The impact of fossil fuel combustion and carbon sequestration on flows and stores of carbon

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  • Created by: EmilyM17
  • Created on: 22-05-19 09:02
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  • The impact of fossil fuel combustion and carbon sequestration on flows and stores of carbon
    • Use of fossil fuels and the impacts on the carbon cycle
      • Releases 10 billion tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere annually, increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration by over 1 ppm
      • Impacts significantly on the size of the atmosphere, ocean and biosphere carbon stores
    • Sequestration of waste carbon
      • Possible solution to global warming from carbon being transferred to the atmosphere
        • Capturing and storing CO2 released by power plants and industry = carbon capture and storage (CCS)
          • 1. CO2 is separated from power station emissions
          • 2. CO2 is compressed and transported by pipeline to storage areas
          • 3. Finally CO2 is injected into porous rocks deep underground where it is stored permanently
        • Effectiveness limited due to:
          • big capital costs
            • Drax and Peterhead projects will cost at least 1 billion
          • using large amounts of energy
            • 20% of a power plants output is needed to separate the CO2 and compress it
          • requiring storage reservoirs with specific geological conditions
            • i.e. porous rocks overlain by impermeable strata

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