Cooling technology reduces the cost of collecting and storing carbon

For years, the collection and storage of carbon (CCS) has been seen as a costly but essential step to reduce emissions and protect the environment. Recently, a study conducted by SINTEF (Norway) has shown that CO ₂ cooling technology can reduce costs by 30% and can be applied more quickly to industrial plants.

So how does this technology work? Cooling the exhaust gas from the large power plant's chimneys and industrial zones will cause the condensed CO _{2 to} become liquid. This liquid can then be transported through pipes, in containers or on ships. The study suggests that technology may use less energy than chemical treatment or advanced materials to extract CO ₂ and potentially reduce carbon transport costs.

Kristin Jordal, a scientist at SINTEF, said: "Liquid CO2 can be deposited on a ship's container and transported to offshore storage areas before the pipeline is installed. Our present opens up the potential to collect cold CO ₂ , CO ₂ storage areas below the North Sea can be built. "

Below the North Sea there is an area called Sleipner . This is an area containing 11 million tons of CO2 since the waste was collected in 1996 and has the potential to store a huge amount of CO2. The British Geological Survey (BGS) estimates that the storage capacity at Sleipner can be up to 6 x 1011m ³ and every 1% of the space can contain emissions equivalent to 50 years of operation by 20 fuel plants. coal.

However, experts still fear that what will happen if CO ₂ leaks? If CO2 is absorbed into water, it will increase acidity and potential to affect the ecosystem. In the face of this threat, there were six 3D geological surveys conducted and the most recent survey was in 2008. All exploration results show that CO _{2 is} still being stored safely in annoying rock beneath the ocean.

The initiators claim that carbon capture and storage can reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse effects. In a report published April 13, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stressed that global scale carbon capture and storage is a step forward. comprehensive to protect our atmosphere. The IPCC asserts that in order to create a scenario by 2100 when we can keep the temperature change below 2 degrees C, carbon capture and storage will play an important role in reducing global emissions. Demand from 25 to 55% of emissions in 2010.

Researchers participated in the Cold CO ₂ Capture project - from left to head Petter Nekså, director of science, Kristin Jordal and David Berstad, all from SINTE Energy Research.

However, even in the most ideal conditions, carbon capture and storage cannot address long-term climate challenges. As part of the emissions reduction technology, CCS has succeeded in promptly eliminating enough carbon to neutralize our polluting activities. But in the end, the collected carbon will have no place to store. If we don't exploit renewable energy sources on a large scale, we will return to the original state.

In addition, CCS technology needs to be deployed at the right time. According to Global CCS, it will take 5 to 10 years to prepare a carbon storage area as stated. This means that if a commercial project is launched today, it will need to be aggressively promoted to be ready for carbon storage before 2020. Researcher Kyle Sherer has also questioned technology. CCS in 2008 that if we had enough time to effectively apply this technology six years ago, and today we have 12 CCS systems operating on an industrial scale, this number is still too small for 2,300 coal-fired power plants according to IEA Clean Coal Center statistics.

The potential of cooling technology in collecting and storing carbon is an important step to overcome the cost and energy problem in terms of adoption and deployment but it is only useful if companies and The government works together to quickly build the necessary infrastructure. Thereby, new researchers can take one more step to come up with longer-term solutions.