Amine blends that are activated by concentrated piperazine are used extensively in commercial CO2 removal for carbon capture and storage (CCS) because piperazine advantageously allows for protection from significant thermal and oxidative degradation at typical coal flue gas conditions. The thermal degradation rates for methyl diethanolamine (MDEA) and piperazine (PZ) are negligible, and PZ, unlike other metals, protect MDEA from oxidative degradation. This increased stability of the MDEA/PZ solvent blend over MDEA and other amine solvents provides for greater capacity for and requires less work to capture a given amount of CO2.