Capturing & Storing Carbon Dioxide Gas

Capturing & Storing Carbon Dioxide Gas

Prepared by Wisam Al-Shalchi Oil & Gas Expert Amman – 2008

Contents Introduction Chapter One Carbon Dioxide 1-1 1-2

Introduction Physical Properties of Carbon Dioxide a- Physical Characters of Carbon Dioxid b- Phases of Carbon dioxide

1-3

1-4 1-5

1-6 1-7

7 8 8 8

Physical Properties of Carbon Dioxide

10

a- Physical Characters of Carbon Dioxide b- Molecular Structure of Carbon Dioxid c- Chemical Properties of Carbon Dioxide

10 11 12

Carbon Dioxide Uses Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere

13 14

abcde-

14 16 17 17 19

Composition of the atmosphere Layers of the Atmosphere Formation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere Variation of CO2 concentration with time How long does carbon dioxide remain in the atmosphere

The Carbon Cycle Effects of Carbon Dioxide

19 23

a- Carbon dioxide effects on health b- Effects of carbon dioxide on environment

23 23

Chapter Two Emission Sources of Carbon Dioxide 2-1

2-2

Emissions of Carbon Dioxide to the Atmosphere a- Changes of CO2 concentrations during the modern period b- Types of CO2 sources c- How to measure CO2 emissions to the atmosphere

30 33 33

Emissions of CO2 Gas from the Natural Sources

34

CO2 Emissions from Anthropogenic Sources

40

abcd-

2-3

30

CO2 Emission from the respiration of living organisms CO2 Emission from the decomposition of organic materials CO2 emission from the oceans CO2 emissions from the volcano

a- Emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels burning b- Emissions of CO2 from the industrial processes c- Carbon dioxide emissions due to changes in land use

35 37 37 38 41 55 61

1

2-4

Classification of Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions According to Different Categories a- Classifications of global CO2 emissions according to different anthropogenic activities b- Classification of global CO2 emissions according to the geographical territories c- Classification of CO2 emissions according to countries d- Classification of CO2 emissions according to emission per capita

2-5

2-6

64 64 64 67 69

Emissions of CO2 from Arab countries

71

a- Quantities of CO2 emitted from Arab countries b- Emissions of CO2 per capita in the Arab countries c- Sources of carbon dioxide in the Arab countries

71 73 74

Carbon dioxide Emissions in the Future

79

Chapter Three Means of Reducing CO2 Concentration in the Atmosphere 3-1 3-2 3-3

3-4

3-5

Introduction Natural Discharge Outlets of Carbon Dioxide

82 82

a- Oceans b- The botanical cover

83 85

Increasing the Capacity of the Natural Stores to Absorb CO2

86

a- Increasing the capacity of the oceans to absorb CO2 b- Increasing the ability of the botanical cover to absorb CO2

86 87

Halting the Increase of CO2 Concentration in the Atmosphere

89

a- Methods of reducing the emissions of CO2 gas to the air b- Ways of halting the emission of CO2 to the atmosphere

89 89

The UN Frame Convention on Climate Change, and Kyoto Protocol

90

a- Principles and objectives of the Convention b- Kyoto Protocol

91 91

Chapter Four Capturing and Transporting CO2 4-1 4-2 4-3

Introduction Capturing Carbon Dioxide Carbon Dioxide Capturing Technologies a- Capturing CO2 gas from the flue gas produced from the power stations b- Capturing carbon dioxide from factories

4-4 4-5

Utilizations of Captured Carbon Dioxide Transporting Carbon Dioxide

93 94 96 96 105

107 107

2

Chapter Five Carbon Dioxide Sequestration 5-1 5-2 5-3

Storing Carbon Dioxide Gas Conditions & Specifications of Perfect CO2 Stores The Mechanism of CO2 Retention in the Natural Stores a- Underwater Storage b- Geological Storage

109 110 110 111 111

5-4 Available Carbon Dioxide Stores

114

5-5 Stores under Studying

118

abcde-

Oceans Oil and Gas depleted fields Deep Saline Aquifer In the Semi-depleted Oil & Gas Fields Un-mined coal seams

a- Storing carbon dioxide by the mineral storage method b- The storage of carbon dioxide in the underground caves c- Storing carbon dioxide in the surface tanks

5-6 5-7

Capacities of the Natural Reservoirs to Store CO2 Potential risks to the Process of Storing CO2 abcde-

114 114 115 115 117 118 118 118

119 119

Carbon dioxide leakage Methane leakage Earthquakes Movements of the ground layers Displacement of the deep saline aquifers

119 120 120 120 121

5-8 Monitoring and Verification 5-9 Worldwide Available Carbon Dioxide Stores 5-10 Available CO2 Reservoirs in the Arab Countries

122 124 127

Chapter Six 6-1 6-2

6-3 6-4

6-5

CO2 Capturing, Transporting & Storing Projects

Introduction CO2 Capturing Projects Around the World

130 131

a- Projects of capturing CO2 by the post combustion method b- Projects of capturing CO2 by the pre combustion method c- Other carbon dioxide capturing projects

131 133 134

Worldwide CO2 Transporting Projects CO2 Storing Projects around the world

134 136

a- Carbon dioxide geological storing projects b- Storing CO2 by the EOR and EGR methods c- Other carbon dioxide storing projects

136 139 142

CO2 Storing Projects in the Arab Countries

142

a- Carbon dioxide capturing projects in the Arab countries b- Carbon dioxide storing projects in the Arab Countries

142 142

3

Chapter Seven Economic Feasibility of CO2 Capturing & Storing Projects 7-1 7-2 7-3 7-4

7-5 7-6

7-7

Introduction Costs of Capturing CO2 from Stationary Sources

145 145

a- Costs of capturing CO2 gas from power stations b- Cost of capturing CO2 from the industrial sources

146 151

Cost of Carbon Dioxide Transportation Cost of Carbon Dioxide Storage

151 153

a- Cost of Geological storage b- Cost of ocean storage c- The cost of mineral storage

153 154 155

The Gross Cost of Capturing, Transporting and Storing of Carbon Dioxide The Economic Feasibility of the Methods of Capturing and Storing CO2 Gas

155

a- The impact of CO2 capturing & storing costs b- The impact of CO2 price in the global gas trading market c- The impact of crude oil price

157 158 158

The Adoption of CO2 Capturing and Storing Projects within the Clean Development Mechanism a- The clean development mechanism (CDM)

159

b- The inclusion of CO2 capturing & storing (CCS) projects into the clean development mechanism (CDM) c- The impact of the inclusion of CO2 capturing & storing projects into the clean development mechanism d- The contributions of Arab States in the development of clean development mechanism

7-8

The Future of CO2 Capturing & Storing Projects

a- The future role of the of CO2 capturing & storing projects in the reduction of the gas ratio in the atmosphere b- The role of trade in carbon dioxide for storage purpose in the future

157

159 160 162 162

163 163 167

Chapter Eight Conclusions & Recommendations 8-1

abcd-

8-2

170

Conclusions Conclusions on emissions of carbon dioxide Conclusions on capturing and transporting of CO2 gas Conclusions regarding the storage of carbon dioxide The conclusions on the economic feasibility of CO2 capturing & storing operations

Recommendations

References CV of the author

170 171 172 173

174 179 186

4

Introduction The use of different types of fossil fuels as an energy source is expected to increase significantly at least during the first half of the twenty-first century unless new sources of energy are discovered to replace these fuels. It is obvious that the path of this growth is moving towards unsustainable development, because the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide produced from burning these fuels is expected to remain on the rise over this period. But, after reaching rates of this gas in the atmosphere over recent years to dangerous levels, it becomes necessary to take serious steps to reduce its emissions into the atmosphere, especially in the energy production sector. There are many options that can reduce CO2 emissions from this sector which include raising the efficiency of energy use for the purpose of rationalization of consumption, the trend towards larger use of renewable energy sources and nuclear power, and the development of new sources of clean energy. However, even with maximum use of these options, only part of the problem can be solved, and the accumulation of this gas in the atmosphere will remain compounded year after year. During the past two decades a new promising option has emerged, that is the option to capture and store carbon dioxide (CCS). This option took possession of the interest in that it will allow reducing emissions of CO2 gas dramatically into the atmosphere. However, this emerging technology is facing major and serious challenges, which require development to the extent that ensures efficiency, and reduce its cost so that does not pose a cumbersome economic burden on countries that adopt. To achieve that, governments should take in the coming years practical and serious steps to ensure adequate development of the technology of capturing and storing carbon dioxide and to promote their use in large sizes in order to achieve the desired goals. This research aims to give a clear picture of the emerging techniques of capturing and storing carbon dioxide, where it firstly reviews the historical path of the escalation of carbon dioxide ratios in the atmosphere, and the risks that result from the accumulation of this gas in the atmosphere on climate, and the rest of the balances that exist on Earth. The research also includes an extensive presentation of the gas emissions from various sources in the world up to the year 2007, including emissions from Arab countries. It also deals with the techniques of capturing and storing CO2 gas in detail and the challenges facing them by reviewing existing projects and projects already planned for construction in the world and in the Arab countries. The research also discusses in details the economic feasibility of this technology and its projects by studying this part qualitatively and quantitatively as it constitutes an 5

influence on the popularity of the technology, whether now or in the future. And finally, this research comes out with a series of conclusions and recommendations, which could contribute to practice and spread the industry in the world in general, and in the Arab countries in particular which can be geographically bunkers for the storage of CO2 gas, especially in depleted oil fields. It can be argued that capturing and storing of CO2 gas techniques in an integrated and well-established as an industry is still in its infancy and needs more research and development to solve their problems and remove the obstacles they face. It is expected that their spread and adoption on a commercial scale and significant levels throughout the world will not begin before ten years from now. To achieve this, it ultimately could be a quantum leap and a strategy towards sustainable development during the present century, and to allow also the wide use of all fossil fuels, especially cheap coal, with the assurance that it will not pose any sort of threat to the environment.

The Author*

* Wisam Al-Shalchi – Oil Expert

[email protected]

6

Chapter One Carbon Dioxide Gas 1-1 Introduction: Carbon Dioxide, also known as Carbonic Anhydride or Carbonic Acid Gas, is a colorless, odorless, and slightly acid-tasting gas. It was first called “Fixed Air” in the year 1750 by the Scottish chemist Joseph Black (1), who obtained it through the decomposition of limestone and recognized that it entered into the chemical composition of this substance. The French chemist Antoine Lavoisier proved that it is an oxide of carbon by showing that the gas obtained by the combustion of charcoal is identical in its properties with the “fixed air” obtained by Black. The atmosphere contains carbon dioxide in variable amounts, usually between 0.03 - 0.04% by weight (with an average of 0.035% or 350 ppm), and has been increasing by 0.4% a year. Carbon dioxide is the fourth mostabundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere after Nitrogen, Oxygen, and the Argon.

Figure (1-1): The four main constituents of the atmospheric air. Carbon dioxide escapes from fissures in earth in volcanic regions and when mineral springs occur. It is also formed in combustion of carboncontaining materials such as coal, wood, natural gas, and petroleum fuels. CO2 is produced also in fermentation and decay of organic substances, and in respiration of animals. Industrially, CO2 is produced in large quantities from cement factories and power plants. It is used as a raw material by green plants in the process known as photosynthesis, by which carbohydrates are manufactured. Carbon dioxide is present in large quantities in the oceans due to the absorption by seawater. The oceans hold much of the Earth's total inventory of CO2, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates the oceans contain about 50 times more CO2 than the atmosphere(2). 7

1-2 Physical Properties of Carbon Dioxide: a- Physical Characters of Carbon Dioxide: Carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless, faintly acidic-tasting and nonflammable gas at room temperature. It is about 1.5 times as dense as air, and therefore it tends to settle and condensate in low places. This character makes CO2 gas able to be carried and poured from one flask to another. It is soluble in water, alcohols, and alkaline solutions, and its solubility declines as temperature rises up. The other physical characters of the gas are listed in Table (1-1)(3,4,5).

Character

Value

Molecular weight Boiling point Latent heat of vaporization Heat content Critical pressure Critical temperature Solubility in H2O

44.01 -78.5oC 571.3 kj/kg 135.0 Btu/lb at 100 °C 73 atm. 31°C 1797 cm3/L at 0 °C, 900 cm3/L at 20 °C Density * 1.9769 gm/L at 0°C and 1 atm. Specific gravity * 1.53 (on the basis of air = 1) Specific heat* 0.85 kj/kg oC Density** 762 kg/m3 at 21.1oC and 1 atm Specific gravity** 1.18 (water = 1) Vapor Pressure** 830 psi at 20°C Viscosity** 0.07 cP at −78°C Melting point*** -56.6°C at 5.2 atm. Subliming point*** -78.5°C at 1 atm. Latent Heat of Sublimation*** 25.13 kJ/mol * Characters applied for solid CO2 (dry ice). ** Characters applied for liquid CO2 *** Characters applied for solid CO2 (dry ice).

