AUSTRALIA is embarking on a demonstration project to prove power stations can be refitted to burn coal in a cleaner way.
According to the Queensland Resources Council (QRC), the project involves developing new technology to make it easier to capture carbon dioxide - the main gas attributed to global warming.
In traditional coal-fired power stations, coal is burned in air by a large furnace which then releases carbon dioxide directly into the atmosphere. The new system, known as geo-sequestration, burns coal in pure oxygen and converts captures carbon dioxide gas into liquid which is then stored underground.
The QRC says geo-sequestration offers an “important mechanism to break the nexus between accessing energy stored in Queensland coal and the greenhouse gas emissions which are released when coal is burnt”.
The project is the first of its kind in the world and development is currently underway in Queensland. The demonstration plant is being supported by a number of Australian and Japanese companies and is being partly funded by the Australian government.
Department of Mines and Energy minister [www.dme.qld.gov.au] (DME), Geoff Wilson, says the new system will “sharply reduce the amount of carbon released from the coal-fired process and make it easier to store”.
The International Energy Agency also says that clean coal technology has the potential to reduce the release of greenhouse gases by one-fourth and dramatically cut emissions in the long-term.
However, environmental groups say the technology is unproven and believe it has limited promise to cut emissions in the future. A Friends of the Earth [www.foe.co.uk] spokesperson says emissions from coal could be “catastrophic” for the environment, and is calling for renewable energy as an alternative.
The QRC says there is need for “much greater public awareness of geo-sequestration” and is currently working to boost attention of the technology to more Australians.
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