Am I missing something? The big focus in the power industry at present would appear to be carbon dioxide.
Many initiatives are under way to find ways of removing carbon dioxide from flue gases and then storing it somewhere. At the moment one of the favourite places for this carbon is in existing oil and gas wells where it can also assist in the extraction of the oil.
Power plants have an incentive to reduce their carbon dioxide output and a system of trading has been established to allow those with low emissions to sell credits to other plants with high emissions.
But surely gas pipelines are expensive? Most power stations are situated near centres of load which do not normally coincide with the oil/gas wells.
Why not just build carbon capture plants near to the oil/gas fields. The plants suck in the atmosphere, remove carbon dioxide, and put the rest back. They sell credits to the plants for the carbon dioxide they have removed and they can that they have captured to the oil fields to help extraction. This is the same principle as having the capture plants at the power stations, but instead of long expensive pipelines to carry the gas somewhere useful we just use the atmosphere.
Apart from this, there are also advantages in that the carbon dioxide capture plants themselves would be much simpler. The plants would not need to deal with all the other products of combustion and could be run at a constant rate without being affected by the electrical demand.
Richard King
by e-mail
Make your point to The Engineer and take off with bmi
How to enter
Write a letter to The Engineer magazine and you could win a pair of tickets to one of bmi’s European destinations, courtesy of our friends at the airline.
Flexible and competitive
bmi asked 10,000 customers ‘what would make a great airline?’
The answer was clear: competitive fares, more choice and less time wasted at airports. So bmi acted, introducing a unique fare structure on domestic and European short-haul flights to and from London Heathrow. Thanks to three fare options — including premium economy, with benefits including lounge access and flexibility — you choose the services you want, depending on your business trip.
What’s more, bmi has streamlined the passenger process from the moment of buying the ticket, to your passage through the airport, to boarding the aircraft. You can book e-tickets online and then check in online at home, in your office, or even on the move.
Alternatively, there are self-check-in machines and priority check-in desks at the airport. You can even use bmi ‘web points’ to check in online at the airport, if that’s more convenient. All this means you can save valuable time from booking, right until your plane takes off.
The prize
Try the smart approach for yourself, courtesy of bmi. The winner of The Engineer’s Letter of the Month prize for April, as selected by the editor, will win a pair of tickets from London Heathrow to any destination on bmi’s European mainline network.
Click here for terms and conditions.
The Engineer
UK productivity hindered by digital skills deficit – report
This is a bit of a nebulous subject. There are several sub-disciplines of 'digital skills' which all need different approaches. ...