Qld: Pump emissions back into the ground, say scientists

AAP General News (Australia)
02-16-2004
Qld: Pump emissions back into the ground, say scientists

By John Sheed

BRISBANE, Feb 16 AAP - Queensland scientists are working on a scheme to pump harmful
power station emissions back into coal mines that power the generators.

University of Queensland researcher Paul Massarotto said the scheme had the potential
to capture the 45 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) released annually from power
stations in the state and store it underground for millions of years.

Dr Massarotto said by using deep coal seams that were uneconomic to mine, the carbon
dioxide could be stored safely, while at the same time releasing extra coal seam methane
that could be collected for use as a clean burning fuel.

Dr Massarotto said at present collecting the CO2 from power station smoke stacks was
an expensive process, but up to 100 projects were underway around the world to find a
cheaper alternative.

The CO2 would be injected into coal seams as deep as 650 to 900 metres, while methane
would be extracted from the same coal seam some distance away from the injection point.

"The complete cycle could make our coal-fired power plants zero-emission facilities,"

Dr Massarotto said.

The process could add $25 billion to the Queensland economy while reducing atmospheric emissions.

"Queensland could derive large economic benefits were it to become a world-first site
for CO2 sequestration, attracting carbon credits of up to $500 million a year or more
for the next 30-50 years," Dr Massarotto said.

"This alone could be worth more than $15 billion.

"Additionally, the technology has the potential to increase Queensland's coal seam
methane recoverable resources by between 25 per cent and 50 per cent, potentially adding
another $7 to $10 billion to Queensland's economy through sales of this clean fuel."

Dr Massarotto said some preliminary experiments around the world had shown the system
could store twice the volume of CO2 as the methane that was removed.

He said it could take up to 30 years before a coal seam had given up all its methane
and absorbed CO2 in its place.

"But the containment itself is good for a million-year potential because the CO2 would
be in an absorbed state in the coal and would be taking the place of the methane that's
also been down there for millions of years," Dr Massarotto said.

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KEYWORD: CARBON

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