Table (1-1): Physical properties of Carbon dioxide.

b- Phases of Carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide exists naturally or artificially in four phases, these are: (1) CO2 Gas: This is the natural phase of carbon dioxide, because it exists in this shape in normal temperature and pressure. CO2 gas is present in the ambient air since the formation of the planet Earth, and its percentage in the atmosphere rises up or diminishes according to the natural and geological conditions which the planet has passed through. (2) Liquid CO2: Carbon dioxide never exists as a liquid under the normal pressure. The least necessary pressure needed to liquefy the gas in 20 oC is 30 atm. It is possible sometimes to consider the soluble 8

carbon dioxide in water CO2 (aq) as a form of liquid CO2, especially when the gas dissolving takes place by exposing external pressure. (3) Solid CO2: When carbon dioxide gas is cooled suddenly, as it happens when the compressed CO2 is allowed to escape through a small hole of a valve, it turns directly to a solid white substance called "dry ice" because it has the tendency to sublimate without leaving any trace. (4) Amorphous carbon dioxide: It is a strange form of carbon dioxide which was made for the first time in the laboratory in 2006 by subjecting dry ice to high pressures (400,000 to 500,000 atm)(7). This form of carbon dioxide has no specific crystal structure like the dry ice, and is similar in shape to silicon dioxide glass. It conducts heat, and as solid as diamond (8), but it is unstable for it turns back to gaseous CO2 once the pressure is removed.

Figure (1-2): Some carbon dioxide phases. The relation between the above three phases of carbon dioxide, and the conditions needed to transfer one phase to another are elucidated in Figure (1-3)(6).

Figure (1-3): The three normal phases of CO2, and the necessary conditions required to transfer one phase to another. 9

1-3 Chemical Properties of Carbon Dioxide: a- Preparation of Carbon dioxide: Due to the very little ratio of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it is not practical to produce it by direct distillation of air because it only yields very small amounts of the gas. Alternatively, the gas can be prepared in a variety of ways. 1) Carbon dioxide is produced by combustion (oxidation) of coal. C (coal) + O2 (g)

CO2 (g)

2) The combustion of any material containing carbon, such as natural gas or crude oil forms carbon dioxide and water. CH4 + 2O2

CO2 + 2H2O

3) Carbon dioxide is recovered commercially as a by-product substance from the production of ethanol by fermentation of sugars. It also evolves from the decay of the organic materials (7). Yeast

C6H12O6

2CO2 + 2C2H5OH

4) CO2 is produced from the reaction between most acids and most metal carbonates. For example, the reaction between sulfuric acid and calcium carbonate (limestone)(4) produces firstly carbonic acid, which then decomposes to water and CO2. H2SO4 + CaCO3 CaSO4 + H2CO3 H2CO3 CO2 + H2O 5) CO2 is formed from the decomposition of calcium carbonates by heating at about 850 oC to produce CaO (quicklime)(4). CaCO3 → CaO + CO2 6) Pig iron which is reduced from its oxides by coke in the blast furnace, also produces carbon dioxide(4). 2 Fe2O3 + 3C → 4Fe + 3CO2 7) Carbon dioxide is formed as a by-product material from ammonia synthesis plants. The gas is created in the hydrogen production unit by the reaction between steam and carbon monoxide. CH4 + H2O CO + H2O

CO + 3H2 CO2 + H2

Then hydrogen reacts with nitrogen to produce ammonia. 10

b- Molecular Structure of Carbon Dioxide: The laser experiments of the carbon dioxide molecule based on the vibration and rotational transitions showed that it is a linear molecule of which consists of one central carbon atom joined to two atoms of oxygen by two covalent bonds (double bonds)(9).

Figure (1-4): The structure of carbon dioxide molecule. Each oxygen atom forms a sigma and a pi bond with the carbon atom and leaves two free electron pairs. The Sigma bond (ơ) is formed by overlapping of the hybridized orbital sp2 of the oxygen with the sp orbital of the carbon. The Pi bond (π) is formed from the overlapping of the nonhybridized P orbitales of the oxygen and carbon(10). The bond length between the oxygen and the carbon atoms was found to be 1.13 Å, less than the expected value for such a bond which is 1.28 Å. This shortening is due to the resonance structure (11):

Carbon dioxide molecule has no electrical dipole moment, because the similar electro-negativity of the two oxygen atoms in the opposite sides of the linear molecule will cancel any formed electrical moment. Although Carbon Dioxide is a triatomic molecule, it behaves much like a simple diatomic molecule because its structure is linear (10). Such a linear triatomic molecule has three normal modes of vibration, described as the asymmetric stretch mode, the bending mode and the symmetric stretch mode as shown in Figure (1-5). Each one of these normal modes of vibration for the CO2 molecule is associated with a characteristic frequency of vibration as well as a ladder of allowed energy levels. The transition of the molecule between the vibration levels is governed by the quantum theory.

11

Figure (1-5): The dipole moment and vibration modes of carbon dioxide molecule.

c- Chemical Properties of Carbon Dioxide: As it is fully oxidized, carbon dioxide molecule is not very reactive and in particular non-flammable (11). Here are some of the chemical properties of carbon dioxide: (1) When dissolved in water it forms the weak carbonic acids. CO2 + H2O

H2CO3

After its formation, carbonic acid dissociates in two steps as shown in the following equations: H2CO3 + H2O HCO3- + H2O

H3O+ + HCO3H3O+ + CO3=

Ka1 = 4.2 x 10-7 Ka2 = 4.8 x 10-11

The formation of the hydronium ion (H3O+) , from these dissociations, explains why the pH of normal water which is exposed to air is 5.5 and not 7 as expected. The direction of the above chemical equilibriums depends on the pH of the water. In neutral or slightly alkaline water (pH > 6.5), the bicarbonate form predominates (>50%) becoming the most prevalent (>95%) at the pH of seawater, while in very alkaline water (pH > 10.4) the predominant (>50%) form is carbonate ion (CO3=)(4). (2) Carbon dioxide dissolves in alkaline solutions like sodium hydroxide to form carbonates and bicarbonates (11). CO2 + NaOH NaHCO3 + NaOH

NaHCO3 Na2CO3 + H2O

In the same way carbon dioxide reacts with calcium hydroxide to form firstly white precipitate of calcium carbonates which dissolves in excess of the gas due to the formation of calcium bicarbonate. This reaction can be used as an identification method for carbon dioxide gas (12). 12

Ca(OH)2 + CO2 CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O

Ca CO3 + H2O Ca(HCO3)2

This reaction often occurs in nature when rainwater saturated with CO2 (acid rains) seeps through a layer of limestone. This water dissolves calcium carbonate forming dissolved bicarbonate which flow with the rain streams forming caves (6). (3) Carbon dioxide react with the alkali metals like and magnesium when heated sufficiently to produce carbonates of these metals (12). 4K +3CO2

2K2CO3 + C

1-4 Carbon Dioxide Uses: Carbon dioxide is used commercially in number of industries, which can be summarized in the following points: a- Carbon dioxide finds uses in beverage carbonation. Fizzy beverages are prepared by pressing CO2 gas in the liquid, and when the pressure is removed CO2 evolves, but some of it remains in the drink giving it acidic test & special flavor. Some other drinks like beer and wine contain carbon dioxide as a consequence of fermentation giving it the same action like the pressed CO2 (13). b- Carbon dioxide does not burn and does not support ordinary combustion, and due to these properties it is used for extinguishing fires. The CO2 extinguisher is a steel cylinder filled with liquid carbon dioxide, which, when released, expands suddenly and causes so great a lowering of temperature that it solidifies into powdery “snow.” This snow volatilizes (vaporizes) on contact with the burning substance, producing a blanket of gas that cools and smothers the flame (1). c- Dry ice is widely used as a refrigerant. Its cooling effect is almost twice that of water ice(1); its special advantages are that it does not melt as a liquid but turns into gas, and that it produces an inert atmosphere that reduces bacterial growth. One of the most important alternative uses of dry ice is dry ice blast cleaning(4). Dry ice is also inexpensive; it costs about US$2 per Kg (US$1 per lb) (6).

d- A new use for liquid carbon dioxide currently under development is as a dry-cleaning solvent. Currently, most laundries use chlorinated hydrocarbons as dry-cleaning solvents. These chlorinated hydrocarbons are probable human carcinogens, so the search is on for replacements. Liquid CO2 has some advantages over chlorinated hydrocarbons items

13

that cannot be dry cleaned with chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as leather, fur, and some synthetics, which can be safely cleaned with liquid CO2(6).

e- Carbon dioxide is also used in food industries, especially in baking. Many leavening agents used for baking produce carbon dioxide to cause the dough to raise. Examples are baker's yeast and baking powder.

f- Carbon dioxide is used as a raw material in several chemical industries, like using it to produce urea from ammonia which is widely used as a fertilizer (14). The world consumption of carbon dioxide for urea production is estimated by 90 million metric tones in 1997 only (15). CO2 + NH3

H2N-CO-NH2 + H2O

Carbon dioxide is also used as an oxidant to change straight paraffins to aromatic hydrocarbons, and in the production of polymers and in the production of dimethyl carbonate DMC. These industries consume about 0.9 billion tones of carbon equivalent yearly(16).

1-5 Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere: Earth is surrounded by a thin layer of gases and vapors as well as traces of solid particles called the Atmosphere. Earth retains the atmosphere by its gravity. The atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen and oxygen which are the necessarily elements for life and this structure is unique when compared with the other solar planets atmospheres. The atmosphere acts as the principle path of the various forms of energy reaching earth from the sun. It also protects life on earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation and reducing temperature extremes between day and night. Energy is transferred between the earth's surface and the atmosphere via conduction, convection, and radiation.

a- Composition of the atmosphere: The present atmosphere is completely different in composition from early earth's atmosphere. During the past four and a half billion years of the earth's age the structure of the atmosphere passed through the following three different stages(17): (1) First atmosphere: When the Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago, the atmosphere consisted mainly of Hydrogen, Helium, Methane and some other light gases(18). The solid core of earth at that time was not formed yet, and earth's gravity was not strong enough to hold lighter gases present in the atmosphere. (2) Second atmosphere: About 4 billion years ago, the surface had cooled enough to form a crust, still heavily populated with volcanoes

14

which released steam, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. This led to the second atmosphere which contained primarily Nitrogen N2, Carbon dioxide CO2 and Water vapor H2O, but virtually no Oxygen O2. It is generally believed that the greenhouse effect, caused by high levels of carbon dioxide and methane kept the Earth from freezing. Actually, temperatures were probably very high, over 70 oC. (3) Third atmosphere: After several billion years the hydrosphere of earth was formed from the condensation of water vapor, resulting in oceans of water. The formation of oceans was responsible for changing the composition of the second atmosphere. As earth cooled, much of the carbon dioxide dissolved in the seas and precipitated out as carbonates and oxygen formed due to the decomposition of water molecule by the ultraviolet rays. When oxygen was formed all the necessary elements for life (water, oxygen and carbon dioxide) integrated. The first feature of life emerged approximately 3.3 billion years ago and was in the form of Cyanobacteria (17). This earliest kind of bacteria was the first oxygenproducing phototropic organisms, and slowly began to suck in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen in the photosynthesis operation. They played a major role in oxygenating the Earth’s atmosphere (19) and removing CO2 from it forming the third atmosphere (present atmosphere). The mass of the atmosphere is 5.136 x 1015 ton (20), and it consists mainly now from several gases as shown in Table (2-1) below(21). Component Nitrogen Oxygen Argon Carbon Dioxide Neon Helium Krypton Sulfur dioxide Methane Hydrogen Nitrous Oxide Xenon Ozone Nitrogen dioxide Iodine Carbon monoxide Ammonia

Symbol

Percentage

N2 O2 Ar CO2 Ne He Kr SO2 CH4 H2 N2O Xe O3 NO2 I2 CO NH3

78.082% 20.946% 99.998% 0.933% 0.037% 18.2 ppm 5.2 ppm 1.1 ppm 1.0 ppm 2.0 ppm 0.5 ppm 0.5 ppm 0.09 ppm 0.07 ppm 0.02 ppm 0.01 ppm Trace Trace

Table (1-2): The components of the atmosphere by volume.

15

The first four components are the main constituents of the atmospheric air, and they account for 99.998% of all atmospheric "dry air" gases, while the other components do not account for more than 0.002%. The atmosphere also contains water vapor which accounts for 0-4% depending on latitude, altitude and weather conditions.

b- Layers of the Atmosphere: It is difficult to estimate the width of the atmosphere because there is no definite boundary between it and the outer space, and because it slowly becomes thinner in high altitudes until it fades completely into space at about 10,000 km height. However, it is possible to say that most of the atmosphere's mass lays within 500 – 1000 km from the planetary surface, and it is hold by the Earth's gravity(17). The atmosphere is divided vertically into several major regions which are distinguished by the sign of the temperature gradient(22). (1) Troposphere: The troposphere is the lowest layer of the atmosphere which begins at the surface and extends to between 7 km at the poles and 17 km at the equator, with some variation due to weather factors. Three quarters of the atmosphere's mass is within this layer, and it contains the clouds. As the gases in this layer decrease with height, the air becomes thinner and the temperature decreases with height. Almost all the flying activities occur in this region. (2) Stratosphere: This layer starts from the troposphere's 7–17 km range to about 50 km, and it contains the Ozone layer. It holds 20% of the atmosphere's gases and but very little water vapor. Temperature increases with height as UV radiation is increasingly absorbed by oxygen molecules which lead to the formation of Ozone. Jet flying and some activities of weather monitoring by balloons occur in this region. (3) Mesosphere: It starts from about 50 km to the range of 80 km to 85 km and the gases continue to become thinner and thinner with height. As such, the effect of the warming by ultraviolet radiation also becomes less and less, leading to a decrease in temperature with height. The falling stars usually illuminate at this region. (4) Thermosphere: The thermosphere extends from the mesosphere to about 650 km above the earth's surface. This layer is known as the upper atmosphere and its gases are increasingly thinner than in the mesosphere. As such, only the higher energy ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the sun is absorbed. By reason of this absorption, the temperature increases with height and can reach as high as 2000°C near the top of this layer. An ionic layer of air called the Ionosphere layer exists within this layer, and it is formed due to the effect of the solar energy which causes the separation of electrons from the gases atoms.

