Carbon Capture

Though renewable energy rapidly expanding in all corners of the world, the existence of fossil fuelled generation cannot be completely ignored in today’s world. Solar energy is getting cheap and has also started to reach grid parity in various parts of the world. However, large and developing economies like India and China will not be able to completely phase out of thermal power and rely totally on other alternative sources of power, at least in few more years’ time. Hence the importance of carbon capture.

Also read about Clean Coal Technologies

Carbon capture is the process of capturing excess carbon dioxide and storing it in a way they do not enter the layers of atmosphere again. The technology is still developing and cost remains the biggest challenge. The world today has reached a stage, when all means to combat  change should come into play.

Source: climatechange.ca.gov

The whole process of carbon capture can be simplified into three stages:

• Capture
• Transport
• Storage

According to EPA it is estimated that if carbon capture is applied to a 500 MW thermal power plant, amount of GHG avoided would be equivalent to planting more than 60 million trees. It is a win-win situation for the world at large. The CO2 can be captured from industries/ factories and the stored CO2 can be used in other industrial applications. The technology is already being used in USA.

Recently the Norwegian government announced the development of three full-scale CCS projects. This technology will be inevitable for nations who still depend on thermal/ fossil fuel power generation. India ratified the Paris Climate change deal lately, and committed to create an additional carbon sink. This is estimated to absorb 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2030 by increasing its forest cover. The country already set a record by planting more than 50 million trees in just one day this year.

Also read Does India need a Carbon Capture and Sequestration

Carbon capture is still not very popular in the world today. It is relatively costly. The transportation and storage further adds to the cost. In contrast solar energy is fast gaining traction owing to its green credentials and falling costs. Hence carbon capture has been given the step child-like treatment. Remember the cost of solar power when it was just catching heat? But with its rising popularity, its costs have almost fallen 80% in the just five years’ time. Another concern for Carbon capture technology is the accidental leakage of this stored CO2 back in the atmosphere. There is a risk that the storage pipe itself could tear and leak due to the pressure.

Former UK chief scientist David King has called CCS “the only hope for mankind” – Source Carbon Brief