. 24/7 Space News .
White House Announces Plan To Build World's First Zero-Emissions Power Plant

keep it clean
New York - Mar 19, 2003
Columbia University scientist challenges academia and industry to build on White House decision to build world's first zero-emissions power plant.

A long-time advocate and designer of zero-emissions power plants, Dr. Klaus Lackner was thrilled with President Bush's statement that the United States will sponsor a $1 billion, 10-year demonstration project to create the world's first coal-based, zero-emissions electricity and hydrogen power plant, but Lackner calls for an even larger vision.

"I have spent the last ten years researching the need, the feasibility, and the technology of capturing and disposing of carbon dioxide in the context of zero emission. The White House announcement is a major step in the right direction, but we must not limit ourselves to incremental improvements in current technology," says Lackner.

"I would further propose that industry and academic research take on the challenge of developing ultra-efficient, zero-emission power plants that integrate both fuel cell technology and hydrogen production with safe and permanent carbon sequestration.

"This is a great opportunity to develop zero emission energy from nearly inexhaustible, low cost-energy resources, and assure sustainable energy worldwide for generations.

"Without maintaining some reliance on fossil fuels, a zero-emissions plant for hydrogen power alone would be too expensive to succeed. Incrementalism cannot capture the imagination of the public, and in the end would deliver an inferior and more expensive product.

"The world cannot afford to abandon fossil fuels, but the technology that ultimately succeeds will be radically different from today's."

Dr. Klaus Lackner, Columbia University's Ewing Worzel Professor of Geophysics, points out that the transition to President Bush's hydrogen economy, although important, does not alone eliminate climate change concerns. When hydrogen is made, more energy is consumed than is eventually returned in a fuel cell.

By far, the cheapest sources of energy for making hydrogen are fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. Without the introduction of carbon dioxide capture and disposal, a transition to a hydrogen economy would likely aggravate rather than reduce the environmental impact from greenhouse gas emissions.

Lackner has researched new technologies, some in the developmental stage, that could capture all carbon dioxide, either at the point of emission from power plants or from the air, and dispose of it safely and permanently.

These approaches, according to Lackner, would make fossil energy use sustainable for at least another century.

Lackner's research on carbon dioxide capture could entirely eliminate this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere at relatively little cost to consumers:

Carbon Dioxide Capture From The Air
Capturing carbon dioxide emissions from the air could be accomplished by letting wind carry air over an absorber that pulls out carbon dioxide. This could be achieved, Lackner argues, through a variety of methods, including blowing air over limewater, which will remove the air's carbon dioxide and produce limestone.

"The volume of air that needs to be processed is surprisingly little when compared to the volumes required for harnessing wind energy, a process already used across the globe," said Lackner.

"Windmill installations used to harness wind energy need to be several hundred times larger than carbon dioxide collectors that capture the carbon dioxide from a similarly sized power plant. Yet, windmills are technically and economically viable."

Research by Lackner and his colleagues at the Los Alamos laboratories has shown that recycling the resulting absorber material is also affordable. They estimate that the cost of trapping carbon dioxide from air could eventually be less than 25 cents per gallon of gas, with the potential for better and cheaper methods in the future.

Carbon Dioxide Capture From Power Plants
The capture of carbon dioxide directly from power plants could be accomplished through new plant designs.

Lackner is currently working through the Zero Emission Coal Alliance with industry to develop a plant design that could generate hydrogen or electricity from coal without any emissions to the atmosphere. In it, lime captures waste carbon dioxide and generates heat for additional hydrogen production.

The lime is recovered with leftover heat from electricity production. The plant would combine carbon dioxide capture with 70-percent efficiency in converting energy in coal into electricity.

"Even though the overall process is novel, the building blocks are well known in refining and clean-coal technologies," said Lackner. "Costs for future plants have been estimated at about 4.5 cents per kilowatt-hour."

For disposing of captured carbon dioxide, Lackner advocates underground injection, a low-cost procedure whose effectiveness has been proven in enhanced oil recovery.

Although underground injection will become more difficult as demand for repositories increases, he contends that an alternative method of disposal is available.

Magnesium silicates can be used to react with carbon dioxide to form magnesium carbonate (limestone) and silica (quartz), which can be disposed of safely and permanently.

"With proper public and private sector support, implementation of these new technologies could start today," said Lackner.

"This track of action would allow for the research and development time that will certainly be needed to make renewable energy resources a viable energy option."

Related Links
The Earth Institute at Columbia University
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Hydrogen Vehicle Won't Be Viable Soon, Study Says
Boston - Mar 07, 2003
Even with aggressive research, the hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle will not be better than the diesel hybrid (a vehicle powered by a conventional engine supplemented by an electric motor) in terms of total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, says a study recently released by the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment (LFEE).



Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only














The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.