The return of "King Coal"

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The return of "King Coal"




by freddau » 04/10/06, 18:17

The black gold of tomorrow is no longer oil but coal. This return to grace sounds like a revenge for the coal, abandoned in the second half of the 85th century in favor of oil. With the other rising energy that is gas, it will play an essential role. It is therefore fossil fuels that will secure our future and should represent 2050% of world demand in XNUMX, according to the trend scenario of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Detailed review.

Oil. The third oil shock that the world has known since 2005, less brutal than those of 1973 and 1980, prompted hasty analyzes of the "end of oil". The CEO of the national company Saudi Aramco, Abdallah S. Jum'ah, is not of this opinion. "The world has consumed only 18% of its oil potential", he says, that is to say 1 trillion barrels out of total reserves of 000 5 billion constituted by the conventional crude already discovered and extractable (700 1 billion), the tar sands from Canada and heavy oils from Venezuela (200 trillion), improved oil recovery rates (1 billion) and future discoveries (500 billion). Sufficient reserves, in his eyes, to ensure "more than one hundred and forty years of consumption at the current rate" and "discredit" the arguments of those who announce an imminent decline in production (the famous peak oil).

These estimates "should not exempt us from thinking about the energy transition," warns the president of the French Petroleum Institute, Olivier Appert. These data are vigorously contested, notably by former petroleum geologists at Aspo (Association for the Study of the Peak Oil & Gas), who predict a decline in crude production over the next decade. The production figures are "manipulated" and those of the reserves "very political", summarizes Jean Laherrère, former technical director of exploration of Total and member of the ASPO. Technical data is a state secret (except in the United States, Great Britain and Norway), he adds.

What is certain is that the reserves are running out. Despite deposits as promising as those recently discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, proven reserves are increasing by only 1% per year (against 4,5% during the 1980s) and the barrels discovered since 1999 do not compensate than 45% of those that were consumed over this period.

The gas. It is in full development. Its consumption is expected to increase by 138% by 2050, most of it to power power plants, according to the IEA. Long split into regional markets (Asia, Europe, North America) due to pipeline transportation constraints, it is globalizing thanks to huge liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Russia, Qatar and Iran (60% of reserves global). In 2030, more than half of gas trade will be in the form of LNG. But unlike coal, gas is concentrated in countries with strong "energy nationalism" (Venezuela, Russia, Bolivia, etc.).

The coal. It remains the "King Coal" in the world, despite CO2 emissions twice as high as those of gas. Between 1970 and 2004, demand increased by 110% (49% for oil). If nothing is done, it will triple by 2050, according to the IEA. And its reserves are colossal: BP estimates them at 910 billion tonnes, which promises 155 years of production - against about 45 years for oil and 60 years for gas, again according to BP - at the current rate. Another asset is that coal is everywhere, while a growing share of oil and gas is produced in politically unstable regions. "By cutting off gas to Ukraine and therefore to Europe, Putin has made an unexpected publicity for coal," notes an industrialist in the sector. It is less expensive to extract and 83% of its production is consumed in the country of extraction. As for the risk of pollution during its maritime transport, it is zero.

More than 40% of the world's electricity is produced from coal (20% from gas, and 16% from nuclear). "After the gas peak of the 1990s in the United States, coal is regaining the central place it had in the energy matrix", welcomes Philippe Joubert, CEO of Alstom Power. World leader in turbines for coal-fired power stations, it is now gaining orders, particularly in Asia. "In Europe, it is also a fuel that will develop, among other things because of the price of gas", adds the former president of Charbonnages de France, Philippe de Ladoucette, now president of the Regulatory Commission of energy (CRE).


BE PROFITABLE AND CLEAN


Provided it is profitable. Uncertainty weighs in fact on its competitive advantage in the event that the price of CO2 emission permits significantly increases its cost. And on condition of becoming clean. Because of all fossil fuels, it is the most harmful to health (mine accidents, silicosis, lung diseases). However, two thirds of the 1 GW of coal-based electrical capacity will be installed, by 400, in developing countries - whose plants emit 2030% more CO20 than plants in OECD countries.

"European industry can take technological leadership in capturing and storing CO2," indicates a recent report from the interministerial delegation for sustainable development, submitted to Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. "It will be necessary to examine under what conditions to transfer this know-how to the poorest countries", noted recently John Browne, CEO of BP. Otherwise, he warned, "they will be doomed to meet their energy needs by resorting to old dirty technologies."

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0 ... 431,0.html
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by freddau » 04/10/06, 18:20

What unanimity! They were all there: Alstom, General Electric, RWE, Shell, Vattenfall, BP, Statoil, Siemens, Gaz de France, EDF, Suez, Endesa, Total ... All the big European names in energy were present in Brussels September 12 and 13, during the general assembly of ZEP (Zero emission platform), to celebrate the new future of electricity production, according to them: the coal-fired power plant whose carbon dioxide emissions will be buried in the ground .