16

(5) Exosphere: This layer starts from 650 km and extend to about 10,000 km above the earth's surface. These layers are separated by regions in which no variation of temperature takes place with increasing in height. The main atmospheric gases exist within the troposphere and stratosphere layers, while the other layers contain only the light gases. Heavy gases like carbon dioxide exist only within the troposphere and specifically near the earth's surface.

Figure (1-6): Layers of the atmosphere showing the variation of temperature with height.

c- Formation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: Carbon dioxide formed for the first time in the second atmosphere about 4000 million years ago due to its release from volcanoes. The second atmosphere is believed to be about hundred times more condensed than the existing atmosphere. The carbon dioxide percentage in volcanic gases wasn't that high but the continuous release of this gas for hundreds million years and the inactivity of the CO2 molecule caused the accumulation of the gas to the extent that it became the main gas in the atmosphere(23).

d- Variation of CO2 concentration with time:

As with other gases there have been times on earth when the carbon dioxide concentrations of the atmosphere has been both much less and much greater than it is today depending on the earth's conditions. The physical and chemical properties of CO2 molecule make the gas concentration in the atmosphere very sensitive to any change in earth's conditions. In the second atmosphere, the dominating gases were carbon 17

dioxide and water vapor. CO2 concentration has declined gradually in the third atmosphere due to weather cooling and formation of oceans. This declining was mainly due to the combination of CO2 with H2O to make carbonic acid as well as its tendency to combine with metals to form carbonates and bicarbonates. After emerging of life about three billion years ago carbon dioxide concentration decreased more gradually an account of its consumption by the photosynthesis process. Carbon dioxide concentration reached nearly its present level about one billion years ago. Currently, the total CO2 in the atmosphere is about 2,700 billion metric tons (3,700 gigaton), or 0.037% by volume (370 ppm)(24). Even with this concentration, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere changes according to the climate changes. The earth's climate has changed many times throughout history, and the heating or cooling of the earth's surface can cause changes in CO2 concentration. These facts were proven from the ice core surveys, where air trapped as the ice froze hundreds thousands of years ago. Figure (1-7) below shows the results of the ice core measurements which clarify the amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere during the last 400,000 years. The picture shows also the temperature changes of earth's surface during the same period( 24, 25).

Figure (1-7): CO2 concentration changes and Earth temperature changes during the previous 400,000 years. The causes of climate change throughout the Earth's history return to natural cycles which affect the intensity of the sunlight that reaches the earth's surface. The known causes or “drivers” of past climate change include changes in the shape of the earth's orbit, changes in the sun's intensity and the volcanic eruptions which can affect the climate because 18

they can emit aerosols and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The periods in which the temperature of earth declines represent the glacial ages (or "ice ages”) while the periods of high temperature represent the interglacial ages. It can be noted from the above figure that CO2 levels during warm interglacial periods have been high and during cool glacial periods, CO2 levels have been low. When global temperatures become warmer, carbon dioxide is released from the oceans and therefore increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and this may amplify the warming by enhancing the greenhouse effect. When temperatures become cooler, CO2 enters the ocean and contributes to additional cooling. Obviously, throughout most of the past 400,000 years the concentration of CO2 has never reached its current concentration which is equal to 380 ppm, but was always below this percentage.

e- How long does carbon dioxide remain in the atmosphere? Every gas of the atmosphere remains for a certain period before it is removed by various natural reactions known as gas sinks. The time taken for atmospheric gases to adjust to changes in sources or sinks is known as the Atmospheric Lifetime of the gas. The atmospheric lifetime of carbon dioxide is in the order of 50-200 years. As a consequence of this, CO2 emitted into the atmosphere today could influence the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide for up to two centuries to come(26).

1-6 The Carbon Cycle: Life is based on the element Carbon. Carbon is the major chemical constituent of most organic matter, from fossil fuels to the complex molecules (DNA and RNA) that control genetic reproduction in organisms. Yet by weight, carbon is not one of the most abundant elements within the Earth's crust. In fact, the lithosphere is only 0.032% carbon by weight. In comparison, oxygen and silicon respectively make up 45.2% and 29.4% of the Earth's surface rocks. Carbon is stored on our planet in the following major stores. ™ ™ ™ ™

The biosphere as organic molecules in the living and dead organisms. The atmosphere as a carbon dioxide gas. The soil as an organic matter. The lithosphere as fossil fuels and sedimentary rock deposits such as limestone, dolomite and chalk. ™ The oceans as dissolved atmospheric carbon dioxide and as calcium carbonate shells in marine organisms. Table (1-4) shows the quantities of carbon stored in the above stores (or their branches)(27): 19

Sink Atmosphere Soil Organic Matter Ocean Marine Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks Terrestrial Plants Fossil Fuel Deposits

Amount in Billions of Metric Tons 578 (as of 1700) - 766 (as of 1999) 1500 to 1600 38,000 to 40,000 66,000,000 to 100,000,000 540 to 610 4000

Table (1-4): Estimations of the Carbon contents in different stores of the planet Earth or in their branches. Carbon never stays in these stores permanently but keeps moving among them in continuous cycles called Carbon Cycle. The carbon cycle includes several kinds of movements, some of which are natural while some others are anthropogenic (29, 28). These movements include: a- Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants: In the presence of light, plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and combine it with water (H2O) to form carbohydrates by means of the photosynthesis process. b- Carbon moves from plants to animals: Through food chains, carbon moves from plants to the animals that eat them. Animals that eat other animals get the carbon from the food they eat and this belongs originally to the plants. d- Carbon moves from living organisms to the atmosphere: Carbon is released from living organisms (ecosystems) and return to the atmosphere as CO2 gas by the process of respiration. c- Carbon moves from plants & animals to the ground: When animals & plants die their bodies decompose leaving some of their carbon in the ground. It happens due to geological events that the plant & animal remains might be buried deeply into the ground and compressed and transformed during millions of years into fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. e- Carbon moves from plants and animals to the ground: Carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere from the decomposition of dead bodies of the animals & plants. f- Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere: After their production, fossil fuels are burned to obtain energy for heating, electricity, transportation and manufacturing. As a consequence of these activities, CO2 is produced and emitted to the atmosphere. 20

g- Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the oceans: Oceans and all other water masses present on the planet surface absorb CO2 gas from the atmosphere and dissolve it in their waters. The marine organisms use part of the carbon present in the dissolved CO2 to build their bodies and to form their shells. In a reversible operation, CO2 gas is emitted to the atmosphere from the oceans and the other water masses by the reason of some natural factors such as temperature rising and water currents. These two paths represent a natural reversible diffusion of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the oceans. h- Carbon moves from the oceans to the ground: Some of the carbon present in the bodies of the dead marine organisms settles out to the ocean floor in the form of marine inorganic deposits. These deposits which are usually limestone, dolomite and quicklime, can move to non- drowned areas by earth movements. This carbon movement enhances more CO2 of the atmosphere to dissolve in the oceans.

Figure (1-5): The carbon cycle which shows the movement of carbon among the natural stores (sinks). The quantities of carbon present in the above natural stores vary from one store to another, and the quantities of the moving carbon from one store to another vary also according to the mass of the store and to the kind of activity which causes the movement. Figure (1-6) below shows the average quantities of carbon moved among the natural stores during the eighties of the previous century (1980-1989)(30).

21

Figure (1-6): Average quantities of carbon (in BtC) moved among the natural stores during the period 1980-1989. It is clear from the above figure that carbon movement among the natural stores includes in general the following two main reversible paths: ™ Movement of carbon in the form of CO2 from all natural stores to the atmosphere. ™ Movement of carbon in the form of CO2 back from the atmosphere to other natural stores. The resultant of these two paths remained near zero for millions of years which kept the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere almost constant during that period. But, since the industrial revolution in the mid eighteenth century, two new anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide were added to the other natural sources, these are the emission from burning of fossil fuels and the emission from land use change. The natural balance contained the extra quantities of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere from these two new sources for about two centuries. However, the gradually increasing emission which took place in the second half of the twentieth century, especially from the burning of fossil fuels was above the containing capacity of the natural balance. Therefore, carbon dioxide gas kept accumulating continuously in the atmosphere and its concentration kept increasing until it reached in the nineties levels which were not recorded for millions of years. 22

1-7 Effects of Carbon Dioxide: Carbon dioxide has bad effects both on human health and on environment. Here are some of these effects:

a- Carbon dioxide effects on health: Living organism obtains energy by oxidizing glucose with oxygen. This oxidizing process produces, in addition to the energy, water and carbon dioxide. To do this process continuously it is necessary to get rid of the produced CO2 and expel it outside the living cells and take instead fresh oxygen. The physiology of this process varies according to the type of the living organism and the extent of its development. In human beings this process is carried out by the circulatory system (blood) and the respiratory system (lungs). Blood carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissue by the red blood cells with the globin portion of hemoglobin as oxyhemoglobin(31). The majority (70%) of CO2 transported in the blood is dissolved in plasma (primarily as dissolved bicarbonate) (4). A smaller fraction (30%) is transported in red blood cells combined with the globin portion of hemoglobin as carbaminohemoglobin. The exchange of these two gases takes place through a chain of complicated reactions, and it depends on equilibriums which depend in turn on the concentration of the gases. Any infraction in this operation will deprive the tissue cells from the oxygen which it needs and may cause death. One of the factors which may cause this effect is the increase of CO2 concentration in the breathed air. Although carbon dioxide is a nontoxic gas, it causes suffocation due to lack of ample O2. High levels of CO2 can cause asphyxiation as it replaces oxygen in our blood. The physiological effects of the breathed carbon dioxide serve in a measure as warning of its presence and an indication of its concentration. The symptoms which appear on human when CO2 is breathed depends on several factors such as its concentration in the breathed air, the place of exposure, whether it is closed or open, the age and the health conditions of the exposed person and finally the period of exposure. The elevation of CO2 ratio in open places does not create a serious threat because the gas vanishes rapidly after its formation, but the real threat lies on the elevation of its concentration in closed places i.e. in indoor air. The reason of CO2 elevation in closed places is either because it is crowded by people or due to the presence of devices which create this gas such as heaters and furnaces… etc. It is possible to summarize the symptoms of the exposure to CO2 gas for the normal period of working (8-hour workday) in closed places such as the places of living or working by the following points(4):

23

(1) In moderate concentrations of 0.1% (1000 ppm) it causes stupefaction and tiredness, and if the concentration reaches 0.2% (2000 ppm) the person starts to feel dizzy, drowsy and nauseous. (2) In mild concentrations of around 0.5% (5000 ppm) the health effects include: headache, exhaustiveness, and rapid breathing. This concentration is the highest level which the human body can stand without serious threats on life. (3) At high levels (between 3 - 5% or 30,000 – 50,000 ppm), the exposure for more than half an hour show signs of loss of consciousness, and if the casualty is not transferred immediately to another place of fresh air then death may result. Breathing 7 – 10% carbon dioxide can produce unconsciousness and death in only a few minutes.

b- Effects of carbon dioxide on environment: Carbon dioxide has the following impacts on environment: (1) Climate change: According to the US National Academy of Science the temperature of the planet Earth has increased by 0.6 oC (1 oF) over its natural levels during the last one hundred years, and the rate of increasing was the fastest during the last two decades. A study prepared by the University of British East Anglia showed that the year 1998 was the warmest year passed on earth during the last 800 years and the study also showed that the nineties were the warmest decade during the last thousand years containing the warmest nine years during the twentieth century. Things are getting worse and fast, for the first seven months of the current year (2007) were the warmest months since climate recordkeeping began in 1895. These measurements point out that the year 2007 might be the warmest year ever during the last thousand years.

Figure (1-7): Global temperatures rise during the past 150 years. 24

It is reasonable to believe that humans have been responsible for much of this increase in temperature. The human activities were behind the changes occurred in atmospheric composition due to the increase in the concentrations of the gases which cause what is known as the Greenhouse Effect. The greenhouse gases are Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4) and Nitrous oxide (N2O). This balance between the absorbed and radiant energy is necessary to maintain the surface temperature at a certain level, otherwise the energy absorbed will be accumulated raising the surface temperature continuously. On the other hand, the atmosphere absorbs these longer wavelengths more effectively than it does the shorter wavelengths from the sun.

