Now a long article from New Scientist magazine, and then I promise Ill try and stop, this is some very promising positive news but :) Rising above the endless plains of Saskatchewan, Canadas Boundary Dam poer plant looks like any other: giant boxes, tall red and white striped chimneys, and a mess of pipes and powerlines. But appearances can be deceptive. In the coming months, it will become the first power plant to suck the carbon dioxide out of its flue before the gas reaches the air. It is blazing the trail for carbon capture and storage(CCS) arounbd the world. Not bad for Canadas largest coal power plant. Each year, Unit3 of SaskPowers Boundary Dam plant emits 1.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. But from this summer, 90 percent of that CO2 will never see the light of day. Instead, the gas will be piped to the nearby Weyburn oilfield and Deadwater saline aquifier, and pumped several kilometres underground. The resulting 110 megawatts of power produced will be some of the worlds most environmentally clean power from fossil fuels, says SaskPowers Robert Watson. 2014 is a pivotal year for CCS, says Stuart Haszeldine of the University of Edinburgh, UK. The technology is going from zero to something. Its terrific. Boundary Dam is carbon capture and storages first big success story, and more must follow. The international Energy Agency(IEA) says that, to have a 50 percent chance of avoiding 2 degrees celcius of global warming, which is probably too dangerous to adapt to, the energy sector can only emit 884 gigatonnes of CO2 between 2013 and 2050(Redrawing the Climate-Energy map 2013). Burning proven reserves of coal, oil and gas would release 2860 Gt. So we must leave two thirds in the ground. Actually I cant be bothered writing the whole article lol(its massive), but I will write about what they will do with the CO2 they trap: Carbon dioxide from power plants can be buried beneath impermeable rock, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping to slow climate change. The captured CO2 can then be used in many ways. 60-90% of carbon emissions will be filtered out by CCS(carbon capture storage). Coal methane Co2 can be injected into a coal seam, releasing natural gas for extraction. Enhanced oil recovery Forcing CO2 into an oil well pushes the remaining oil out. Saline aquifer CO2 can be injected into deep geological formations. Manufacturing CO2 can be be used to make plastics and other hydrocarbons. Way better than contributing to the greenhouse effect :)
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 05:07:38 +0000
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