Geological sequestration of carbon dioxide: implications for the coal industry (Reprinted from Trans. Instn Min. Metall., vol 108, 1999)

A typical medium-size coal-fired power plant produces about 600 t CO₂ per hour, or more than 4 000 000 t/year. Because of its high carbon content the CO₂ emissions of coal are almost double those of natural gas per kilowatt of energy produced. This has clear implications for the continued use of coal as a fuel in power plants in a world increasingly conscious of greenhouse gas emissions. Underground sequestration of carbon dioxide is a viable method of storing industrial quantities of CO₂, such as might be separated from the flue gases of a power plant. Indeed, Statoil is currently injecting 1 000 000 t/year CO₂ from the Sleipner West gas field into porous and permeable reservoir rocks beneath the North Sea. The main barriers to the implementation of CO₂ sequestration from power plants are financial; approximately 85% of the cost is incurred in separation of the CO₂ horn the flue gas. More research and development in this field are urgently required to develop the prospect of coal-fired power generation in the twenty-first century with minimum emissions of CO₂ to the atmosphere.