Figure (1-8): The Greenhouse Effect. Greenhouse gases of the atmosphere also absorb the infrared radiation and then reemit it both upward to space and downward to the surface. The downward part of this reemitted radiation is the "greenhouse effect" because it causes partial increasing in surface temperature. This effect is useful for keeping the surface warm enough; otherwise, the weather would be so cold especially at night and the temperature will be less than its present levels by about 30 oC, making the earth unsuitable for living. However, if this effect exceeds its normal level due to the increase in the greenhouse gases concentrations in the atmosphere then it will make earth's temperature higher than its natural value. In addition to water vapor, the major greenhouse gases are (32): • • • •

Carbon dioxide CO2. Methane CH4. Nitrous oxide N2O. Hydrofluorocarbons HFCs. H

25

• Polyflourocarbons PFCs. • Chloroflourocarbons CFCs. • Sulfur hexafluoride SF6. The first three gases exist naturally in the atmosphere, while the others are products of human activities. The influence of these greenhouse gases has increased due to the elevation of their concentrations in the atmosphere. The ratio of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased since the beginning of the industrial revolution by 30%, and its concentration has increased from 280 ppm in 1750 to 381 ppm in 2006. The ratio of methane has been nearly doubled, while the ratio of nitrous oxide increased by 15%. The reason of these elevations returns to the increase of their emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, especially as a consequence of using these fuels in power plants and vehicles. 98% of the increase in CO2 ratio in the atmosphere returns to using these fuels, while it caused the ratios of CH4 and N2O to increase by 24% and 18% respectively. The other four greenhouse gases which are extremely potent do not occur naturally, but are synthesized to be used for refrigeration, air-conditioning and as propellants in aerosol cans. The quantities of these gases in the atmosphere are not known precisely, but in general they exist only in very small quantities. Though their concentrations are small, their effect should never be ignored. To compare the effect of the greenhouse gases the coefficient Global Warming Potential (GWP) was created. CO2 is chosen as a reference and its GWP is arbitrarily set to 1, and the GWP values for other greenhouse gases are measured relative to the same mass of CO2. In general, two factors determine the ability of a greenhouse gas to cause climate change, first is its concentration in the atmosphere, and second is its GWP(33). Gas CO2 CH4 N2O HFCs PFCs CFCs SF6 * ppb in 2007

Concentration in the atmosphere*

GWP

383,000 1745 314 0.105 0.07 0.503 0.102

1 23 296 1300 - 1400 7850 5000 - 14000 22200

Table (1-3): The GWP of the different greenhouse gases. If the emissions of these gases are left without any action or control then it would worsen the phenomenon of climate change. The scientists have estimated that CO2 concentration in the atmosphere could reach 26

1000 ppm in 2100 if the emissions are left without any action. Such a change will increase earth's temperature by about 5 oC, and some other studies even predict that such increase may occur much longer before that date. It can be noted from the above table that although the impact of CO2 on climate change is low compared with other greenhouse gases but its high concentration in the atmosphere makes it the first affecting gas on climate change. Therefore, any effort to reduce the effects of these gases must be directed mainly toward carbon dioxide. Many scenarios were put to stop the increasing of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere in order to keep the planet temperature within a range which the living organisms can coexist with, and at the same time do not reduce much of the land area. Figure (1-9) shows the temperatures which could be reached through three possible scenarios until 2100.

Figure (1-9): Three possible scenarios for the increase of the earth's temperature until the year 2100. Increasing the planet's temperature by 5 oC (first scenario) could cause a disaster for it will melt huge ice masses in the poles. This temperature rising will elevate the sea level between 80 – 90 cm(34), which will drown two third of the planet’s land. The sea level has already been elevated during the 20th century by 10-25 cm. The first man who predicted that the increasing of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere will create the greenhouse effect was the scientist Svante Arrhenius, who published in 1896 a research about the effects of carbonic acids on earth's temperature(35). Although the following events proved this prediction, yet there are people who suspect any relation between CO2 concentration and the climate change. 27

(2) Plant fertilization: Many experiments were implemented to detect the effects of rising CO2 concentration in the atmosphere on plants growth. It was found that such rising enhances the photosynthesis process and therefore enhances the plants growth. Thus, the scientists consider the rising of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is somewhat similar to the fertilization process. It is noted, for instance, that the rate of forests growth in USA has increased by 40% above its standard levels during the past 50 years(36).

Figure (1-10): Averages of plants growth rising upon increasing CO2 concentration from 383 ppm (present concentration) to 600 ppm. Other experiments were implemented to monitor the levels of plants growth in different concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is found that at concentration of 600 ppm the enhancement of the growth will be at its maximum, and it even helps the plants to grow in dryer condition (36). This may sound strange because it is known that increasing the earth’s temperature will create dry conditions and increase the rate of dissertation. Although this fact is true, it is found that leaves transpire less and lose less water as CO2 increases, so that plants can grow under drier conditions as seen from Figure (1-10), leading to prosperous plant life. Also, animal life, which depends upon plant life for food, will increase proportionally especially for insects and worms which live in high temperatures. Such conditions unsuitable for living and growth of high creatures like humans, due to their warm blood, make them unable to coexist easily with temperature rise. On the other hand, the increase in Earth’s population could reach a level within the coming 50 years that makes the small remaining land area insufficient to supply enough food for them. 28

(3) Acid rains: The acidity of liquids is measured by the pH factor. The pH of neutral distilled water is 7, and the acidity increases when it becomes below 7, while the alkalinity increases if it is above that. Rain water is slightly acidic because it contains carbonic acid H2CO3 which is formed due to the dissolving of atmospheric carbon dioxide in rain water. The pH of rain water found to be 5.6 which is a level that does not make it of sensible acidic tests, but sometimes it reaches 4.5 where the test becomes similar to that of soda water. If the pH becomes less than this level then the rain will be considered as acidic rain. Acidic rain is formed when its water is contaminated with sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon oxides and hydrogen sulphide which are formed from the burning of fossil fuels by the factories and vehicles. The winds carry these pollutants for long distances where it can dissolve in the water vapor which is present in the atmosphere to form acid droplets. CO2 + H2O SO2 + H2O SO3 + H2O 2NO2 + H2O

H2CO3 H2SO3 H2SO4 HNO2 + HNO3

These droplets remain suspended in the air until they eventually fall with rains. In dry areas where no rains exist, the acid droplets stick to the sand particles and fall with them as acid precipitation. Acid rains and acid precipitation have bad effects on environment, since they cause corrosion of metals, rocks, construction materials, and they also dissolve the paints of the buildings. Although the carbonic acid H2CO3 that is formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water is weak, it still can cause some of the harms which the other strong acids like sulphuric acid H2SO4 and nitric acid HNO3 could cause. Therefore, the presence of CO2 in large quantities in the atmosphere, such as the places near the volcanoes, cement factories and power plants, could be regarded as one of the acid rain causatives (37). (3) Making the oceans hostile to Marine Life: Some new studies have shown that oceans have absorbed about half of the carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere during the past two hundreds years. An international team that worked on this subject has estimated that the oceans have absorbed about 118 billion metric tons of carbon equivalent from CO2 gas emitted from anthropogenic activities between 1800 – 1994, i.e. about 1/3 of its absorbing capacity. The studies also showed that this absorption will make the oceans environment hostile to some kinds of marine species like coral cols, algae and mosses due to the rising levels of acidity(38). This may also reduce the ability of the oceans to mop up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the future. 29

Chapter Two Emission Sources of Carbon Dioxide 2-1 Emissions of Carbon Dioxide to the Atmosphere: a- Changes of CO2 concentrations during the modern period: Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere remained constant for millions of years, this returns to the natural balance between the emissions of the gas and its natural sinks and consumption. However, the concentration of this gas started to rise during the past two hundreds years, as shown in Table (2-1) and Figure (2-1) below(39). CO2 Concentrations (ppmv) 277 284 287 293 311 317 326 339 354 355 356 357 359 361 363 364 367 368 369 371 373 375 377 379 381

Year 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Table (2-1) Concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere between the years 1740-2006. 30

Figure (2-1): Changes of CO2 among the years 1750-2006. It is estimated that human has emitted to the atmosphere from his different activities about 315 BtC of carbon dioxide gas since the beginning of the industrial revolution at the middle of the 18th century until now, half of it has been emitted since the year 1970(40). About 220.5 BtC of this quantity has accumulated in the atmosphere, while the rest dissipated through the natural sinks. This cumulative quantity raised CO2 concentration in the atmosphere by about 37.5% over its original levels on 1740, or in other words, by 100 ppmv. It is obvious that this change returns to factors which have to do with the development of human civilization for a very simple reason which is that CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has never changed except after the industrial revolution. It is also possible to explain this change by connecting it to the use of fossil fuels to produce the energy necessary for human activities (anthropogenic activities). Despite the progressive increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, this didn't evoke any worry until the middle of the 20th century when its concentration started to reach records never reached for millions of years. Since the relation between the increase of CO2 concentration and the greenhouse effects and the climate change started to be deep-rooted day after day, the scientists started to pay attention to this matter, and decided to follow an organized and precise policy to watch its concentration in the atmosphere, especially after the development of the monitoring technologies. In 1957 Mauna Loa Center has been established in Hawaii islands to record carbon dioxide gas concentrations in the atmosphere(38). These records showed that the gas concentration in the atmosphere is increasing by a rate 0.3% yearly, or by 1.2 ppm/year as shown in the following figure (4). 31

Figure (2-2): Changes in CO2 concentrations between 1957- 2006 and the annual growth cycle according to Mauna Loa data. The cyclic change that occurs each year is caused by the seasonal variation of the growth of vegetation from the Northern Hemisphere. Starting in May and ending in October the growth of plants and trees uses carbon dioxide, so the concentration decreases a little bit. Most of CO2 emissions come from the northern hemisphere, for the monitoring devices installed in the south pole showed that the gas concentration in that region stays two years behind its value in the northern hemisphere, and this is the normal period which the atmosphere needs to homogenize itself(41).

Figure (2-3): The diversity in CO2 emissions between the northern and southern hemisphere of the planet. 32

b- Types of CO2 sources:

Carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere from certain sources, but at the same time removed and consumed by some other sinks. CO2 sources are categorized in the present time by the following two main kinds(42): ™ Natural Sources. ™ Anthropogenic Sources. These are also divided into two parts: • Stationary Sources. • Mobile Sources. These main sources are divided into sub-sources as shown below: Natural Sources Emissions from respiration Emissions from organic decomposition Emissions from oceans Emissions from volcanoes

Anthropogenic Sources Emissions fro fossil fuels burning Emissions from industrial factories Emissions from change of land use

Table (2-2): Various sources of carbon dioxide emissions. The quantity of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere from all sources in the year 2006 reached 160 billion ton carbon equivalent. The emission from the natural sources was about 94%, while the emission from the human activities was 6% only.

Figure (2-4): Kinds of sources and values of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere in 2006.

c- How to measure CO2 emissions to the atmosphere:

Before studying the quantities and mechanism of CO2 emissions from any of its sources, it is necessary to understand the units used to measure 33

these emissions. The scientific literatures & references use different kinds of units to express the amounts of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere, and this usually makes some confusion when comparing these quantities with each other. On the other hand, there are some different terms used to express these emissions, for instance the term "Carbon Equivalent Emission (CE)", which defines the amount of Carbon element present in the emitted gas only, is used a lot in USA, while the term "Carbon Dioxide equivalent emission (CO2e)", defines the whole quantity of the CO2 gas emitted to the atmosphere, and is used in many countries. The later term also used to express the emissions of other greenhouse gases by relating the quantities emitted of those gases to their equivalents from CO2 gas. The following table contains some of the units used to express the quantities of carbon dioxide emissions(43): 1 Gigagram (Gg) = 109 gram (gm) = 1000 ton 1 Teragram (Tg) = 1012 gram (gm) = I million ton (Mt) 1 Petagram (Pg) = 1015 gram (gm) = 1 billion ton (Bt) = 1 Gigaton (Gt) 1 Gigaton (Gt) = 109 ton = 1 billion ton (Bt) = 1 Petagram (Pt) 1 Gigaton Carbon equivelant (GtC) = 3067 Gigaton Carbon dioxide equivelant (GtCO2) 1 Gigaton Carbon dioxide equivelant (GtCO2) = 0.274 Gigaton Carbon equivelant (GtC) 1 ppmv CO2 = 7.8 Gigaton CO2 equivelant = 2.12 Gigaton Carbon equivelant In order to unify the units which will be used in this study, Metric ton and their multiplications are going to be used to express the amounts of CO2 emissions from different sources because they are simple and more comprehensible. On the other hand, the term Carbon Equivalent will be used to express CO2 emissions, and the term Carbon Dioxide Equivalent will be given whenever necessary.

2-2 Emissions of CO2 Gas from the Natural Sources: The natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions are those sources which are present on earth since the first atmosphere until the present time. There is nothing to do between the nature of these sources or the quantities of CO2 gas emitted from them and the emerging of human on earth or the development of his activities. Moreover, it is uneasy to reduce the natural emissions because there is no way to control them. The quantities of CO2 gas emitted from the natural sources do not change in short periods of time, but they could change in very long periods. The amounts of CO2 gas emitted from natural sources are very huge, and they are larger than any quantity emitted from other sources, but fortunately, 34

they are nearly equivalent to the gas sinks making the resultant of its accumulation in the atmosphere nearly zero. The total amount of CO2 gas emitted from all sources in 1995 was 157.1 billion ton carbon equivalent, while the quantity emitted from the natural sources was only 150 billion ton carbon equivalent(44). This quantity is divided into the following sub-sources as shown in Figure (2-5) (45).

