₂ by volume, accompanied by low pressure, complex components, and high corrosivity-challenges widely recognized as engineering bottlenecks in carbon capture. Leveraging an integrated, modular skid-mounted design, the project achieves efficient dynamic recovery of CO₂ from low-concentration flue gas. The captured high-purity CO₂ can either be transported to oilfields for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and storage, or further processed as a chemical feedstock. Supporting a 1.2 million t/y ethylene unit, the project weaves a complete low-carbon industrial chain loop of "green power supply-carbon capture-blue hydrogen-blue ammonia-green fertilizers," providing a new engineering benchmark for carbon reduction in large-scale petrochemical facilities. Academicians Jin Zhijun and Li Gensheng led their research teams to the site for field investigation, conducting technical review and assessment of this domestically first-deployed integrated-unit technology. 

Leveraging its coal-based energy resources and oil-and-gas endowments, Xinjiang is accelerating the formation of regional CCUS industrial clusters. The Xinjiang Huarui Gas CCUS project in the Ganquanbao Economic and Technological Development Zone of Urumqi targets the coal-chemical flue gas emissions from Guoneng Xinjiang Chemical, purifying and liquefying the CO₂ and then transporting it to oilfields for EOR applications. Phase I of the project, with a capacity of 300,000 t/y, is already in commercial operation, while Phase II (500,000 t/y) will soon enter trial production, fully validating the commercial model of"coal-chemical source capture-liquefied transport-oilfield EOR. "In the Shangku High-tech Park in Korla, the 50,000 t/y demonstration unit operated by Bazhou Guanghe Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Research Institute has been running stably. The company has also planned a 2.25-million-tonne capture vision, intending to utilize the existing 178-km spare pipeline within the park to transport the enriched CO₂ to the Northwest Oilfield for EOR, or convert it into downstream chemical new materials, further amplifying regional decarbonization benefits. 

CCUS projects involve large capital outlays, multiple stakeholders, and complex chain-wide variables. The traditional evaluation model relying on manual, segmented calculations by different entities suffers from inconsistent accounting standards, cumbersome data aggregation, and narrow assessment dimensions. Static evaluation results often fail to align with dynamic on-site production rhythms, constraining project decision-making efficiency. The Exploration and Development Research Institute of Changqing Oilfield has developed China's first dedicated economic-performance evaluation platform for the entire CCUS value chain, filling a domestic gap in full-life-cycle integrated benefit-assessment tools for CCUS. Since its launch, the platform has tripled overall project evaluation efficiency and achieved a prediction accuracy exceeding 92%, enabling dynamic full-chain economic modeling and providing digital decision-support for CCUS project planning and investment analysis in oilfields. 

Beyond industrial-source capture, a DAC project at the park level has also broken ground in China. The Huangshi Carbon-Capture Zero-Carbon Industrial Park project in Hubei Province has completed registration and approval, with a total investment of approximately RMB 191 million. Located in Xialu District, Huangshi, the project covers about 16 mu (approx. 10,700 m²) with a total floor area of 13,500 m². Construction includes DAC adsorption workshops, steam desorption plants, dry-ice production units, storage facilities, a central control room, R&D laboratories, and supporting power, distribution, and office spaces. The project is scheduled to start construction in December 2026. By employing DAC technology to obtain CO₂, it will further produce dry-ice products and conduct R&D tests, exploring an industrial-scale pathway for negative-carbon technologies at the park level. 

The above projects clearly illustrate a marked differentiation in China's CCUS development: in petrochemical, coal-chemical, and oilfield EOR scenarios, post-combustion flue-gas capture remains the mainstream, focusing on overcoming low-concentration, highly corrosive flue-gas conditions and optimizing amine-based absorbents, integrated units, and pipeline transport/utilization integration. DAC, by contrast, is still in its early demonstration stage, with limited project scales and an emphasis on park-level demonstration, productization, and technology validation. 

Risun Amino Alcohol, the domestically produced 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol product independently industrialized by Risun, breaks the overseas technological monopoly. Relying on a proprietary non-nitration green synthesis process and featuring high purity and low impurity content, Risun Amino Alcohol is being actively promoted for solvent solutions across various industrial flue-gas CCUS projects. The company offers single-agent and blended formulations, as well as application technical support, to assist domestic carbon-capture installations in reducing regeneration energy consumption and enhancing overall capture efficiency. Looking ahead, the industry must continue to lower equipment investment, solvent loss, and operating energy consumption, refine economic evaluation systems, and connect the entire commercial chain from gas sources, capture, and storage to transport, utilization, and sequestration-thereby driving CCUS technologies from demonstration projects toward large-scale, widespread deployment. 

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