[D66] The United Kingdom opens the door to capture CO2 gas plants

Sat Jan 29 19:22:11 CET 2011

The United Kingdom opens the door to capture CO2 gas
plants<http://www.scienceknowledge.org/2011/01/29/the-united-kingdom-opens-the-door-to-capture-co2-gas-plants/>

Committed to meet ambitious targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse
gases by 2050, the United Kingdom should formulate its energy policy
accordingly.

<http://www.scienceknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Christopher-Thomond-for-the-Guardian.jpg>In
addition, the importance of the country’s strategy for*electricity
production* is accentuated by the necessary renewal of a significant
proportion of energy generation infrastructure happening in end of life.
>From these requirements, and seeking to preserve a safe, government action
is based on four pillars: energy conservation, increased use of renewables,
nuclear fleet renewal and development patterns production of cleaner energy
from fossil fuels.

This last point is of course referring to technologies Capture and Storage
(CCS). The United Kingdom was already planning to rely on such devices by
linking them to central power generation from coal. Now, following an
announcement by Chris Huhne, Minister of Energy and Climate Change, dated
November 8, 2010, power plants fueled by natural gas are also concerned by
the use of these technologies. This announcement is fully willing to give up
important ways of generating electricity safe, clean and relatively
inexpensive.

The program of the coalition government acknowledges the commitment of
governments to support the construction of four demonstration facilities
systems CCS on coal plants. After the general review of public spending, the
government announced that 1 billion would be used to fund £ the first draft.
The method of funding the other three demonstration projects, which could
take the form of a tax dedicated to* CCS technologies*, will be decided in
spring 2011. Initially, the demonstration program only to relate to the coal
plants (including carbon dioxide emissions are about twice those of gas
power plants: 800 400 gCO2/kWh gCO2/kWh cons), they are seeing by otherwise
subject to very strict limitations on emissions (Emission Performance
Standard). In practice these limitations, which must still be encrypted,
will want a way to ban the construction of new coal plants that are not
provided with facilities of CSC.

The opening of this demonstration program to gas power plants followed the
advice given to government by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC committee
on climate change) through a letter addressed to Chris Huhne in June 2010.
In this document, the committee recalled that the area of energy production
had to adopt a model significantly less carbon emitter by 2030, otherwise
the 2050 targets set in the Climate Change Act (emissions Greenhouse gas
emissions reduced by 80% between 1990 and 2050) would be more realistic. In
this context, they called on the government to adopt a more coherent and
therefore work on the adaptation of CCS technology for gas plants now. Their
position did not however claim to the same requirements as compared to
emissions for coal plants, the need for conventional gas plants is obvious
to maintain the security of energy supply during the transition from UK
towards a system of energy production cleaner.

Various demonstration projects of CCS technology could potentially be fired
plants to coal or gas. The government’s decision, if it follows the opinion
of the CCC, is also based on an analysis of expected benefits of this new
approach. Indeed, the Minister of Energy and Climate Change expects that
this decision confirms the leading position occupied by the United Kingdom
in the development of technologies to capture, transport and storage.

The measure announced by the government does not, however, gas plants and
coal on an equal footing. Chris Huhne did not actually intend to apply the
same requirements in terms of emissions for these two modes of energy
production, and what the short or medium term. The recommendation of CCC
providing that the new gas power plants built after 2020 should be equipped
with CCS systems in particular has not been followed.

The CCC has nonetheless welcomed the announcement, which was not the case of
large companies in the energy sector as RWE and E. ON They fear that,
despite the insistence of the Minister on the fact that it is not intended
to limit emissions from gas plants, he almost expected the establishment of
such regulations in the future. For them, the uncertainty on this point
could, pushing investors constitute an obstacle to building new power
generating electricity from natural gas. The country’s energy supply would
be at risk because, as mentioned above, gas plants are expected to play a
crucial role in the transition to a production system more reliable
electricity and low carbon emitter. Moreover, it does not seem obvious to
those companies which put in place systems for capturing carbon gas plants
is a sustainable competitive way of reducing emissions of greenhouse gas
emissions in Britain.

The United Kingdom plans to use a system of power generation in which fossil
fuels retain an important place alongside renewables and nuclear power
generating renewed. The use of carbon capture and storage of carbon for
power plants operating from fossil fuels seems to register as a “miracle”
solution relatively inexpensive, clean and reliably supplying UK consumers.
The country also has significant advantages since the geological deposits of
hydrocarbons in the North Sea, depleted, are privileged places for the
storage of carbon dioxide from production of electricity. In these
circumstances it seems logical that the country wants is already developing
such devices for gas-fired plants to take advantage as soon as possible the
potential for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases that leaves glimpse.

–

Carbon Capture and Storage

1. Capture

Carbon dioxide is captured by different methods at the Central Electricity
Generation
- Capture post-combustion carbon dioxide is taken from the flue gases from
the combustion of hydrocarbons. This method is easily adaptable to existing
plants.
- Pre-combustion capture: the fossil fuel is processed upstream of the
combustion in order to obtain carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The first is
taken and only the second is burnt, producing water vapor.
- Capture by oxy-combustion air is treated upstream of the combustion so
that it is done in the presence of pure oxygen. The fumes from the
combustion are then of water vapor and carbon dioxide, easily separable by
condensation to remove the second.

2. Transportation

Transport carbon dioxide captured prior to storage locations is done either
by ship or by pipeline. The difficulties inherent in this step lies in the
precise control of transport conditions, ie pressure and temperature.

3. Storage

The storage of carbon dioxide should be in sites where the gas is not
captured previously in contact with the atmosphere for a very long time.
There are three main options:
- Deposits of oil or gas at the end of exploitation: these tanks which are
well known geological features and favorable gas storage, in which the
captured CO2 can occupy the volume left free by oil extracts.
- The non-mineable coal seams: the carbon dioxide can be stored in the pores
of the carbon present in these veins.
- Deep aquifers: the geological formations saturated with saline water exist
in the world and have a storage potential of carbon dioxide high. However,
the effect of CO2 storage in these formations is still the subject of
research to be better understood.

Source:

- The Telegraph, 23/11/10 -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/8149891/Gr…<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/8149891/Green-restrictions-on-gas-could-endanger-UK-supply.html>
- DECC, 23/11/10,
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/cleantech/cleantech.aspx
- CCC, 09/11/10 -
http://www.theccc.org.uk/news/latest-news/785-committee-welcomes-the-govern…<http://www.theccc.org.uk/news/latest-news/785-committee-welcomes-the-governments-decision-to-open-its-p9bn-ccs-demonstration-programme-to-gas-plants>
- DECC, 08/11/10 –
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/PN10_117/PN10_117.aspx
- New Energy Focus, 08/11/10 –
http://www.newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=160&list…<http://www.newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=160&listitemid=4538&section=Carbon>
- The Guardian 07/11/10 –
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/07/gas-plans-eligible-carbon-ca…<http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/07/gas-plans-eligible-carbon-capture-demo-programme>
- CCC, 17/06/10 – http://hmccc.s3.amazonaws.com/gas% 20cc% 20letter% 20 -%
20final.pdf<http://hmccc.s3.amazonaws.com/gas%20CCS%20letter%20-%20final.pdf>
- DECC, 17/08/10 –
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/Guardian_lett/Guardian_lett.aspx
- IFP new energies –
http://www.ifpenergiesnouvelles.fr/content/download/57537/1264866/version/2…<http://www.ifpenergiesnouvelles.fr/content/download/57537/1264866/version/2/file/DP_fiche_comment_capter.pdf>
- Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage – http://www.sccs.org.uk/

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Henk Elegeert
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