Figure (2-5): Ratios of CO2 emissions from natural sources in 1995. Carbon dioxide gas sinks reached in 1995 about 154.0 BtC, leaving nearly 3.1 BtC to accumulate in the atmosphere. It is easy to conclude that the natural sinks of CO2 gas slightly exceed its natural emissions, the thing that kept the gas concentration in the atmosphere nearly constant for millions of years. But, the progressive increase in the anthropogenic emissions that occurred during the past few decades has disturbed this balance allowing CO2 gas to accumulate gradually in the atmosphere. The natural emissions reached 95% of the total emissions of CO2 gas in 1995, while the anthropogenic emissions which include the emissions coming from the burning of fossil fuels and the changes in land use did not make more than 5%. However, things are changing, for while the yearly natural emissions remain nearly constant, we find the anthropogenic emissions are progressively increasing every year. For instance, the anthropogenic emissions were 7.2 BtC in 1995, but reached in 2006 about 10 BtC, i.e. the ratio of the anthropogenic emissions to the total emissions has increased from 5% to 6% in just eleven years.

a- CO2 Emission from the respiration of living organisms:

All the living organisms need oxygen to oxidize the organic materials which they eat to produce the energy necessary for their life. In return, the living organisms expel carbon dioxide which is produced as an unwanted co-product from this process. This operation, i.e. taking oxygen and

35

expelling carbon dioxide is called "Respiration", and it is defined as "A process in which the living cell takes oxygen to oxidize the organic molecules (fuel molecules) to produce the chemical energy necessary for living activities"(46), and is considered as one of the life characters. The physiology of respiration differs from a species to another and also varies according to the nature of the organ in which it takes place. The chemical reactions that occur during the respiration are series of complicated reactions which use oxygen and produce energy, water vapor and carbon dioxide. The quantity of carbon dioxide produced from the respiration of animals & plants which live on planet earth is huge and makes big ratios of the total emissions of this gas to the atmosphere. For instance, the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted from respiration reached 30 BtC in 1995(44). An average person's respiration generates approximately 0.9 kg of carbon dioxide per day (0.25 kg carbon equivalent) The total amount of CO2 produced from the respiration of humans when calculated (assuming that the world population is 6.7 billion) gives 0.6 BtC yearly(47). As with other natural emissions, the emissions of CO2 from respiration do not change much with time like the anthropogenic emissions. The following table shows a comparison between the emissions from respiration and the other kinds of emissions. Kind of Emission Quantity (BtC) Ration to Total Emission From all sources 160.0 From natural sources 150.0 94 % From anthropogenic sources 10.0 6% From respiration of living 18.8 % 30.0 organisms From respiration of humans 0.6 0.04 % Table (3-2): Ratios of CO2 emissions from different sources in 2006.

Figure (2-6): Comparison between CO2 emissions in 2006. 36

b- CO2 Emission from the decomposition of organic materials: Decomposition of organic materials is defined as; "The process by which dead organisms and their wastes are broken down into an inorganic form usable by plants and other autotrophic organisms". Decomposition is carried out by simple organisms called "decomposers", and they are primarily bacteria and fungi. Because decomposers are not able to make their own food, they must obtain all of their nutrients and energy from the food they consume. Decomposition plays a major role in the cycling of nutrients through the food web. Organic nutrients are bound up in a living organism or within an organism's waste. After the death of the living organisms, decomposition begins to breakdown the complex chemical substance in their bodies into its constituent compounds and elements, releasing energy, and often with the formation of new, simpler substances like water, CO2 and nitrogen gases. Decomposition is one of the nature's favors, because without it, all the dead organisms will fill the earth's surfaces and the oceans. Decomposition takes place on the surface of earth or in the soil in the presence of air. The quantity of carbon dioxide emitted from the decomposition of dead organisms has reached 30 BtC in 1995(45), which was about 20% of the total emissions at that year, and it is nearly equivalent to the ratio of the emissions from the respiration as seen from Figure (2-5) above. On the other hand, the quantity of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere from the decomposition does not change much from year to year, but its ratio could change due to the change in the total emission of the gas. For instance, the ratio of emission from the decomposition declined from 20% in the year 1995 to 18.8% in 2006.

c- CO2 emission from the oceans:

Oceans & seas contain huge quantity of soluble carbon dioxide; in fact, this quantity is larger than that of the atmosphere by 50 times. Carbon dioxide dissolves into the oceans & seas through their surfaces, where it changes to carbonic acid H2CO3. The solubility of the gas into the oceans depends on the following factors: (1) Temperature. (2) pH of the water. (3) The concentrations of CO2 both in the atmosphere and in the water. (4) The surface area of the water. As the oceans absorb carbon dioxide, it emits this gas also in an exchange process which is a part of the carbon cycle. CO2 is emitted from the oceans due to some of the above factors as well as other causes like water 37

movement and ocean currents. The quantity emitted from the oceans is very big, but it can be regarded as the biggest among all the other emissions of this gas to the atmosphere. The quantity of this emission reached in 1995 90 BtC(43), making 60% of the natural emissions, and 57.3% of the total emissions of the gas at that year. But, fortunately the total absorption of the oceans from this gas exceeds the quantity emitted, as it reached for instance 92 BtC in the 1995 year. Thus, many scientists do not regard the oceans as sources of CO2 emissions, but they consider them as major natural sinks which remove huge quantities of this gas from the atmosphere.

d- CO2 emissions from the volcano:

A volcano is an opening (or rupture) in the Earth's surface or crust, which allows hot, molten rock, ash and gases to escape from deep below the surface. Volcanic activity involving the extrusion of rock tends to form mountains or features like mountains over a period of time. The volcano consists of a conical formation, Carter and Vent.

Figure (2-7): Parts of the volcano Huge amounts of different materials are released to the atmosphere and the surrounding areas during the volcano explosion, such as: (1) rocks (2) Lava (3) Volcanic gases, which include: • Water Vapor H2O • Carbon Compounds: CO2, CO • Sulfur Compounds: SO2, H2S, CS2, OCS 38

• Halogen Compounds: HCl, HF • Nitrogen Compounds: NO, NH3 • Trace elements: As, Sb, Se, Al, Fe, Ca, and others The concentrations of these released materials differ from one volcano to another. For instance, Table (2-4) below shows the percentages of the different gases emitted to the atmosphere from four active volcanoes around the world(49,50): Volcano Percentage % H2O CO2 SO2 H2 CO H2S S2 HCl HF COS SO Temperature oC

Merapi Indonesia

St. Helens USA

Kilauea Hawaii

Etna Cecelia

88.87 7.07 1.15 1.54 0.16 1.12 0.08 0.59 0.04 --915

91.58 6.64 0.2089 0.85 0.06 0.3553 0.0039 --0.0008 -802

37.1 48.9 11.8 0.49 1.51 0.04 -0.08 ---1170

27.71 22.76 47.70 0.30 0.48 0.22 0.76 ---0.06 1075

Table (2-4) Concentrations of erupted gases from some active volcanoes around the world The emissions from volcanoes are not considered as major natural emissions because their quantities are much less than other natural emissions. Scientists have calculated that volcanoes emit between 35.5 – 62.7 MtC (130-230 MtCO2e) of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere yearly(51). This estimate includes both subaerial and submarine volcanoes, about in equal amounts. Emissions of CO2 gas by human activities, including fossil fuel burning and change in land use, amount to about 10 MtC (36.6 BtCO2e) in 2006(52). Human activities release more than 150 times the amount of CO2 emitted by volcanoes-the equivalent of more than 11,000 additional volcanoes like Kilauea (Kilauea emits about 3.3 MtCO2e/year. Figure (2-8) below shows a comparison of carbon dioxide daily emissions from volcanoes vs. human activities.

39

Figure (2-8): Daily volcanic emission of CO2 gas. Nearly, two thousand people have died of carbon dioxide asphyxiation near volcanoes in the past two decades, most of them in Cameroon, Africa, and in Indonesia (20). Recently, there have been cases of near asphyxiation from carbon dioxide emissions at Mammoth Mountain, a young volcano on the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California.

2-3 CO2 Emissions from Anthropogenic Sources: The anthropogenic activities that emit carbon dioxide have started since the emerging of humanity on earth. Those activities were very simple at the beginning and did not exceed the burning of wood to prepare food. However, the activities became more complicated with the development of humanity, until it reached today's using of fuels to create power and to move the transportation facilities like automobiles, trucks, ships, airplanes, rockets …etc. The anthropogenic activities emit CO2 due to the following operations: ™ Fossil fuels burning to create power. ™ Industrial processes. ™ Change in land use. The emissions from the burning of fossil fuels contribute just 75% of the total anthropogenic emissions, while the emissions from the industrial processes is 5% and from the change in land use is 25%(53). These ratios increase or decrease slightly from one year to another according to the conditions of each year.

40

Figure (2-9): Analysis of the anthropogenic activities that emit CO2.

Figure (2-10): Global carbon dioxide emissions from human activities during the period 1950-2006.

a- Emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels burning:

The fossil fuels include coal, crude oil and natural gas. These kinds of fuels are called fossil fuels because they are formed inside the earth long time ago by special geological events. Earth's content of these fuels is 41

huge as seen from Table (2-5) below, and the possible emission of carbon dioxide from the burning of these fuels is huge as well( 54,55,56). Kinds of Fossil Fuels Coal Crude oil Natural gas

Reserves 984,453 (Million Tones) 1,277.702 (Billion Barrels) 6,040.208 (Trillion Cubic Feet)

Table (2-5): Earth's content of fossil fuels. The quantity of carbon dioxide emitted from the unit of mass from the burning of fossil fuels is variable. The fuel of high carbon content emits bigger quantity of CO2 when burned. This means that coal is the most CO2 emitter while natural gas is the least. In general, the ratio of CO2 gas emitted from the burning of fossil fuels in human different activities is about 77% of the total emissions. Table (2-6) shows the emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels in the world during the period 1970-2006(57). Year 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

World total emissions of CO2 form the burning of fossil fuels (MtC) (MtCO2e) 4076 4615 5130 5436 6143 6252 6121 6129 6262 6402 6560 6696 6656 6522 6672 6842 6973 7303 7696 7923 8125

14959.0 16937.1 19561.1 19950.1 22544.8 22944.8 22464.1 22493.4 22981.5 23495.3 24075.2 24574.3 24427.5 23935.7 24486.2 25110.1 25590.9 26802.0 28244.3 29052.0 29857.7

Table (2-6): World total emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels during the period 1970-2006. 42

Figure (2-11): Global carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning during the period 1950-2006. The expected emissions of CO2 gas from the burning of the three kinds of fossil fuels until 2020 are shown in Figure (2-12) below.

Figure (2-12): Analysis of the global emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels burning for the period 1990-2006 and the expected emissions until 2020. 43

It appears from the above figure that carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels will reach 11 BtC at the beginning of the third decade of this century if no actions are taken to reduce these emissions. It is also clear that the emissions from burning the crude oil and its products are larger than those resulted from the other fossil fuels, and things will remain like this in the first quarter of this century. On the other hand, it is expected that using of natural gas as a source of energy will increase gradually, and it may exceed the using of coal in the twenties of this century. Increasing the use of natural gas is in favor of reducing the emissions of CO2 because it is the least emitter of this gas among the other fossil fuels. Figure (2-13) below shows the global emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels by sector in 2004(58).

Figure (2-13): Percentages of global CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels by sector in 2004. (1) Emissions of CO2 from the generation of electric power: Electricity was produced and transmitted by wires for the first time at the end of the nineteenth century(59). Since then, electricity became the main source of energy for human activities. To produce the electricity, power plants have been built which were small at the beginning but have increased in number and size with time. (a) Kinds of power plants: The first generation of the power plants has used coal as a raw material, and then new plants were built which used synthesis gas (mixture of carbon monoxide CO and hydrogen H2) as a raw material instead of coal. By the beginning of the twentieth century new power plants were built which use oil products as raw materials. This trend increased with time and by the middle of the century oil became the main source of energy over the entire world. Power stations usually use natural gas, diesel and fuel oil. After the discovery of the nuclear energy, new power stations which work with this kind of energy were built. As the direct relation between carbon 44

dioxide emission and the climate change was proven during the past two decades, and the worsening of the environmental pollution voices have risen to find new clean sources of energy instead of the fossil fuels. Therefore, the trend toward using the renewable energy is increased in the recent years. Presently, the power stations used globally are divided into the following categories: • Thermal power stations: which include: • Steam power stations. • Internal combustion power stations. • Nuclear power stations. • Renewable energy power stations: which include: • Hydro power stations. • Wind power stations. • Solar power stations. • Ebb & tide power stations. The steam power and the internal combustion power stations are the most used kinds. These stations usually use one of the fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. There are three types of technologies used in these power stations: • Pulverized coal-fired steam cycle (PC): In this technology coal is used in the boiler to produce steam which circulates the turbine. • Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC): This station uses natural gas as a fuel in the internal combustion turbine. • Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC): Here synthesis gas is used as a fuel instead of coal and natural gas. The quantities of carbon dioxide emitted from these stations vary according to the type of the fuel and the type of technology used, but whatever the type of fuel used; CO2 will be emitted in all circumstances. The following table shows the average percentages of CO2 gas in the flue gases of the above thermal power stations. Type of power station PC NGCC IGCC

Percentage of CO2 gas in the flue gas (v%) 14 4 7

Table (2-7): The percentages of CO2 gas in the flue gases of the different thermal power stations.

