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Water
deep underground
in Arctic glaciers
inside thick-walled warehouses
Correct!
But scientists don't know for sure if this is safe. Part of the challenge is to find ways to safely store large quantities of liquid carbon dioxide underground.
Definition: the capture of carbon dioxide gas released from fossil fuel-burning power plants
Carbon Dioxide Emissions: some (but less than current fossil fuel burning technology plants)
Cost: expensive (vs. other energy sources)
Location: could be used anywhere that coal or natural gas is used, like U.S., Russia, and China
Current Use: this new technology is being tested
Cool Fact: 90% of carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants could be stored.
In CCS, carbon dioxide is captured when coal or natural gas are burned. Then the gas is turned into a fluid and may be stored:
Today, liquid carbon dioxide is already being injected into the Utsira formation, a thick layer of rock:
in an enormous canyon in France
below the North Sea
under a volcano in the Pacific Northwest
Correct!
This vast layer of sandstone is very porous (it has many holes, like a sponge). It can hold large amounts of liquid carbon dioxide. It's also covered with a thick layer of solid shale to keep the carbon dioxide from escaping.
By using carbon capture and storage, coal could provide the world's electricity forever.
Fact
OR
Fiction
?
Fiction
CCS makes burning this fossils fuel cleaner. But Earth's coal supply is limited. Some scientists estimate that coal could be gone within 200 years.
Carbon capture and storage is an inexpensive way to burn fossil fuels.
Fact
OR
Fiction
?
Fiction
Burning fossil fuels the way we do now may be cheap. But it will be more expensive using CCS. Still, electricity from coal-burning plants with CCS may be cheaper than solar energy.