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| Science & Technology |
| Black to green |
| 2008-09-05 |
| Beneath the gargantuan grey boiler towers of Schwarze Pumpe power station which pierce the skies of northern Germany, a Lilliputian puzzle of metal boxes and shining canisters is about to mark a moment of industrial history. This mini power plant is a pilot project for carbon capture and storage (CCS) - the first coal-fired plant in the world ready to capture and store its own CO2 emissions. Next week the pilot - an oxyfuel boiler - will be formally commissioned. A cloud of pure oxygen will be breathed into the boiler. The flame will be lit. Then a cloud of powdered lignite will be injected. The outcome will be heat, water vapour, impurities, nine tonnes of CO2 an hour, and a landmark in clean technology. Because the CO2 will then be separated, squashed to one 500th of its original volume and squeezed into a cylinder ready to be transported to a gas field and forced 1,000m below the surface into porous rock where it should stay until long after mankind has stopped worrying about climate change. This is the technology once lavishly described by the former UK Chief Scientist Sir David King as "the only hope for mankind". The plant operators, Vattenfall, have worked furiously for two years to get the pilot running. "We are very proud - we think this is the future for coal," says Vattenfall's Hubertus Altmann. They funded the 70m-euro project themselves because they wanted to lead a technology they believe solves the conundrum of providing energy security through plentiful coal supplies whilst avoiding the CO2 emissions officially blamed for climate change. 'Too expensive, too late' Green-carpeted marquees are currently being furnished for the guests who will swell the applause at the grand inauguration. But Greenpeace is among the environmental groups expressing reservations. "Our concern is that this technology is used to justify the construction of more coal power plants," says Tobias Munchmeyer. "It's too expensive, it will come too late and it will divert money from the real solutions, renewable energies and energy efficiency." The EU wants to see 10-12 full-scale power plants demonstrating CO2 capture within the next few years. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #10 The US gov tried building one. They gave up when costs rose to 5X that of a conventional plant. And it also takes a lot of energy to separate the oxygen before combustion. I shudder at the electricity cost of this plant. It will make solar seem downright affordable. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-09-05 21:27 |
| #9 Shieldwolf: and Germany shares a border with Saudi? Your comment is right and appropriate, if you can do both, great. This is a feel-good tool of western-world idiots to make their self-esteem artificially high. They should be exposed/explained for the morons they are. Planting vegetation is the best answer to CO2 concerns (and I have none) if they are valid |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-09-05 21:06 |
| #8 Actually, it makes sense to pump the CO2 into a gas field : it raises the pressure in the field if done correctly, and makes the gas field more productive. Lots of oil and gas fields around the world are being pressure-forced in a similar manner to insure continued productivity : Saudi Arabia HAS TO pressure-force its major fields now to keep up its oil production; otherwise, at least one of the major Saudi fields would go off-line. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2008-09-05 20:55 |
| #7 Thought that too, why in the heck would they throw away a commodity? And how much energy is being put into making then transporting these cylinders then pumping gas underground? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-09-05 17:45 |
| #6 The best way to "Neutralise" CO2 is to plant trees, as an added bonus plant Nut trees, Hickory, Pecan, Walnut etc, and reap the side bonus. Yum. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-09-05 13:49 |
| #5 Take that C02 and inject it into fizzy drinks so we can all enjoy it. Yeah we'll belch and fart a good chunk of it back but no plan is perfect. REcycle C02 you fools, cut the price of beer in the process. Win win. Yeah I know beer makes its own C02. Bummer. First the Muslims will come after beer and then the greens. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-09-05 11:07 |
| #4 Those people (Greenpeas and their ilk) while claiming to be "for the good of the evironment" are too stupid to realize that: A) Humanity's contribution of less than 1/3 of 1% of the planet's annual emmision of CO2 is less than negligible and B) CO2 is not a pollutant, it is a nutrient for 3/4 of the life on this planet. I really don't understand why people listen to this bull without thinking about it at all? |
| Posted by: DLR 2008-09-05 10:47 |
| #3 Greenpeace is among the environmental groups expressing reservations. "Our concern is that this technology is used to justify the construction of more coal power plants," says Tobias Munchmeyer. "It's too expensive, it will come too late and it will divert money from the real solutions, renewable energies and energy efficiency." Once you have paid the Danegeld, you will never be free of the Dane. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2008-09-05 03:40 |
| #2 This is a game for fools. If you want to deal with CO2, then take this waste stream and make something with it, like plants do. Reprocess. Burying it in a cylinder 1000M into the earth is just plain stupid. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-09-05 03:28 |
| #1 Thirty years ago, the same people were proposing that all the world's uranium should be buried too deep to be recovered. Just throw it away. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-09-05 00:32 |