45

The electricity producing sector is presently the biggest carbon dioxide emitter among the anthropogenic activities as seen from Figure (2-13) above, and it reached 3078 BtC in 2004 or about 40% of the total emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. There is also a direct relation between the quantities of CO2 gas emitted to the atmosphere and the global electricity energy generated; for it is found that these emissions are increased as the electricity generation is increased. (b) Factors affecting CO2 emissions from power plants: The quantities of carbon dioxide emitted from the power plants depend on the following factors: • Type of fuel used: The quantity of CO2 emitted from any power plant depends on the type & density of the fuel used. As the carbon content of the fuel increases, the amount of CO2 emitted from the burning of that fuel is increased. Table (2-8) below shows the quantities of carbon dioxide emitted from the combustion of various types of fossil fuels in the power stations. Type of fossil fuel used Coal Petroleum products Natural gas

Amount of CO2emitted (kg/kilowatt.h) 0.950 0.894 0.599

Table (2-8): Emissions of CO2 gas from the burning of various types of fossil fuels in the power stations. • Growth in demand for electricity: The increase in the demand for electricity will increase its production and therefore increase the emission of CO2 to the atmosphere from the power stations. • Fuel price: The falling of the price of the fuel used in the power station will make the electricity cheaper and this will prompt its consumption and therefore increase its demand. Consequently, cheap electricity will increase the emissions of carbon dioxide. • Thermal efficiency of power plants: Electricity is generated in the power plants by the combustion of fuels. In a typical power plant, about 1/3 of the energy contained in the fuel is converted into electricity, while the remainder is emitted as waste heat. Nevertheless, this efficiency is never reached practically in the most efficient power plants due to the old fashioned technologies used in those plants. Substantial improvements in generation efficiency can

46

be achieved in the future through the replacement of traditional power generators with more efficient technologies. • Weather: In summer the use of the air-conditioning instruments increase the electricity demand. On the other hand, hot weather causes dry conditions and therefore, will decrease the productivity of the hydroelectric power stations and this will increase the load on the thermal power stations. • Economic Growth: The development of the personal income will push toward buying and using more electrical instruments and thus increase the electricity demand. (c) CO2 emissions from the power plants: The production of electricity in any country depends on the development of that country. The sources of energy used are usually sustainable, nuclear or renewable energy. Figure (2-14) shows the ratios of electricity produced from these sources in 2000, and what are expected in 2030(61).

Figure (2-14): Ratios of electricity produced from different types of energy sources in 2000 and what is expected in 2030. It is clear from the above figure that 85% of the power plants in the world use fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) to produce electricity. This issue is true in all countries with only small exceptions due to the conditions of some countries. The dependence on fossil fuels to produce electricity is not expected to diminish in the coming years, but the opposite is true as happened in the past decades. Table (2-9) and Figure (2-15) show the emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere from the combustion of fossil fuels to generate electric power in the world during the period 1970-2006(42,62). 47

Year 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Global emissions of CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels to generate electric power (MtC) (MtCO2e) 1427 1615 1866 1912 2150 2188 2142 2145 2192 2241 2296 2344 2330 2283 2335 2395 2790 2900 3078 3169 3250

5237.1 5927.1 6848.2 7017.0 7890.1 8029.9 7861.1 7872.2 8044.6 8224.5 8426.3 8602.5 8551.1 8378.6 8569.5 8789.7 8954.8 9380.5 9887.0 10176.9 10450.0

Table (2-9): Global emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels to produce electricity during the period 1970-2006.

Figure (2-15): CO2 global emissions profile from the combustion of fossil fuels to produce electricity during the period 1970-2006. 48

(2) Emissions of CO2 from the transportation sector: Transportation is a collection of equipments that move people and commodities from one place to another. Transportation includes the following categories: (a) Automobiles (c) Buses & trucks (e) Railways

(b) Motorcycles (d) Aircrafts (e) Ships and boats

The emissions of carbon dioxide from the transportation sources comprise 21% of the total emissions of this gas from the burning of fossil fuels in 2004(58). Emissions from the transportation activity are driven by population, economic wealth, and geography(63). For instance, the United States with its largest population, largest economy and wide area has by far the largest transportation system. Therefore, it is not strange to find USA to be one of the biggest carbon dioxide emitters in the world. China is similar to USA in these characters. However, if these two countries are in comparison to Canada, we will find a great difference in CO2 emissions due to the low population of this country. Virtually, all the fuels used by the transportation sector are derived from petroleum like gasoline, kerosene, and diesel. Some vehicles use natural gas derivatives like LNG, CNG and LPG, while some limited ratio uses alcohol and biodiesel. The combustion of these fuels produces different carbon dioxide quantities according to the type of fuel used. In general, as the molecular weight, the density and the boiling point of the fuel used are increased, the quantity of CO2 evolved from its combustion is increased. Table (2-10) and Figure (2-16) show the global emissions of carbon dioxide from the transportation during the period 2000-2006 and what is are expected until 2050(63). Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035

CO2 Global emissions from the transportation sector (MtC) 1463.2 1505.2 1534.1 1570.1 1616.1 1663.8 1706.2 1765.5 1947.7 2134.2 2293.9 2469.6 2653.6 49

2040 2045 2050

2858.1 3086.5 3343.5

Table (2-10): Global emissions of CO2 from the transportation sector during the period 2000-2050.

Figure (2-16): Global emissions of CO2 from the transportation sector during the period 2000-2050. It is obvious that the emissions of CO2 gas from the transportation sources are increasing continuously, and they will be more than doubled by 2050. This is almost due to the amazing increase in the number of vehicles in the world, especially their increase in China and India. (2) Emissions of CO2 from burning fossil fuels in the industrial sector: This sector includes only the emissions produced from burning the fossil fuels for energy generation, and not the processing CO2 which is produced from the industrial operation itself. Fuels are burned in factories to generate power, heating, cooling and driving machines. The emissions of carbon dioxide from this sector occupy the second place in the total emissions from burning the fossil fuels. The emissions of CO2 from this sector reached 1308 BtC in 2004, making 17% of the total emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels as shown in Figure (213)( 58).

50

(3) Emissions of CO2 from buildings: The commercial and residential buildings are important carbon dioxide emitters. This sector only emitted about 14% of the total emissions of this gas from the combustion of fossil fuels in 2004 as shown in Figure (2-13)( 58) above. The emissions of CO2 from this sector come from different activities, especially from the consumption of electricity, which occupies about 1/3 of the total emissions from buildings(64). The emissions from burning natural gas in buildings come in the second place, and this makes 1/4 of the total emissions from buildings. The rest of emissions come from burning of heavy fuels like kerosene and diesel for different purposes. Usually energy is needed in buildings for lighting, airconditioning (both for cooling and heating), heating water, freezing, cooking and operating the residential and offices instrument & appliances. Table (2-11) shows the emissions of CO2 from this sector during the period 1990-2006, and the projected emissions until 2050(65,66), while Figure (2-17) shows the histogram comparisons of these emissions. Year

Emissions of CO2 from the residential & commercial buildings (BtC/year)

1990 1995 2002 2006 2010 2020 2050

1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.5 2.7 3.8

Table (2-11): Emissions of CO2 from building during 1990-2050.

Figure (2-17): Comparisons of the emissions of carbon dioxide from buildings for the period 1990-2005. 51

The commercial buildings included in this sector are governmental buildings, offices, schools, colleges & universities, training centers, hospitals, shops & shopping centers, restaurants & entertainments places. The residential buildings are houses & apartments, hotels, campuses and other living buildings. The emissions of CO2 from the residential buildings are strongly related to the weather. For instance, it is noted that the emission from this sector increased by 5.8% in 1996 which was a cold year, while it decreased by 0.8% in 1997 which was relatively a warm year. The emission from the commercial buildings is less related to the weather, perhaps this is due to the limited period of working hours. On the other hand, the emissions from the residential buildings are governed by number of factors like the population distribution, nature of the buildings, types of materials used in their construction, efficiency of the machines used, types of fuels used ...etc. (5) Emissions of CO2 from other sources: In addition to the above sources, fossil fuels are combusted in other activities of considerable importance. The emissions from these activities were 616 BtC in 2004, or about 8% from the total emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in that year, as shown in Figure (2-13)( 58). This sector includes the following sources. (a) Emissions from heavy equipments: These are equipments used in submitting different kinds of services, and they include: • • • • •

Construction equipments. Irrigation equipments. Cranes & Slings. Mobile electricity generators. Municipal equipments.

The global emissions of CO2 from this category do not exceed 4% of the total emissions from the burning of fossil fuels (58). These equipments usually use heavy petroleum fuels like diesel and fuel oil, which means that the emission of carbon dioxide from them is huge when in comparison to the transportation. Fortunately, the operation periods of these equipments are limited, and therefore the total emission of CO2 from them is small when in comparison to the transportation also. The use of the heavy equipments in any country depends on the population, economy growth and the industrial & metropolitan development. (b) Emissions of CO2 from the military equipment: The military equipments include all kinds of equipments like transportations, heavy equipments and weapons. The emissions from these 52

equipments resemble the emissions from the civil identical equipments, except that their operation times are very short. The military equipments include: • • • • • •

Military cars & buses. Military trucks. Tanks & armadillos. Aircrafts & fighters. Aircraft Carriers, Ships and boats. Military heavy equipments.

During peace time most of the military equipments lie in stores and are not used except for training, while their use reaches its maximum level during war time. The global emissions of CO2 from the military equipments during peace time do not exceed 3% from the total emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels( 58). However, the emission from these equipments during war time is very hard to estimate, because it depends on a number of factors like the development of the fighting countries, masses of the fighting armies, types of the weapons used, and period of the war. Military equipments use all kinds of fossil fuels including both the light fuels like gasoline, and heavy fuels like diesel. (c) Emissions of CO2 from natural gas flaring: Some countries are forced to burn huge quantities of natural gas due to the following reasons: • Lack of treatment capacities. • Lack of transportation capabilities. • Lack of exporting capabilities. • Location of the production fields in remote places. • Quantities of gas produced are uneconomic. There is no reliable information about the exact global quantities of natural gas burned in flares, or released to the atmosphere, but the World Bank estimated that the world burned about 150 billion cubic meter of natural gas in 2004 only(67), which is about 30% of the European Union annual consumption of natural gas. The quantities of flared natural gas vary from one country to another and from field to another. According to the World Bank information, 60% of the global flared natural gas occurs in eight countries, which are; Nigeria (16%), Russia (11%), Iran (10%), Algeria (6%), Mexico (5%), Angola (4%), Indonesia (4%), and Venezuela (4%)(68). Figure (2-18) shows the main regions of natural gas flaring in the world.

53

Figure (2-18): Main regions of natural gas flaring in the world. The emissions of CO2 from flared natural gas do not include the emissions from natural gas consumption to produce energy which are relatively high quantities. Natural gas is mainly composed of methane (CH4), and its burning produces carbon dioxide CO2 and water H2O when the efficiency of burning is 100%, but if the efficiency is less then carbon monoxide will be produced also. Direct natural gas venting to the atmosphere will make no difference on climate change because methane itself is one of the greenhouse gases, and actually its impact on climate change exceeds that of carbon dioxide by 60 times, but its average life time in the atmosphere is only 20 years in comparison to 200 years of CO2(69). The quantities of carbon dioxide produced from gas flaring are small compared with the emissions from other anthropogenic activities, and they are declining continuously since the seventies of the last century. The emissions of CO2 from natural gas flaring were 2% of the total emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in 1970, and decreased presently to about 1-0.5%(70). The decrease in these emissions has nothing to do with the reductions for environmental purposes, but they were mainly due to the development of transportation capacities, development of natural gas liquefaction technologies, and the elevation of natural gas uses for various purposes, especially as fuels for vehicles Figure (2-19) shows a comparison between the emission of carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels and the natural gas flaring during the period 1950-2006(71).

54

Figure (2-19): Comparison between CO2 emissions from fossil fuels combustion and natural gas flaring during the period 1950-2006. (d) Emissions of CO2 during the war events: Destructions of the main strategic sites and the infrastructure of the fighting countries (or parties) usually take place during the war time. Naturally, fires will be caused due to these destructions, and therefore carbon dioxide will be emitted to the atmosphere. The quantities of these emissions depend on the destruction capabilities of the used weapons, but usually they are huge quantities, especially in the modern wars. For example, in the three gulf wars which occurred between 1980-2003, substantive destructive weapons were used, which resulted in massive emissions of carbon dioxide. Moreover, about 600 Kuwaiti oil wells were burned in the second gulf war by the Iraqi forces during their withdrawal resulting of huge emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere. It was estimated that these emissions made about 2% of the global total emissions of CO2 gas to the atmosphere in 1991 only.

b- Emissions of CO2 from the industrial processes:

The emissions of carbon dioxide from the factories are divided into two parts; one is related to the combustion of fossil fuels for energy generation, while the second is related to the process itself and called 55

processing CO2. It is estimated that the processing carbon dioxide makes about 5% of the total global anthropogenic emissions of this gas yearly. The industries which emit processing carbon dioxide are divided into the followings: (1) Emissions of CO2 from the cement industry: The cement industry contributes by about 2-4% from the total emissions of carbon dioxide from the anthropogenic activities, which makes it one of the substantive carbon dioxide emitters to the atmosphere(62). Carbon dioxide is emitted from this industry from the following activities: (a) Calcinations of limestone. (b) Combustion of fuel in the kiln. (c) Power generation of the plant. Processing CO2 is mainly emitted from the kiln which is super heated to produce the clinker. CO2 gas is formed in the kiln as a byproduct from the calcinations reaction in which limestone (CaCO3) is decomposed into lime (CaO) which then reacts with the silica, alumina and iron oxide to produce the clinker. Processing CO2 composes about 50% from the total emissions of this gas from the cement industry. It is estimated that 222 kg of carbon dioxide gas are produced per each metric ton of cement(72). More than 150 countries worldwide have their own cement factories, but their emissions of CO2 gas to the atmosphere vary due to their different cement production capacities. For example, China lies in the first place in the list of carbon dioxide emitters from the cement industry because it produces 44% from the total global cement production, followed by India which produces 6% and the USA which produces 5%. In 2004, 63% of carbon dioxide emissions from the cement industry come from these three countries as shown in Figure (220) below(73). The global total emissions of carbon dioxide from the cement industry reached 307 MtC in 1994, of which 170 MtC only were processing CO2(72), and the rest came from energy generation. This quantity composes 5% from the total emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels which were 6262 MtC in that year. The emissions of CO2 gas from the cement industry continued to increase gradually, and it reached 517 MtC in 2004, of which 290 MtC were processing CO2, and the rest emitted from energy generation. This quantity composes 6.7% from the total emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in that year.