The approach starts from the observation that coal is much more abundant than oil and gas, it will necessarily play a role in the future: according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), it will provide 9,8 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2020 against 7 TWh in 2003, ie 40% of electricity production on the two dates. Problem: coal emits a lot of CO2, while climate change becomes the main factor to be taken into account by the energy industry. Solution: develop new coal-fired power plants capable of isolating the carbon dioxide emitted and sequestering it in the basement.

The industry believes in it all the more since the methods studied give hope for operational systems in a few years. This is also the main purpose of ZEP: to carry out a dozen demonstration projects by 2020 to be ready for a commercial application.

Three technical fields are explored for the separation of gas: post-combustion consists in isolating carbon dioxide from nitrogen in the fumes discharged by the power plant; in pre-combustion, the carbon is removed from the fuel to leave only hydrogen, which is the fuel burned in a gas turbine; oxyfuel combustion, finally, occurs with oxygen after the nitrogen has been removed from the outlet air.

Besides the separation of CO2, the second question is that of its sequestration. Specialists plan to store it in petroleum beds. Another issue is that of the saline aquifers, about 1 m deep, and which are very numerous. But these geological structures are still very little known. We could also inject carbon dioxide into coal mines, or even target mineral sequestration, by chemical combination of CO500 with rocks.

The main obstacle to the development of this technique is undoubtedly this: there is no guarantee that the CO2 injected underground will not leak after a few decades. The fossil electricity industry risks discovering the same problem as the nuclear industry, unable to guarantee the sustainability of the underground storage of its waste. "No leak will be allowed," says ZEP's strategic document. An article published in the journal Geology in July 2006, however, showed that the tightness of a deep water table could not be guaranteed.

But several large environmental organizations, such as WWF or Bellona, ​​in Norway, support the technique. "This is the most important option available to deal with climate change," says Frederic Hauge, director of Bellona. We could thus absorb a fifth of emissions by 2050. "

However, underlines Pierre Le Thiez, of the French Petroleum Institute, "it will be necessary to store hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2 for centuries, even millennia. Which industry can take responsibility over a thousand years?"

Hervé Kempf, our special correspondent in Brussels
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0 ... 431,0.html
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by Christophe » 04/10/06, 18:20

In the same genre...

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by Former Oceano » 04/10/06, 22:54

Are we going to bury the CO2 or is it the CO2 that is going to bury us?
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by Woodcutter » 19/10/06, 11:30

Pout... :|

Not super enjoyable ...
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by jean63 » 21/02/07, 09:00

However, underlines Pierre Le Thiez, of the French Petroleum Institute, "it will be necessary to store hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2 for centuries, even millennia. Which industry can take responsibility over a thousand years?"

Hervé Kempf, our special correspondent in Brussels


Discovered by chance while looking for the latest ex-océano messages ......

Hervé KEMPF it is he who wrote "How the rich destroy the planet" (open subject, but I did not go too far in the book, I have many others to read).

For CO2 sequestration it is not won; I think it will leak. another technique would have to be found to prevent it from escaping into the atmosphere. I can't believe the chemists have no other solution in their drawers.

And if the powerful of the planet had an interest in the planet warming up a lot to exploit all the riches of Alaska and Greenland !!!! : Evil:

..........By the way, Chinese start new coal-fired power plant every day... it thrills the planet !!!
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by I Citro » 21/02/07, 09:45

Meanwhile, CO2 has more and more industrial outlets:

- cryogenic sandblasting (for example to remove meat stuck to bones in meat factories) when the CO2 crystals hit the surface to be "sanded" they have a mechanical AND thermal action and the CO2 vaporizes. It does not wet, does not oxidize and leaves no residue. :D

- gas for air conditioning and fridges

- and many other applications which I don't think of ... on your keyboards. : Mrgreen:
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by jean63 » 21/02/07, 10:29

citro wrote:Meanwhile, CO2 has more and more industrial outlets:

- cryogenic sandblasting (for example to remove meat stuck to bones in meat factories) when the CO2 crystals hit the surface to be "sanded" they have a mechanical AND thermal action and the CO2 vaporizes. It does not wet, does not oxidize and leaves no residue. :D

- gas for air conditioning and fridges

- and many other applications which I don't think of ... on your keyboards. : Mrgreen:


..the better, let's hope that they (the scientists) will find lots of uses so that it stays on the ground and is reused in a chemical reaction. It would be necessary to find the soluc for the exhausts of the vehicles with internal combustion engine !!!
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Only when he has brought down the last tree, the last river contaminated, the last fish caught that man will realize that money is not edible (Indian MOHAWK).

 


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