China Buries CO2

The first polluting country in the world makes a huge first step towards clean energy. A partnership between CSIRO Australia and China United Coalbed Methane Corporation Limited (CUCBM) will allow China to bury carbon dioxide and extract methane, further used as an energy source.

This initiative will allow two thousands tons of CO2 to be stored in the Shanxi Province and it will also boost coal bed methane (ECBM) extraction (methane can be displaced by injecting carbon dioxide into coal). The companies will try to maximize CO2 injection and methane extraction, as Dr John Carras, the Director of CSIRO’s Advanced Coal Technology research said: “ECBM wells are typically drilled vertically to inject CO2 into coal seams but this demonstration project will drill horizontally meaning the entry point of the well is more directly embedded in the coal seam, which we predict will increase the flow rate of CO2 for underground storage.”

“CUCBM’s expertise in drilling practices and methane extraction will combine with CSIRO’s capabilities in coal characterisation, reservoir modelling, carbon dioxide monitoring and storage assurance to develop techniques that maximise both CO2 storage and methane recovery rates.”

The A$10 million is supported by the Japan Coal Energy Center, JCOAL and received funding from the Chinese and Australian governments, as part of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.

CSIRO already collaborated with China in the past, for the launch of a post combustion capture (PCC) pilot plant in Beijing and the first capture of CO2 in China using PCC technology. Work on a second transportable PCC pilot plant designed to capture 600 tonnes of CO2 a year, has already begun.

“Working with our partners in China will allow CSIRO to increase its capabilities in pilot-scale demonstrations for carbon capture and storage technologies,” Dr Carras stated. “This experience will inform the development of a low emissions coal technology that can also be deployed in Australia.”