56

Figure (2-20): Percentages of global CO2 emissions from the cement industry in 2004. Table (2-12) and Figure (2-21) below show the continuous increase of CO2 emission from the cement industry through the period 19802004(74). Year

Emissions (MtC)

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

119.9 130.9 156.9 195.9 216.8 235.8 251.8 274.8 290.7

Table (2-12): Global emissions of processing carbon dioxide from the cement industry during the period 1980-2004.

57

Figure (2-21): Global emissions of CO2 from the cement industry during the period 1980-2004 (2) Emissions of CO2 from the iron & steel industry: Iron & steel industry is one of the big emitting industries of carbon dioxide due to its high consumption of fuels to generate energy in addition to its production of processing CO2. Processing carbon dioxide is emitted from this industry during the coke production stage and from the production of pig iron which is manufactured by the reduction of ferric oxide by pulverized coal in the blast furnace. CO2 is also produced from the production of steel from the pig iron or from the scrap. About 80% of the processing carbon dioxide comes from the pig iron manufacturing and the rest (20%) comes from the steel manufacturing(76). The global production of pig iron & steel in 1996 was about 750.1 million tones, increased to 1.2 billion tones in 2006, i.e. about 63% increase in the production. The estimation of the emissions of carbon dioxide from this industry is not an easy issue due to the differences in the technologies used and their infrastructure from one country to another. The emissions of carbon dioxide from the iron & steel industry were very big in the past, but the pressures imposed by the governments and the environmental organizations, especially after implementing Kyoto Protocol lead to big reduction of these emissions. For instance, the average emission of CO2 from the iron & steel industry in USA in 1990 was about 0.262 ton carbon (0.96 ton CO2) per each ton of steel produced, declined in 2005 to 0.125 ton carbon (0.46 ton CO2) due to improving the technology used and the reduction of Carbon used(77). Another example is the steel industry in Mexico, where the average emission of CO2 from this industry was 0.346 ton carbon (1.27 ton CO2) per each ton of steel produced, declined in 2005 to 0.127 ton carbon (0.63 ton CO2). This matter happened in most countries, especially the 58

developing industrial countries like China and India. The average emission of CO2 from the iron & steel industry worldwide presently is 0.164 ton carbon (0.6 ton CO2) per each ton of steel produces. Therefore, the global emission of carbon dioxide from the steel & iron industry in 2006 was 196.8 MtC (720 MtCO2e). This quantity composes about 2.4% of the total emission of carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels which was 8125 MtC, and 2% of the global total emission which was about 10 BtC in that year. (4) Emissions of CO2 from ammonia industry: Ammonia manufacturing is another industry which emits carbon dioxide. CO2 is emitted to the atmosphere here when natural gas is used as a source of hydrogen which is needed to manufacture ammonia. Processing CO2 is produced from the different stages of ammonia manufacturing industry, starting from the catalytic steam reforming of natural gas (methane) to produce hydrogen(78), ending with the reacting of hydrogen with nitrogen to produce ammonia. The amount of processing CO2 emitted from ammonia industry depends on the industrial technology used in its production and the nature of raw materials used. When natural gas is used as a source of hydrogen, then the quantity of CO2 emitted reaches 0.33 ton carbon equivalent (1.2 tCO2e) per each ton of ammonia produced. On the other hand, when petroleum coke is used, the quantity of CO2 emitted becomes 0.97 tC (3.57 tCO2e) per each ton of ammonia(79). Since the technology used in producing ammonia varies from one place to another, and natural gas is mostly used as source of hydrogen in this industry, therefore, the average quantity of carbon dioxide emitted from this industry is estimated to be 1.5 tone carbon equivalents per each ton of produced ammonia. Nevertheless, it is not necessary that all the processing carbon dioxide quantities produced will be emitted to the atmosphere directly, because sometimes they are used in other industries which use this gas like urea industry. Nevertheless, these quantities will eventually reach the atmosphere in all cases, because even when they are changed to urea, for example, CO2 will be regenerated again after using it as a fertilizer. There are tens of ammonia factories worldwide, and the global production of this material in 2004 was estimated by 109 million metric tons. China is the first producing country as the ratio of its production of ammonia in that year was 28.4%, followed by Russia (8.6%), India (8.4%), USA (8.2%) and then the rest of the world countries. The global emission of carbon dioxide from this industry in 2004 was 165 MtC, i.e. 2% of the total emissions of CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels in that year which were 7696 MtC, and 1.5% from the total anthropogenic emissions(80).

59

(5) Emissions of CO2 from lime (CaO) industry: Lime factories emit processing CO2 as a consequence of calcinations reaction of the limestone (CaCO3) or dolomite (CaCO3, MgCO3). Lime is an important chemical substance that has many uses and enters in many industries such as steel, paper and water treatment. Lime production includes three stages; stone preparation, calcinations and hydration. Processing carbon dioxide is emitted from the calcinations stage only, where the limestone is roasted under very high temperature in a way similar to that of clinker production in cement industry. It is estimated that the production of each ton of lime during the decomposition of limestone is amounted to 0.214 metric tons of carbon equivalent (0.785 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent)(81). In addition to the processing carbon dioxide, this industry emits CO2 from the power generating units as well, and this emission depends on the type of fuel used and the kind of technology used. In general, it is estimated that 0.14 metric tons of carbon equivalent are emitted from energy generation per each ton of lime produced. Therefore, the total quantity of CO2 emitted per each ton of lime produced will be 0.354 tC (1.3 tCO2e)( 82). The total global production of lime in 2004 was 121 million metric tons. The first producing country worldwide is China, as it produced in 2004 about 23.4 million metric ton, or 19.4% of the global production from this material. The second country is Russia which produced 8.0 million tons, and then the rest of world countries. The total global emissions of CO2 from the lime industry in 2044 were 42.8 MtC(83), and it is increased by a ratio of 0.8% yearly due to the increase in lime production. This quantity composes 0.5% of the total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in that year. (6) Emissions of CO2 from other industries: In addition to the above industries, there are some other industries which produce carbon dioxide. These industries exist in most countries, but however, they are less CO2 emitters than the previous industries. The followings are the most important industries in this category: (a) Soda ash industry. (b) Phosphoric acid industry. (c) Ferro-alloys industry. (d) Titanium dioxide In addition to the industries that consume carbon dioxide. The emissions of carbon dioxide from these industries vary according to the type of each industry, and the technology used with it. In general, the total global emissions of CO2 from these industries do not exceed 2% of the total emissions from the anthropogenic activities(84). 60

c- Carbon dioxide emissions due to changes in land use: The term Changes in Land Use is used to indicate the removal of natural forests for various purposes. Tropical rain forests play an important role in sequestration of air carbon through the phenomenon of photosynthesis in trees and in the forest soil. The trees and forest soils in the world contain what is equivalent to 125% of the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. These forests continuously withdraw carbon from the air through absorption of CO2 needed for photosynthesis and release oxygen gas in return to the atmosphere. Forests can be considered in this act as the lung which the planet breaths by. It is estimated that CO2 withdrawn from the atmosphere annually by this way is at least equivalent to 62 BtC(43). The withdrawn carbon is stored into the forests trees, and in the soil which these trees grow on. But this process is reversible, for the withdrawn carbon will be remitted to the air due to the plants breathing, and by reason of the natural fires that break out in these forests. These two reversible paths are part of the carbon cycle in nature. In the past, there was a balance between the withdrawn and emitted carbon, so that the difference between the two remains nearly equal to zero, which kept the concentration of CO2 gas in the atmosphere semi-fixed for millions of years. But, this balance is disturbed in the modern era due to the entry of new factors that emit carbon dioxide into the air. What make matters worse are the changes in land use and logging operations, including continuing removal of the tropical rain forest for benefiting of their trees, or using its territory for housing or planting food crops. Figure (2-22) below, shows the main territories worldwide where the removal of forests takes place(85). Historically, it is estimated that 32.5 - 34.7 x 106 km2 of the world total forests area have been changed to agricultural lands, buildings and streets, or what is equivalent to 10% of the land area(86). When the forests are removed, deliberately burned or their areas are reduced, then these operations would remove one of the main factors that contribute to the withdrawal of carbon from the atmosphere, which would increase the imbalance of the natural carbon. Not only that, but such actions will return the carbon already stored in trees and soil of these forests back to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This means that the environmental damage that would befall a result of changes in land use will be multiple. Like the other anthropogenic activities, the change in land use is on the rise for several reasons, notably the rise in the population of the earth. The human greed and desire for quick profits at the expense of all other things, including the preservation of the environment, pushed him to go on in deforestation foolishly and without considerations, to take advantage of their trees or to use its soil for agriculture. This led to a continuous rise in the amount of so-called gas to the atmosphere of CO2 emitted to air. 61

Figure (2-22): Worldwide emissions of CO2 gas to the atmosphere from the changes of land use. Carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere due to changes in land use during the period 1850-2000 is estimated by 156 BtC(87), 63% of it was emitted from the removal of Tropical rain forests. The following table shows estimations of these emissions during the period 1950-2006(88). Year

Emissions of CO2 from changes in land use (MtC)

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2005 2006

935.47 1312.07 1301.58 1490.75 1537.19 1429.72 1607.58 2066.40 2158.09 2375.61 2239.78 2223.69 2202.23 2167.38 2136.38 2111.47 2086.45 2066.25 2081.22 1990.43 1908.75

Table (2-13): Emissions of CO2 gas from changes in land use. 62

Figure (2-23): Emissions of CO2 gas due to changes in land use. It is obvious from the above table and figure that the average emission of CO2 gas from the changes in land use was in the Eighties around 2.0 BtC yearly, then increased by early Nineteenths to 2.2 BtC, but returned to about 2.0 BtC in 2000. This emission continued to decrease until it reached 1.9 BtC in 2006(87). These quantities represent 20-22% of the total emissions of CO2 from the anthropogenic activities. Figure (2-24) below shows a comparison between the emission from changes in land use and emissions from burning of fossil fuels during (1950-2006).

Figure (2-24): A comparison between the emissions of CO2 from changes in land use and other emissions during the period (1950-2006). 63

2-4 Classification of Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions According to Different Categories: After studying the emissions of carbon dioxide gas from various emitting sectors, it is possible now to classify these emissions into groups as shown below:

a- Classifications of global CO2 emissions according to different anthropogenic activities: It is possible to summarize the emissions of carbon dioxide gas from different anthropogenic activities in a unified map that includes all the information about the sources, quantities and ratios of these emissions. It is important to note that the quantities and ratios of the anthropogenic emissions change from one year to another, and for the purpose of this research we will take 2004 as base year, due to the availability of all necessary information of CO2 emissions to create this map, which is shown in Figure (2-25) below.

Figure (2-25): Map of anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide gas in the year 2004.

b- Classification of global CO2 emissions according to the geographical territories: The countries of the world vary in their carbon dioxide emissions according to their level of industrial and cultural development. The

64

amounts of these changes may reach high values, especially between industrialized and underdeveloped countries. Speaking of differences in the amounts of carbon dioxide emissions between countries is for the following reasons: (1) Scientific and industrialized development of the country: The higher the index of industrial and scientific development in the country, the more CO2 gas will be emitted from different facilities. (2) Increasing population in the state: The growing population in a given country means increased demand for energy and this means an increase in the consumption of fossil fuels for energy, and therefore, an increase in CO2 gas emissions from the country. (3) Urban development taking place in the country: Urban development means an increase in residential and commercial buildings, causing an increasing demand for electricity. The physical aspect of the development will also include the opening of more roads, and extending the internal and external ones. This means the highest use of modes of transport which uses various types of fossil fuels. (4) Improvement of the economic situation of the country: The improvement of the economic situation of the country means more automation and more industrial development. Moreover, the improved economic situation of individual also means prosperity widespread in society, and this would mean increased demand for energy required to achieve this prosperity. All these factors caused an increase in emissions of CO2 gas from the country. (5) Country policies to reduce its CO2 emissions: The worsening of the problems of climate change took many countries to enact strict laws to reduce CO2 emissions, at the same time encourage the use of cleaner fuels and renewable energy sources to reduce these emissions. Based on to the above factors, we find the emissions of CO2 gas tend to rise with time, while we find other countries where these emissions tend to decline. This clearly happens in countries such as China, India and Brazil, which have the highest levels of rise in CO2 gas emissions due to the industrial, economical and population growth. On the contrary, we find that the levels of CO2 gas emissions from EU countries and Japan are constantly decreasing, because of strict measures taken to curb emissions of this gas. The world can be divided for the purposes of accounting CO2 gas emissions to neighboring geographic areas. These regions share certain characteristics that facilitate the close to reality calculation and estimation of carbon dioxide gas emitted from them. Table (2-14) below shows the quantities of CO2 gas emitted from eight geographical regions worldwide for the period 1980-2006(89). 65

Year Region

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

North America

1481.2

1440.3

1574.1

1727.7

1844.6

1818.4

1836.9

1859.2

1894.1

1905.7

South America

159.6

167.3

191.8

231.8

269.5

275.6

272.0

276.5

288.2

299.0

Europe

1274.3

1247.6

1231.2

1265.2

1212.3

1228.1

1218.6

1260.6

1272.6

1274.9

Middle East

144.1

161.2

198.0

243.9

282.9

303.8

318.4

335.9

360.1

395.7

Africa

145.8

174.9

195.9

223.1

240.3

249.2

248.7

261.9

275.6

284.4

968.8

1148.3

1412.9

1788.9

1977.9

2070.0

2161.0

2341.6

2609.1

2726.1

825.7

953.7

1174.3

730.6

638.1

633.6

638.9

670.3

684.7

703.0

130.5

142.7

164.8

263.3

278.5

297.0

311.6

334.2

5436

6143

190.8 6402

206.4

5130

6672

6842

6973

7303

7696

7923

East & Middle Asia Former Soviet Union Others World Total

* The quantities of emissions are in MtC ** These emissions are from the combustion of fossil fuels only.

