Transcript Carbon Capture and Storage

Two environmental Problems Caused by Burning Fossil Fuels
1) Pollution
• Premature deaths (~ ten years loss of life) caused by air pollution each year
(WHO 2007):
Globally - 2 million, China 650,000, India - 530,000, USA - 41,000
• Chernobyl killed 57 people directly and (according to United Nations Scientific
Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) < 4,0000 people from longterm effects, but
2004 official statistics: 6,027 deaths from coal mining accidents in China (real
number believed to be much more), 28 deaths in the USA
One modern 1 GW coal power station with European population density kills
300 people/year → 4,000 people in ~ 13 years
[Annual deaths from: indoor cooking ~ 1.5 M (0.3 M coal + 1.3 M biomass) malaria ~
1.2 M; TB ~ 1.6 M]
2) Climate Change
Since there are so few alternatives, expect most of world's remaining fossil
fuels will be burned on time scale less than several hundred years CO2 days
in atmosphere
Must try to capture and bury as much CO2 as possible
Carbon Capture and Storage
 In principle could capture CO2 from power stations (35%
of total) and from some industrial plants (not from cars,
domestic…)
 Capture and storage - would add ~ $2c/kWh to cost for gas;
more for coal - in both cases much more initially
 Storage - could (when location appropriate) be in depleted
gas fields, depleted oil fields, deep saline aquifers
 Issues are safety and cost (capture typically reduces efficiency
by 10 percentage points, e.g. 46% → 37%, 41% → 32%,..), and
how to count for Carbon credits
With current technology: capture, transmission and storage
would ~ double generation cost for coal
After capture, compress (>70 atmos →
liquid) transmit and store (>700m):
Conclusions on Carbon Capture and Storage
 Mandatory if feasible and the world is serious about climate
change - big potential if saline aquifers OK (said to be plenty in China
and India)
 Large scale demonstration very important
- First end-to-end CCS power station just opened in N Germany
(30MW oxy-fuel add–on → steam to turbines in existing 1 GW power
station)
- EU Zero Emissions Power strategy proposes 12 demonstration plants
(want many: different technologies & conditions) by 2015: needed to
develop/choose technologies, and drive down cost, if there is going to be
significant deployment by 2030
-Meanwhile should make all plants ‘capture ready (post-combustion or
oxy-fuel)
 It will require a floor for the price of carbon