Carbon Capture Technology Being Tested

Three different chemical formulas will be employed to assess effectiveness of removing CO2 from post combustion power plant exhaust over the next three months.

BBC reports:

"The UK government recently gave the go-ahead for a new generation of coal-fired power stations provided they were able to limit their CO2 emissions. The scientists have focussed on the post-combustion method of carbon capture and storage (CCS) which aims to trap greenhouse emissions after fossil fuels have been burnt.

The plant, developed by Aker Clean Carbon, will enable them to assess the effectiveness of chemicals, known as amines, at removing CO2. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh will join the project, testing three different types of amine solution over the next three months." See full article.

Converting Carbon Dioxide to Solid Rock

As we continue to work to cut back on the burning of greenhouse gas-producing fuels, some are also looking for ways to pull carbon dioxide from the air and store it.

The Guardian.UK reports:

"Engineers in Iceland are set to convert carbon dioxide to solid rock as a way to tackle global warming.

The experts want to exploit the country's volcanic origins to dispose of up to 30,000 tonnes of the greenhouse gas each year. They expect the gas to react with layers of volcanic rocks deep beneath the surface to form minerals that will lock the carbon pollution away for millions of years.

"This is a well-known natural process," said Holmfridur Sigurdardottir, project manager. "We are just trying to imitate what nature is doing."

The project will take CO2 produced by an Icelandic geothermal energy plant and dissolve it in water under high pressures. It will then pump the solution into layers of basalt about 400-700m underground, and watch what happens. Laboratory experiments suggest the dissolved CO2 will react with calcium in the basalt to form solid calcium carbonate. See full article.