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DaveH
Lv 5
DaveH asked in EnvironmentClimate Change · 8 years ago

Ohio state university has built a plant that burns coal and captures 99% of the co2.?

This looks like electricity generation from coal is possible with nearly no co2 emissions.

http://cbe.osu.edu/news/2013/01/doe-supported-proj...

This is a good thing isn't it?

11 Answers

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  • paul h
    Lv 7
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Could be worth watching for long term tests/costs...liquified CO2 is used in enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) which would open up more domestic oil production from areas of stranded oil although there is competiton from other sources like Bluegas methods. And there are other methods use CO2 to produce carbon-neutral biofuels. The US Navy is also looking into making jet fuels from sea water and CO2 capture methods although CO2 from seawater is more abundant/cheaper than airborne capture methods.

    CO2-EOR methods...Bluegas...

    http://www.greatpointenergy.com/co2forenhancedoilr...

    Biofuels from waste CO2...Joule Unlimited ...who is also partnering with Audi....

    "Joule’s renewable fuel platform will best the scale, productivities and costs of any known alternative to fossil fuel today, with no reliance on biomass feedstocks or precious natural resources. Our inputs are sunlight, waste CO2 and non-potable water. Our output? Millions of gallons of clean, renewable fuel that drops into existing infrastructure. Next step: change the world."

    http://www.jouleunlimited.com/

    US Navy plans....

    http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/26/u-s-navy-makes...

  • Koshka
    Lv 5
    8 years ago

    As Jeff M stated " more than likely the additional costs will be passed on to the consumer ", but it is a plausible short term solution. The problem is long term, no one seems to see the giant gorilla in the room. SEVEN BILLION people. Think about it, seriously.

    Depleting oil reserves, having to fracture for shale, " Liberal bird-chopping windmills ", desalination of ocean water, vertical farming...seriously, it is our responsibility to consider long term solutions for future generations. Soak up and store as much carbon as you wish, you still have a problem in the long run. And it is not only about storage. Its BIGGER. Is the world myopic when it comes to energy demand? The problem is rooted here: more people=more energy demand.

    Thumb this answer down into oblivion, this is the truth.

  • Jeff M
    Lv 7
    8 years ago

    Yes it is. I've always stated that coal fired power plants would be okay with me as long as they find some way to capture the CO2 emissions and put them back where they came from. Of course other CO2 capturing technologies are advancing as well.

    http://www.fossil.energy.gov/news/techlines/2013/1...

    http://www.fossil.energy.gov/news/techlines/2013/1...

    As stated, however, more than likely the additional costs will be passed on to the consumer. The article you linked to does state that it is a low cost alternative though. The problem is getting current power plants to add these into their system of course. As with the sulfur scrubbers placed on these same plants to mitigate the problems of sulfur emissions into the atmosphere, I do think there needs to be a law put in place to limit emissions. Te question is how much additional cost will be passed on to consumers? Especially with the price of fossil fuels currently on n increase (I'm not sure about coal but I am aware oil is becoming much more expensive). Renewable energy in Australia is already cheaper if all costs are taken into account including the carbon tax.

  • 8 years ago

    It is a good thing, but like anything that the powerful does not control they will try to hide it, destroy it and claim it as their own. By the time the public becomes aware, the people who caused the same problem will be hailed as heroes.

    Send it through a gauntlet of red tape.

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  • Anonymous
    8 years ago

    According to "Inconvenience Truth" the world only had until 2008 to stop global warming. Now it is TOO LATE.

    90% of humanity will die HORRIBLE deaths from floods, hurricanes, droughts, blizzards, meteors, tsunamis and earthquakes.

  • 8 years ago

    It would be a good thing if the added expense offsets the potential damage from CO2 emissions.

    I'm not convinced of that yet so it may be a waste of money or it may be a good thing. I wonder what the EPA thinks about this?

  • Anonymous
    8 years ago

    Everything comes with a price tag.

    And the thing with this green energy is that it's not sustainable for the population boom we're presently experiencing.

    Source(s): Obama put 90 BILLION of our tax money into green energy. we have little to show for it.
  • 8 years ago

    Since the process can use soft/brown coal (lignite) with a high moisture content I'm sure Germany & Australia & are paying close attention to this demonstration pilot project.

    Germany with its stated "green revolution" is apparently facing unacceptably high costs for replacing their nuclear power production with renewable generation but they still have lots of brown coal available locally.

    http://news.yahoo.com/german-green-revolution-may-...

    Australia simply Because they have 25% of the worlds lignite coal reserves in Victoria & they may find a way to use the water released in the process.

    If it scales up economically it looks very promising.

  • Ian
    Lv 5
    8 years ago

    I'm so excited I wet myself. I'm sure electric companies won't mind passing on the added expense to the consumers either.

    3 cheers for the alarmists. Yay, yay, yay.

  • 8 years ago

    It really is not needed. CO2 has no correlation with temperature.

    That said, it shows some promise. But 200+ hours isn't really something to brag about. Ohio State is usually overoptimistic about their exploits. Way back in the 70s they had a camera controlled traffic system. Our technology was no where near good enough for that in that time period. I bought into it,hook, line and sinker, but it was a bust. It did advance our technology but it didn't work in practicality.

    I wish them success but I am not going to hold my breath.

    Also, we must consider the reality of the situation. If this plant was 100% successful, the agenda of the greenies is still the same. They will just shift their methodology of fear mongering.

    Quote by Paul Ehrlich, professor, Stanford University: “Giving society cheap, abundant energy would be the equivalent of giving an idiot child a machine gun.”

    Quote by Jeremy Rifkin, Greenhouse Crisis Foundation: “The prospect of cheap fusion energy is the worst thing that could happen to the planet.”

    Quote by Paul Ehrlich, professor, Stanford University: "We contend that the position of the nuclear promoters is preposterous beyond the wildest imaginings of most nuclear opponents, primarily because one of the purported “benefits” of nuclear power, the availability of cheap and abundant energy, is in fact a liability."

    Until we correct the thinking of this typical greenie logic we will always have a crises.

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