CO2 capture, reuse, and sequestration technologies for mitigating global climate change

摘要

Fossil fuels currently supply over 85% of the world's energy needs. They will remain in abundant supply well into the 21st century. They have been a major contributor to the high standard of living enjoyed by the industrialized world. We have learned how to extract energy from fossil fuels in environmentally friendly ways, controlling the emissions of NO(sub x), S0(sub 2) , unburned hydrocarbons, and particulates. Even with these added pollution controls, the cost of fossil energy generated power keeps falling. Despite this good news about fossil energy, its future is clouded because of the environmental and economic threat posed by possible climate change, commonly referred to as the 'greenhouse effect'. The major greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO(sub 2)) and the major source of anthropogenic C0(sub 2) is combustio of fossil fuels. The potential impacts of global climate change are many and varied, though there is much uncertainty as to the timing and magnitude (Watson et al., 1996). Because of the potential adverse impacts, the world community has adopted the Framework Convention on Climate Change (see Box 1). The urgency of their work was recently underscored when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued their Second Assessment Report which stated that 'the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate'. The goal of stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions at their 1990 levels in the year 2000 will not be met by the vast majority of countries. Based on this experience, it is obvious that more aggressive technology responses are required if we want to control greenhouse gas emissions.