Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Emissions from Coal Agreement in 2005, the two participants admitted the urgency
of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and decided to realize an advanced
demonstration of near-zero emissions from coal technology through CCS before
2020. The EU Commission has committed 7 million Euros to a feasibility study of
setting up a CCS demonstration power plant. The UK promised 6 million pounds on
condition that other EU member countries will participate and fund the project as
well. The EU Commission has already funded 5 million Euros in all kinds of CCS
research projects, including Sino-EU CCS cooperation project (COACH), CCS
Supervision Support Project (STRACO
2
) and Geography Storage Capacity
(GeoCapacity). The UK has also put 3.5 million pounds into Sino-UK NZEC
Project. All of the funds are applied to technology research of CCS in China and
potential development of science research and knowledge storage.
The research results of Sino-UK NZEC project include: The cost of this technol-
ogy is as low as 25 British pounds per ton of CO
2
once CCS has been
commercialized. Up to 1.4 billion tons of CO
2
can be stored in the saline alkali
soil and oil field of Songliao basin (Northeastern China) and Subei basin. However,
due to the complexity of the oil field, the injection of CO
2
is both difficult and
expensive. Further research into the carbon storage capacity of the aquifer, soil and
underground and of other oil fields is needed. The COACH project has decided
on two demonstration plans of integrated coal gasification cycle combination and
pre-burn CO
2
capture. The saline aquifer in Huimin basin has the storage capacity of
22 billion t of CO
2
. It also confirmed 500 million t of CO
2
storage in Shengli and
Dagang oil fields, increasing 23 million to 112 million t of oil yield by estimation.
STRACO
2
states that the established European laws and regulations can set
an example for China. It is a two-step procedure, i.e., a comparatively loose and
flexible legal framework for the CCS demonstration plants and later a more compre-
hensive one based on the experience gained from the demonstration projects.
28
The EU plays an active role in the NZEC, specifically the CCS project. Coal is
China's primary energy feedstock and will still account for above 60 % of the
energy consumption mix before 2020. The cost of CCS in China only stands at
$10-20 per t, far lower than that of EU and US.
29
Meanwhile, it is not too likely to
create a zero-sum game since the zero emissions project promotes little competi-
tiveness for the country but requires more investment to decrease the energy
transformation rate of coal and realize the global GHG emissions reduction goal.
28
Dongjing, Renming website, Great Potential for Sino-EU CCS in China, Beijing, 2009.10.29,
29
Matthew Findlay, Nick Mabey, Russell Marsh, Shinwei Ng, Shane Tomlinson, “Carbon Capture
