Page 33 - European Energy Innovation - Spring 2016 publication
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Spring 2016 European Energy Innovation 33
HEADING CARBON CAPTURE & STORAGE
perfectly suitable oil pipeline have has been created or destroyed since And this is the point: for literally
already been installed across the its creation. In other words, for over millions of years, carbon has been
globe, while we have well developed 4.5 billion years carbon has simply captured from the atmosphere by
systems for moving large volumes of moved between the atmosphere, the both terrestrial and marine organisms,
LNG by sea. Meanwhile, geological lithosphere, the hydrosphere and, more and stored naturally through the
serendipity means that the very basins recently (as in for the last 600 million process of burial and the effects of
which contain conventional oil and years or so), the biosphere: this is the heat and pressure. A perfect natural
gas reservoirs also provide excellent carbon cycle. According to the best CCS system, still going on today in
CO2 storage facilities. What is required science we have, atmospheric CO2 peat bogs and lignite deposits: one
is a porous rock to contain the gas, levels, currently 400 parts per million is a precursor of the other; and both
overlain with a cap that is impervious (ppm) were as high as 7,000 ppm during are precursors to coal. Combustion of
to CO2 . The oil industry already pumps the Cambrian period some 500 million these fossil fuels simply returns stored
CO2 into oil reservoirs as they deplete years ago (mya). By about 200 million carbon to the atmosphere, forming
so as to flush out more oil: this is in years later, during the Carboniferous the basis of the compelling argument
effect the ‘S’ in CCS. CCS would seem period, atmospheric CO2 and global for CCS as the technology to solve this
therefore to offer an almost irresistibly temperatures are both thought to have immediate problem. Compelling, that
attractive prospect. We already have greatly decreased. Much of this time is, until one asks how the plants of the
the technology to do it, and it removes coincided with the evolution of, and future will photosynthesise when all
the principal danger to our climate growth in, terrestrial plant populations: the Earth’s CO2 is locked underground.
control aspirations. plants whose remains created the
world’s coal reserves which geologists For the longer term, perhaps we
But what lies behind the CCS use to name the period. Meanwhile, it should still look to renewable energy
proposition? What about the science would not be long (in geological terms) sources; and to developing various
behind the science? before dead marine organisms were well-known chemical processes that
raining down on the floor of the Tethys can convert CO2 into hydrocarbons. In
To begin with, there is no evidence Ocean, into conditions right for the that way, we would be copying nature,
that a single atom of the Earth’s carbon formation of petroleum. not fighting it. l
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