Global Climate Change
Clifford Louis
Development in technology has enabled man to devise technological advancements. Without a hitch now, man is able to design extraterrestrial structures, see easily through the skies and contact anyone across the globe with the revolutionized communication system. Amidst all these astounding developments, Man has failed to counter environmental degradation, which has a direct impact on survival of ‘life’. The self-promoted growth of global warming has brewed the threat of global ‘Climate Change’. According to International Energy Agency’s (IEA), the projected growth in energy demand will result in 43 percent rise in CO2 emissions by 2035 and would contribute to the worst consequences of global climate change. (Fig3)
Co2 emissions have been rising extensively since the industrial revolution has taken place. Climate model, GCM has forecasted that the average surface temperature could increase another 3.2 to 5.4oC by 2100. (Fig 1). These emissions have jumped to an alarming 389 ppm from a non-damaging 280 ppm in 1850 and further projected to range from 5 billion to 28 billion tons of carbon per year in the year 2100. Of the factors, that contributes to these activities, energy generation accounts for 70-75% of CO2 emissions while the remaining 20-25% of the emissions are caused from deforestation & motor vehicle exhausts.
Figure 1 – High emissions causing increase in surface temperature
Hence, a global practice is required to curb the global warming effect. R&D efforts have concentrated on the development of CCS (Carbon Capture and Sequestration), with the focus to separate CO2 from flue gases and further bury it in deep subsurface geological formations to save the environment from the detrimental effects of CO2.
CCS encircles number of technologies that are used to capture CO2 from point sources, such as plants and other industrial facilities; compress it and further transport it through pipelines into deep geological formations for indefinite isolation from the environment. It is a viable option that can help curb hazardous emissions, thus materializing a giant leap in a clean and sustainable energy future. One such example is the CO22 sequestration project, Sleipner, located in the North Sea, where carbon dioxide is removed from natural gas and then is disposed -off in deep saline aquifer. In developed countries, such as USA, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands and others, special efforts are also being done for CCS implementation which can decelerate the speed-rocketing environmental degradation.
The economics concerning this technology is a tad bit high because capturing and compressing CO2 may increase the fuel needs of plants by 25%-40. Moreover, the CCS scrubbing and transport systems could end up consuming upto 40% of power station’s energy. With a huge CAPEX expected, experts further estimate that average capturing cost would be about 120$/t. (Figure 2). Whereas, the cost of transporting CO2 to burial sites could cost £1m per mile. Other experts have also added that the use of CCS technology is deemed to add an additional 8 -12 cents of cost per kilowatt hour.
Figure 2 – CCS Capturing Cost per ton
Figure 3 – CO2 emissions projections through 2100
Decisions made during the next few years, will strongly control the magnitude of risk of global climate change for the next 100 years. Undoubtedly, this is a milestone demonstration of a new technology at the dawn of a new century. It unbolts new possibilities for sustainability and environmental protection. CCS geo-sequestration is the only option for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions while using fossil fuels and retaining the prevalent energy-distribution infrastructure. While the prospects are quite promising, there are number of social and economic challenges ahead which needs to be coped positively.
The Author is a post-graduate of the University of Calgary and has expertise in Petroleum Engineering.
Linkedin: Clifford Louis