BURY CHINA’S SPEW?

Report: China could cheaply control coal-plant emissions
Dan Vergano, October 13, 2009 (USA Today)

"Getting China's coal-plant emissions out of the atmosphere so they don't worsen global warming may be cheaper, easier and longer-lasting than expected… [ A preliminary cost curve assessment of carbon dioxide capture and storage potential in China from] Pacific Northwest National Laboratory [PNNL]…says there are vast underground reserves in China that can be used [for perhaps hundreds of years] for "carbon sequestration," a carbon dioxide-trapping technology considered vital to cutting greenhouse gas emissions…

"Carbon sequestration, which today is used only in a few oil fields and experimental projects, [theoretically] works by capturing carbon dioxide from smokestacks, compressing it and pumping it underground into deep saltwater reservoirs capped by layers of impermeable stone."

From the PNNL study. (click to enlarge)

"In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that global atmospheric temperature rose about an average of 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century. About about half of this "global warming" is driven by fossil-fuel-related emissions of carbon dioxide.

"The report finds that the cost of transporting, injecting and monitoring carbon dioxide from China's 1,623 largest sources — coal, cement, ammonia plants and factories — would average $5 to $7 a ton, about half of estimated costs in the USA."

From the PNNL study. (click to enlarge)

"Further, China's deep geology features rock layers that are perfect for pumping carbon dioxide underground. The report maps at least 2,300 billion metric tons of potential underground storage for carbon in China…China's major plants emit about 3.8 billion metric tons a year…

"…[Some energy planners say] China's geology, coal use and low construction costs make pumping carbon underground "low-hanging fruit" to cut greenhouse gas emissions…Energy Department chief Stephen Chu [recently] called for "widespread, affordable" carbon storage in 10 years…"