It involves the geological storage of CO 2, typically 2-3 km deep, as a permanent solution. Alongside nuclear power and harnessing renewable energy sources, one hope for this is via 'clean coal' technologies, such as carbon capture and sequestration, also called carbon capture and storage (both abbreviated as CCS) or carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS). Much of the challenge is in commercialising the technology so that coal use would remain economically competitive despite the cost of achieving low, and eventually 'near-zero', emissions. The technologies are both costly and energy-intensive.Īs many coal-fired power stations approach retirement, their replacement gives much scope for 'cleaner' electricity. However, each year burning coal produces over 15 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO 2), which is released to the atmosphere, most of this being from power generation.ĭevelopment of new 'clean coal' technologies is attempting to address this problem so that the world's enormous resources of coal can be utilised for future generations without contributing to global warming. Globally about 2000 GWe of coal-fired generation capacity is operating and another 500 GWe is expected online by 2030. Coal is the world's most abundant and widely distributed fossil fuel source. Some 26% of primary energy needs are met by coal and 37% of electricity is generated from coal, compared with 23% for natural gas. The term 'clean coal' is increasingly being used for supercritical coal-fired plants without CCS, on the basis that CO 2 emissions are less than for older plants, but are still much greater than for nuclear or renewables.World R&D on CCS exceeded $1 billion per year over 2009 to 2013, then fell sharply.There is typically at least a 20% energy penalty involved in 'clean coal' processes.The greatest challenge is bringing the cost of this down sufficiently for 'clean coal' to compete with nuclear power on the basis of near-zero emissions for base-load power.Attempting to use coal without adding to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels is a major technological challenge.Burning coal produces about 15 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.Coal is used extensively as a fuel in most parts of the world.In addition to our mangrove initiative Aramco is working on other nature-based solutions such as developing algae ponds and photo bioreactors that are expected to reduce thousands of tons of CO 2 emissions from across our operations.'Clean Coal' Technologies, Carbon Capture & Sequestration Our mangrove plantation initiative to restore lost mangrove habitats in the Kingdom’s coastal areas is a voluntary sustainability community initiative to protect the natural habitats and ecosystems our company relies on. Mangrove trees act as an effective, natural carbon sink. In line with CCE, Aramco’s initiative to protect, plant and restore millions of mangrove trees inside and outside the Kingdom will absorb carbon and enhance biodiversity, while also prioritizing water conservation, treatment and reuse. Nature-based solutions also play an important role in removing carbon as part of the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) - the framework promoted by the Kingdom and adopted by the G20 member states during Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20. Alternatively, CO 2 can be sequestered by cultivating algae, which can be harvested and processed to produce useful products like biofuel and protein-rich animal feed. Mangrove trees, for example, sequester carbon far more effectively and permanently than terrestrial forests. Finally, nature can act as a natural carbon sink.Bio Energy Carbon Capture and Storage technologies extract and store CO 2 from biomass, itself a renewable energy source.Direct Air Capture (DAC) processes capture CO 2 directly from the atmosphere (rather than at source), to be sequestered or utilized. ![]() Mobile Carbon Capture technologies capture CO 2 from mobile sources and store the gas on board, ready for sequestration or utilization.Utilization means using captured CO2 directly - for example in manufacturing cement - or converting captured CO2 and other gases into useful industrial products like chemicals or fuels.Enhanced Oil Recovery involves extracting oil from oil fields by changing the original properties of oil, such as chemical flooding, carbon dioxide injection, or thermal recovery.Sequestration technologies deposit captured CO 2 in geological formations.Capture technologies take CO 2 from exhaust or reformed gases or stationary sources using pre-combustion, post-combustion or oxy-combustion techniques.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |