CO2 Capture Research To Help Climate Change Targets

By David Welsh, London Press Service

A NEW research foundation is set to play a crucial role in the fight against climate change.

It will work on a natural process using silicate-based rocks such as serpentine. Globally, there are enough of these to store all the CO2 produced by burning all the world's known fossil fuel reserves.

The Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture & Storage that opened at Nottingham University, England, recently has been established to develop novel technologies to trap the "greenhouse gas" carbon dioxide and store it permanently and safely, so that it is not released into the atmosphere.

Dr Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Associate Professor and Reader in Energy Technology, was awarded 1.1 million pounds in support for the centre from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council.

The council announced a five-year funding package for the innovative centre (the CICCS), with a view to it becoming a world leader in the development of new processes for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and establishing partnerships with major international industries and research foundations.

Dr Maroto-Valer, the CICCS director, said: "The novel technologies developed at the centre will enable the UK to meet its targets for the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and thus help the UK to play its part in global efforts to tackle climate change."

CO2 is the main culprit in global warming and in the UK almost a third of these emissions come from power stations. The storage method to be developed at the CICCS could cut such CO2 releases to zero in a safe and reliable manner.

Its scientists will work on research at the interface of science and engineering, industry and international cooperation in order to accelerate technological innovation in the field and lead to a wider deployment of CCS. The centre will also have a strong programme of knowledge transfer and training with a range of opportunities for industrial collaboration.

Dr Maroto-Valer, a member of the university's School of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, said: "The way we will approach this problem is unique. The CICCS will bring together engineers, mathematicians, bioscientists, geographers, geologists and end-users in a 'hot house' environment that encourages creative problem-solving."

The idea is for the centre to facilitate interdisciplinary activity, taking groundbreaking ideas from basic science and developing them into new products, processes and services. It will also address issues of public acceptability.

Within the centre a new generation of potential academic, industrial and government leaders in CCS will be trained with a broad and interdisciplinary set of skills suitable for their future careers in industry, research or government.

One of the technologies that the centre will work on uses a natural process in conjunction with silicate-based rocks such as serpentine. This is found in large enough quantities, and in the right places, to store all the CO2 produced by the combustion of the entire world's known fossil fuel reserves.

The CO2 extracted from burning coal is put into a reactor with the rocks and through a chemical reaction the serpentine binds the carbon dioxide to itself, "locking it in" permanently.

This reaction does occur in nature - only far more slowly, taking place over eons of time. Once the new process is fully developed, it is estimated that the locking of CO2 will take place within minutes.

The end product is a mineral such as magnesite that can be used as aggregates for road building or shaped into bricks for construction. CO2 makes up 40 per cent of its weight and it would take 1,500 times more space to store the same amount in gas form.

Compared with other proposed processes for carbon storage (such as burial under the sea), once the CO2 is locked inside the rock by the CICCS process, it is contained for ever and cannot go back to its previous state. This is of paramount importance because ensuring the permanent storage of the CO2 has so far been the most controversial issue in carbon storage.

Moreover, the end result is a commercial product. Fossil fuel power plants could take advantage of the new process by adding a reactor to their emissions treatment system, allowing CO2 to be turned into a useful building material.

The centre's ultimate goal will be to sign collaborative agreements with power and construction companies to move forward with commercialisation of the technology. The processes developed there will also be attractive to oil producers, chemical manufacturers and other energy-intensive industries that have a role to play in helping the UK to meet its 2050 target of 60 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions below 1990 levels.

A spokesperson for the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council said: "Established in response to recommendations in the 2004 international review of engineering research in the UK, Challenging Engineering aims to encourage young researchers to develop and lead adventurous projects.

"It seeks to identify and support outstanding researchers at an early stage of their career, to achieve their potential faster through training in creativity and leadership, linking with industry, developing collaborative networks and routes to better exploitation.

"The competition required candidates to present their project proposals creatively and offered the opportunity to demonstrate their ability not only to lead far-reaching research, but also to communicate its importance to the wider world. The EPSRC makes around seven Challenging Engineering awards annually, with a total commitment of 16.3 million pounds to date."

Contact:

Dr Mercedes Maroto-Valer
Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture & Storage
University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, NG72RD
Phone: +44 115 846 6893
E-mail: Mercedes.maroto-valer@nottingham.ac.uk
Web: www.nottingham.ac.uk/carbonmanagement