6.6.C Radical technologies

Question 1

Explain carbon capture technology

Answer 1

This involves ‘capturing’ the carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels and burying it deep underground, promising greatest savings in emissions where coal is being used to generate electricity. Another technique involves ‘scrubs’ some of the CO2 out of the natural gas which is already used quite wildly, either at some point in the production or at energy facilities to which energy is distributed to consumers.
Challenges:
-expensive because of the complex technology involved
-no one can be sure the carbon dioxide will stay trapped underground and that it will not leak to the surface and enter the atmosphere

Question 2

Explain hydrogen fuel cells:

Answer 2

These combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water. They will produce electricity for as long as hydrogen is supplied and never lose their charge. They are a promising technology for use as a source of heat and electricity for buildings, and as a power source for electric vehicles.

The challenge with this technology is finding a cheap and easy source of hydrogen. Although it is a simple and abundant chemical element, it does not occur naturally as a gas. It is always combined with other elements, for example with oxygen in water. Once this challenge has been met, these cells offer the real prospect of reducing carbon emissions.

Question 3

Explain how hydrogen fuel cell:
Is this a good tchnology:

Answer 3

Electrolysis splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, using an electrical current. This process could be carbon neutral if renewable electricity (wind or solar) is used.

This is probably most encouraging to reduce carbon emissions, fair measure of certainty about the role as just been introduced. It is a very promising way of meeting future energy needs in an environmentally safe manner.

Question 4

Addition reading: is there carbon caputre technology in the UK and around the world:

Answer 4

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it is released into the atmosphere. The technology can capture up to 90%

-The first large-scale CCS project began operating at Sleipner in Norway in 1996. There are now 18 large-scale CCS facilities in operation globally, with five more under construction.

-existing installations have the capacity to capture about 31 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

-In the UK, a £1 billion competition to develop CCS was dropped in 2015 , but the Government’s Clean Growth Strategy of October 2017 appears to renew a commitment to the technology, with promised investments of up to £100 million

Question 5

How much has to be done to be successfull:
what limits its success:

Answer 5

Many scientists and policymakers argue that this is crucial if the world is to limit temperature rise to under 2°C , the goal of the Paris Agreement . The International Energy Agency states that a tenfold increase in capacity is needed by 2025 to be on track for meeting that target and the Global CCS Institute estimates that 2,500 CCS facilities would need to be in operation by 2040 worldwide, each capturing around 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

Overall, the capture process is expensive due to high deployment and energy costs. A plant with CCS uses more fuel than one without, to extract, pump and compress the CO2. However, research and development efforts are trying to reduce the cost, and the price of avoiding a tonne of CO2 has already declined significant.

Possible environmental and climate change damages could be caused by CO2 leakages from storage sites if they are not adequately selected, managed and monitored. A recent Princeton University study, however, considers this risk to be low .