CO{sub 2} capture and sequestration: An overview

Book · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:182856

Herzog, H J ^[1]

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1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States). Energy Lab.

The build-up of CO{sub 2} and other greenhouse gases may cause significant perturbations of the Earth`s radiative balance and consequently cause profound climatological and geohydrological changes. Fossil-fueled power plants are the single largest concentrated and stationary source of CO{sub 2}, accounting for about one-third of the emissions from fossil fuel sources. One of the options to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions from power plants is to capture and sequester the CO{sub 2} in the flue gas, similar to the treatment of NO{sub x} and SO{sub 2} at many power plants today. Many schemes have been proposed for CO{sub 2} capture, including amine scrubbing, air separation/flue gas recycle plants, and Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants with pressure swing absorption of the CO{sub 2}. While capture may be expensive, it has been proven technologically feasible. The long-term sequestering of the captured CO, in the deep ocean or depleted oil and gas wells, for example, is much more uncertain. This paper reports on the status of power plant CO{sub 2} capture and disposal and highlights the approaches that appear most promising.

• OSTI ID: 182856
• Report Number(s): CONF-940426--; ISBN 0-923204-11-3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT
CARBON DIOXIDE
CLIMATIC CHANGE
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
STATIONARY POLLUTANT SOURCES
WASTE MANAGEMENT