How does Carbon Capture & Storage work?
Climate Change and Carbon Capture Solutions
The Impact of Human Activities on Climate Change
- Climate change is significantly driven by human activities such as land clearing, intensive farming, and burning fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal), which produce greenhouse gases.
- Acknowledgment from the Australian coal industry about its role in climate change and a commitment to participate in solutions.
Investment in Carbon Capture Technology
- The Australian coal industry is investing one billion dollars into carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to mitigate CO2 emissions.
- CCS involves capturing CO2 emitted from burning fossil fuels, compressing it into liquid form for transport, and storing it safely underground.
Key Methods of Carbon Capture
Pre-combustion Capture
- Involves combining coal with oxygen to create a gas mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen; water is added to convert carbon monoxide into hydrogen and CO2.
Post-combustion Capture
- Fossil fuel is burned normally; flue gas passes through an absorber column filled with solvents that absorb CO2 before it enters the atmosphere.
Oxy-fuel Process
- Nitrogen is removed from air before combustion; the resulting oxygen combusted with fossil fuel produces CO2 and water vapor, which are then processed for electricity generation.
Storage of Captured CO2
- Captured CO2 is classified as inert after being compressed into liquid form for transportation via trucks or pipelines.
- Safe storage occurs in deep underground rock formations known as geo-sequestration sites selected for their porous characteristics that can trap CO2 effectively.
Monitoring and Future Challenges
- A sophisticated monitoring system tracks stored CO2 at three levels: subsurface, soil, and atmospheric conditions around the site.