Carbon Sequestration: Could it really work?

If you're left wondering about an answer to the question in the title, the answer is yes. They've been doing it Europe, Norway specifically. Currently, Norway's Sleipner West is the only major plant in the world to capture carbon. Before I proceed, I shall provide a brief rundown of how it works.

First, coal, oil or natural gas are burned like regular to produce electricity. Then the emissions are captured and sent down pipelines underground. The carbon dioxide is pumped into already hollowed out formations in the Earth. This can come from emptied former deposits of oil, or natural aquifers. The carbon can also help with the obtainment of oil. The carbon builds up in the reserve and pushes the liquid petroleum to a more confined space, allowing for remnants to be drilled out by pumps. This is it basically. Here are a few picture illustrations.






The Norwegian plants captures about 2,800 tons of CO2 daily. The system has been so effective that is won an award for being especially efficient in 2000 and has been in operation since 1996. There are a few concerns with this method though. It is very expensive and slightly risky. Although Europe has a 250 meter thick deposit for storage and can roughly hold 600 billion tons of CO2 (more than enough to save Europe for 600 years of 0 carbon emissions), the carbon won't stay down there forever. The plant's manager Tore A Torp says that is is very likely to be stored for at least several hundreds of years, even 5-10,000 more into a new ice age. By that point, he says, the carbon age will be over. He also notes that the seepage would not be more than regular CO2 leakage from the Earth. The price for running this particular plant has only risen 50-80 cents. This pales in comparison to the 1 million (then) Norwegian dollars it would be taxed for regular carbon expulsion into the air.

Canada recently unveiled a similar initiative, with their Prime Minister allocating $155 million to R&D. Alberta, Canada has many natural underground deposits that would be useful in this. The R&D does not threaten regular industry but actually encourages it. It allows for the companies to continue doing what they do with no environmental impact and harnesses left over oil. The same concerns loom here as well. Prices are predicted to go up by 10-20 cents for the consumer.

Sources: Take your carbon and stuff it
Norwegian Energy