An apparatus and process for use of an alkaline reagent (e.g. sodium hydroxide, NaOH, potassium hydroxide, KOH, etc.) to facilitate removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from flue gas output from a glass melting operation. The CO2 removed from the flue gas can be in carbonates formed in the reaction of the reagent with the flue gas, which can be used in glass melting operations. A portion of the flue gas can also be liquefied in some embodiments to produce a liquefied CO2 stream for other uses. In some embodiments, a portion of the carbonate generated from the CO2 removal process can be heated (e.g. in an indirect heat exchange process) to liberate the CO2 for feeding the liberated CO2 to a liquefaction process while a resultant oxide formed via the CO2 liberation can be hydrolyzed to regenerate the alkaline reagent for subsequent use in the CO2 removal process.