Page 19 - Q2 SANEDI NEWSLETTER QUARTER 2 208-19
P. 19

What is climate change and how can CCS help?


                                                              in more of the sun’s heat being trapped around the earth,
                                                              which  causes  the  earth’s  temperature  to  rise  and  the
                                                              climate on earth to change. Experts tell us that this climate
                                                              change  could  significantly  impact  the  way  we  live  for
                                                              example, by increasing temperatures and changing when
                                                              and how much rain falls and what types of plants grow, and
                                                              increasing storms.

                                                              Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, is a technology that
                                                              reduces CO2 emissions in order to mitigate climate change.
                                                              CCS involves:

                                                                  •   The capture of CO2 emissions from
                                                                  •   large  sources  of  CO2  such  as  coal  power
                                                                     generation and industry;
                                                                  •   The transport of the CO2 using trucks or pipelines;
                                                                     and
                                                                  •   The  safe  and  permanent  storage  of  the  CO2  in
                                                                     deep underground rock (Deep Saline Formations).
                                                              For a rock formation to be suitable for CO2 storage it must
            Gases in the earth’s atmosphere naturally trap heat from   be  at  the  right  depth -  around  800m  or  deeper  below
            the sun which make the conditions on earth suitable for   the surface, have capacity  - enough microscopic holes or
            sustaining plant and animal life - including people. These   pores in the storage rock to fit the CO2, and containment
            gases are known as greenhouse gases. Over time, people   - have a caprock above the storage rock that liquid and gas
            around the world have been releasing extra greenhouse   cannot move through. The rocks used to store CO2 are very
            gases  -  in  particular  carbon  dioxide  (CO2),  into  the   similar to rocks that have stored oil and gas, and naturally
            atmosphere through processes such as coal power plants   occurring CO2, for millions of years which is how we know
            and industry. These extra gases in the atmosphere result   the process works.



































                                                                     SANEDI NEWSLETTER ISSUE 04 | 2017/2018
   14   15   16   17   18   19   20