Governor praises carbon sequestration research
By: Lana Groves
Issue date: 11/21/07 Section: News
There might be a new "best" method to combat global warming -- forcing carbon dioxide emitted from coal -- burning power plants underground.
U researcher Brian McPherson said the process, called carbon sequestration, is the quickest and most effective way to lower greenhouse gas emissions known to cause global climate change in a short amount of time.
McPherson leads a team of researchers testing the technique near Price, Utah.
Over four years, the team will take carbon dioxide from coal-bed methane and power plants, capture it and pump it into a well 5,000 feet underground. It will take nearly four years to pump one million tons of gas, which is pressurized into a near liquid state, below the surface.
The researchers will then spend six years monitoring the fate of the carbon dioxide.
Despite the quantity of pressurized air being pushed underground, McPherson said it is unlikely that carbon dioxide could escape from the well.
Without having reviewed McPherson's plans for carbon sequestration in Utah, U meteorology professor Thomas Reichler questioned whether the method would use too much electricity in the process.
"How much energy you need to put carbon dioxide back into the ground is a very important factor," he said. "Utah is a state that produces more energy than (it uses)."
McPherson, a professor in civil and environmental engineering at the U, said the process would only be effective in newer plants.
He said that a new coal plant, which "gassifies" the coal instead of burning it, would see a 20 percent increase in electricity costs associated with carbon sequestration, and older power plants would face a 60 percent increase.
"People won't stand for a 60 percent increase, but 10 to 20 percent wouldn't be too far from the yearly rise in electricity anyway," McPherson said.
Growing concerns about the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted from power plants and car exhaust has convinced government officials to find ways of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide expelled into the atmosphere.
U researcher Brian McPherson said the process, called carbon sequestration, is the quickest and most effective way to lower greenhouse gas emissions known to cause global climate change in a short amount of time.
McPherson leads a team of researchers testing the technique near Price, Utah.
Over four years, the team will take carbon dioxide from coal-bed methane and power plants, capture it and pump it into a well 5,000 feet underground. It will take nearly four years to pump one million tons of gas, which is pressurized into a near liquid state, below the surface.
The researchers will then spend six years monitoring the fate of the carbon dioxide.
Despite the quantity of pressurized air being pushed underground, McPherson said it is unlikely that carbon dioxide could escape from the well.
Without having reviewed McPherson's plans for carbon sequestration in Utah, U meteorology professor Thomas Reichler questioned whether the method would use too much electricity in the process.
"How much energy you need to put carbon dioxide back into the ground is a very important factor," he said. "Utah is a state that produces more energy than (it uses)."
McPherson, a professor in civil and environmental engineering at the U, said the process would only be effective in newer plants.
He said that a new coal plant, which "gassifies" the coal instead of burning it, would see a 20 percent increase in electricity costs associated with carbon sequestration, and older power plants would face a 60 percent increase.
"People won't stand for a 60 percent increase, but 10 to 20 percent wouldn't be too far from the yearly rise in electricity anyway," McPherson said.
Growing concerns about the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted from power plants and car exhaust has convinced government officials to find ways of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide expelled into the atmosphere.
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