Carbon Capture & Storage technology has been around for many decades but researchers could not make any substantial progress in its testing. Abandoning this tale forever, Energy Company ScottishPower ventures to put it for maiden test at the Longannet coal-fired power station, in Fife, England. Nearly six months back, the site was investigated for storing carbon dioxide under the North Sea. Over the next three months, researchers from the University of Edinburgh will test three different types of amine solutions. It’s not an independent research since Imperial College, London is supposed to lend a hand. If all goes well, this methodical carbon capture plant would become operational by 2014.
UK Secretary of Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband says:
There is no alternative to CCS if we are serious about fighting climate change. We need new coal-fired power stations (for energy security) but only if they can be part of a low carbon future. With a solution to the problem of coal, we greatly increase our chances of stopping dangerous climate change emissions. Without we will not succeed.
Germany, already realizing it, is running a CCS coal plant in the industrial area of Schwarze Pumpe, about 4 kms south of the city of Spremberg. Another plant is located in Australia near Nirranda South in South Western Victoria. Though both are demonstration plants, still none of these actually propose to capture CO2 from coal fired power generation.
Things you probably don’t know:
CCS technology at ScottishPower focuses on the post-combustion on coal. The basic process includes flue gas capture from the power station, cooling off amines, and the subsequent compression of pure CO2 into liquid. A 30-tonne test unit aims at processing 1,000 cubic meters of exhaust gas per hour from the plant, which is developed by Aker Clean Carbon. It will also prove to be a learning experience for the researchers while they would learn how effective amines are at removing CO2. Next step is transportation wherein the liquefied pure CO2 is transferred through pipelines or ships or both to some offshore location.
Finally, the destination to dump this ecological waste is decided upon depending on the availability of saline aquifers and impermeable cap-rocks. ScottishPower targets the central North Sea since its geological location is best suited for storing CO2. There is less scope for continuation of any sort of life here and these saline aquifers are capacious enough to store all of Europe’s CO2 emissions for a century.
The motive behind choosing this venue in particular is to assess the efficacy of CCS technology at its climax, given that this power station (Est. 1969) is the second largest in the UK.
Carbon Capture & Storage Technology at a Glance:
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an effective tool to combat global warming since it circuitously nullifies the fossil fuel emissions from large point sources such as fossil fuel power plants. This geo-engineering technique provides a permanent solution to store the scrubbed CO2 away from the atmosphere. CO2 is stored either in geological formations, in deep oceans or as mineral carbonates. Among these sequestration sites, geological formations are the safest.
Fife Carbon Capture Test encases the oceanic storage. Though it is a great solution, it still poses a threat to the ocean organisms and none could ever be sure whether it remains there forever. Long-term predictions about submarine or underground storage security are very difficult and uncertain and CO2 might leak from the storage into the atmosphere. It might also go on to increase the acidity of ocean water.
Future Impact:
Call them aftermath or impact, they are bound to suggest some positives and negatives as well. On a positive note, CCS benefits a coal-fired plant provided it’s researched, developed and deployed (RD&D) well. This sequestered coal-based electricity generation will definitely prove to be cheaper than the un-sequestered coal-based electricity generation. Secondly, this technology will pave way for a cleaner future as carbon-emissions will definitely drop.
On the other hand, CO2 capture calls for more energy and more fuel. Therefore, there will be a considerable rise in emissions of air pollutants and the air quality will go down. Due to the increase in acidity of seawater, various marine dwelling species will become extinct.
Image Credit: ScottishPower