Table (2-14): Emissions of CO2 gas from different geographical regions worldwide.

Figure (2-26): Emissions of CO2 gas from different geographical regions worldwide. The following figure shows a scheme of the progress of carbon dioxide emissions from the above geographical regions for the same period, and what are expected until the year 2020. It should be noted that these estimates were based on existing indicators, and without taking into account any reductions which could take place in the future to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from these regions.

66

Figure (2-27): The progress of CO2 emissions from different geographical regions for the period 1990-2020 It is clear from the above table and figure that the global emission of carbon dioxide has increased by a ratio of 20% between the years 19902000, and that the main increase has come from East and Middle Asia which contain big industrial countries like China, Japan and South Korea. The main reason of this increase is the population, economical and industrial growth like what is happening in China and India. There is also a well marked increase in the amount of emissions from North America, which is native in particular to the increase in emissions from the United States that has the largest economy in the world. As far as the remaining areas are concerned, some of them tend to decline in the amounts of emissions from it as happened with the region that includes the former Soviet Union due to the collapse happened in the industrial economy driven after the fall of the Soviet Union. But it is expected that emissions from this region will go back up again after taking the recovering of the machine industry in these countries and resume work speeds rising again. On the other hand, there are areas tend to tranquility on the same level or slightly higher as is the case with the countries of Europe that are moving towards enacting strict laws to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its plants and facilities.

c- Classification of CO2 emissions according to countries:

In this type of classification, countries are categorized according to their annual emissions of carbon dioxide. These emissions vary from one year to another, Table (2-15) below shows the order of some major 67

industrialized countries in the world according to the quantities of carbon dioxide emitted in a number of years(90). Year Region

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

USA

1296.7

1250.5

1367.3

1443.5

1542.8

1565.9

1571.7

1583.9

1612.4

1624.6

China Russia Japan India Germany Canada UK S. Korea Italy

396.7 NA 255.7 81.5 NA 123.4 165.9 34.5 100.0

501.4 NA 243.5 119.8 NA 118.6 160.4 45.0 102.0

611.2 NA 276.8 160.4 NA 130.5 163.2 64.9 112.7

783.6 433.9 293.4 236.5 238.9 137.7 151.4 107.3 116.6

826.6 424.4 324.6 272.9 231.0 155.0 150.3 120.7 121.1

868.7 421.5 319.0 277.8 236.9 151.4 154.4 119.5 120.5

901.6 422.0 323.5 279.4 229.9 153.6 151.4 127.0 122.4

1063.1 437.0 339.4 284.2 235.3 161.8 154.5 129.5 128.3

1283.8 459.5 344.2 303.5 235.2 160.4 158.1 135.5 132.2

1451.6 462.5 335.6 317.9 230.2 172.1 157.4 136.3 127.3

NA

NA

NA

2234.3

2200.4

2351.7

2662.5

2517.2

2605.4

2907.5

5130

5436

6143

6402

6672

6842

6973

7303

7696

7923

Rest of world Total

* The quantities of emissions are in MtC ** These emissions are from the combustion of fossil fuels only.

Table (2-14): Emissions of CO2 gas from the main industrial countries during the period 1980-2004.

Figure (2-28): CO2 Emissions from the industrial countries in 2005. The following figure shows the progress of CO2 emissions for the main industrial countries during the period 1980-2006, and what emissions are expected until 2030.

68

Figure (2-29): Scheme showing CO2 emissions from the industrial countries for the period 1980-2006, and what are expected until 2030. It is obvious from the above figure that the major significant growths in carbon dioxide emissions are occurring in China and the United States, followed by Russia and India. The reason of this, as previously mentioned, is due to the economical and industrial developments occurring in these countries, as well as the growth in populations and economical income of individuals. The figure also shows that CO2 emissions from China are expected to exceed those of USA before the end of the current decade, and even before that, for there are some indications now that carbon dioxide emissions from China this year (2007) may outweigh the emissions from USA. On the Other hand, the rest world countries are only having minor increases in CO2 emissions.

d- Classification of CO2 emissions according to emission per capita: Despite the substantial increase occurred in carbon dioxide emissions in many developing countries, a result of rapid development in rates of economic and industrial growth, as the case in some Asian countries such as China and India, the average emissions caused by the person in one year (Emissions per Capita) from these countries remain low compared with those in rich countries. The rate of emissions released by the individual in any country is calculated by dividing the total annual rate of emission of carbon dioxide by the population of that country. The carbon dioxide emission per capita of the population of rich countries is usually high because of high energy consumption which is often the result of burning different types of fossil fuels. Apart from the economic situation 69

of individuals and states, the amount of emissions per capita in any country depends on a number of factors; some depend on the level of the industrial progress of the country, while others linked with other things such as climate and social nature. For instance, the dependence on renewable and nuclear energy sources and the level of this dependence could highly affect the emissions of CO2 per capita. The other hand, the extent of reliance on each type of fossil fuel such as coal or oil or natural gas can also affect the levels of these emissions. Moreover, the nature of the climate can also determine levels of demand for energy used for heating or cooling. Finally, the amount of reliance on transportation, the nature of this reliance and the type of transportation used also affects the levels of emissions per capita in any country. Table (2-16) below shows the emissions per capita in the first ten countries worldwide for the period 1990-2004(91). Year 1980 Region Qatar Bahrain Trinidad & Togo UAE Kuwait Singapore Luxemburg USA Australia Canada World Average

1985

1990

1995

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

16.37 6.11

10.35 7.16

10.54 7.68

13.41 7.53

12.65 8.68

9.73 8.75

10.01 8.98

10.80 9.14

12.49 9.27

16.89 9.98

2.49

4.10

4.13

5.30

6.68

7.34

7.61

7.39

8.14

9.68

8.09 6.12 3.51 8.81 5.69 3.70 5.01

12.43 4.11 3.48 7.36 5.24 3.88 4.56

11.74 3.48 5.17 7.63 5.45 4.22 4.60

11.12 6.70 6.35 5.89 5.41 4.29 4.66

9.29 8.18 7.22 5.57 5.63 5.02 4.94

9.51 8.02 7.12 5.77 5.48 5.17 4.87

9.62 7.21 7.11 6.28 5.46 5.23 4.88

9.24 7.87 7.11 6.55 5.46 5.19 5.01

9.26 8.14 7.86 7.21 5.52 5.22 5.19

9.20 8.96 8.25 7.31 5.49 5.52 5.25

1.12

1.09

1.11

1.06

1.07

1.07

1.08

1.12

1.16

1.19

* The quantities of emissions are in (MtC/individual/year) ** These emissions are from the combustion of fossil fuels only.

Table (2-16): The highest ten countries worldwide in emissions of CO2 per capita for the period 1990-2004. It is interesting to note from the above table that four Arab countries, specifically gulf countries, are among the highest ten countries in the world in emissions of carbon dioxide per capita. This is attributed to high levels of per capita incomes in these countries that encourage demanding additional energy of sources which still rely on the burning of fossil fuels. As for the rest of the table, are countries which enjoy the same advantages in terms of per capita income levels.

70

2-5 Emissions of CO2 from Arab countries: a- Quantities of CO2 emitted from Arab countries:

As the other world countries, Arab countries also emit quantities of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. These quantities could be high in some Arab countries, while they might be very little in some others. This variation is attributed to the different economical and social situation of their populations, as well as the industrial and urban development of these countries. The following table shows the total emissions of CO2 from Arab countries during the period 1980-2005(90). Year

Total CO2 emissions (MtC)

Percentage compared to the world

1980 1985 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

141.1 168.1 204.5 235.2 246.7 253.2 261.8 266.8 274.0 283.0 291.0 306.7 332.3 359.1

2.7% 3.1% 3.3% 3.7% 3.8% 3.8% 3.9% 4.0% 4.1% 4.1% 4.2% 4.2% 4.2% 4.5%

Table (2-17): CO2 emissions of from Arab countries during the period 1980-2005. It is clear from the above table that the total emission of CO2 from the Arab countries makes only a small ratio from the total world emission. However, this ratio is increasing steadily with time, and perhaps it will reach 10-15% by the end of the first quarter of this century. The emissions vary from one Arab country to another as shown in the following table(90). Year 1980 1985 1990 1995 Region Saudi Arabia Egypt UAE Iraq Algeria Kuwait Libya

2000

2001 2002 2003 2004

2005

47.9

49.1

56.7

63.8

78.9

81.8

84.4

94.0

105.2

112.5

11.5 8.1 13.7 17.7 8.4 8.7

21.6 17.0 13.3 18.8 7.1 7.9

25.0 21.4 18.6 22.6 7.5 11.4

26.9 27.3 20.9 23.9 10.9 10.7

32.5 29.9 20.0 22.7 16.2 11.4

35.9 32.2 21.1 21.5 16.4 11.8

36.3 34.2 21.5 22.2 15.2 13.1

38.9 34.5 19.4 22.2 17.2 12.6

44.5 36.2 21.2 21.7 18.4 14.2

44.1 37.6 26.8 24.0 20.9 14.6

71

Qatar Syria Morocco Unman Bahrain Tunisia Jordan Yemen Lebanon Sudan Mauritania Djibouti Eritrea Somalia Total

3.8 4.6 4.2 1.0 2.1 2.3 1.5 1.9 1.8 0.9 0.2 0.5 0.3 141.1

3.6 6.9 4.4 3.6 3.0 3.0 2.3 2.8 1.9 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.4 168.1

5.1 10.1 5.9 3.4 3.84 3.6 2.8 3.1 1.3 1.1 0.3 0.5 0.3 204.5

8.2 10.8 7.1 3.8 4.3 3.9 3.6 2.7 3.4 1.1 0.9 0.5 0.3 0.2 235.2

8.4 14.0 8.4 5.9 5.5 5.3 4.2 2.6 4.5 1.8 0.9 0.5 0.2 0.2 274.0

7.5 13.4 9.1 6.0 5.7 5.8 4.1 2.6 4.3 2.0 0.9 0.5 0.2 0.2 283.0

7.9 14.0 9.1 6.2 5.9 5.7 4.3 2.7 4.3 2.3 0.8 0.5 0.2 0.2 291.0

8.8 14.0 9.3 6.1 6.1 5.6 4.6 4.5 4.4 2.7 0.9 0.5 0.2 0.2 306.7

10.5 14.0 9.6 6.6 6.3 5.7 4.9 4.5 4.3 2.9 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.2 332.3

14.6 13.6 10.6 8.1 6.9 6.1 5.1 4.7 4.4 2.9 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.2 359.1

* The quantities of emissions are in (MtC) ** These emissions are from the combustion of fossil fuels only.

Table (2-18): CO2 emissions from Arab countries during the period 1980-2006 The following figure shows a comparison among the emissions of CO2 from the Arab countries in the year 2005.

Figure (2-30): The emissions of CO2 from the Arab countries in the year 2005. The above table and figure show that CO2 emissions vary sharply from one Arab country to another, for these emissions are high in some countries, particularly the petroleum countries, while they are very low in

72

others. The reason of these variations is attributed to the fact that the production of oil in a given country is reflected directly on the economic situation of that country, including raising revenues and potential rises in its economical state. Naturally, economic prosperity in any country leads to reconstruction and the opening of new roads and increasing a trend towards development through the establishment of industrial projects, and to the high demand for energy is often basically the result of burning fossil fuels. The economic boom in a country also reflects on the economic situation of the individual, where it will lead to higher income which encourages seeking more energy to provide the comforts of life. Furthermore, all of these reasons lead to high levels of quantities of carbon dioxide emitted from these countries due to the link between this gas emission and the industrial progress of the State, and the levels of demand for energy. For instance, the emissions of this gas reach high level in oil and industrial Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, at the time they do not increase a lot above zero in late countries like Somalia and Eritrea. On the other hand, the rate of acceleration in CO2 emissions varies also from one country to another, so at the time we see these emissions are increasing rapidly in some countries such as the Gulf countries, we find them at the same time only increasing moderately or not in other countries, and reason returns to the facts mentioned above.

b- Emissions of CO2 per capita in the Arab countries.

The average annual emissions of CO2 per capita in the Arab countries vary sharply. The order of the Arab countries with respect to such emissions is much different than that of the table of CO2 emissions shown above. The reason of this difference is due to the variations in the populations of the Arab countries and the levels of economic income of the individuals between a given country and another. These variations are seen clearly when comparing the rich gulf countries and poor countries such as Somalia and Eritrea. The following table shows the emissions of CO2 per capita from the Arab countries for the period 1980-2005(91). Year 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Region Saudi Arabia Egypt UAE Iraq Algeria Kuwait Libya Qatar Syria Morocco

2005

16.37

10.35

10.54

13.41

12.65

9.73

10.01

10.80

12.49

16.89

6.11 8.09 6.12 4.79 0.88 2.83 0.58 1.61 1.04

7.16 12.43 4.11 3.68 1.36 2.15 0.62 0.72 0.84

7.68 11.74 3.48 3.53 1.90 2.74 0.40 1.28 1.03

7.53 11.12 6.70 3.19 1.80 2.31 1.02 1.20 1.07

8.68 9.29 8.18 3.41 2.33 2.22 1.24 1.16 0.88

8.75 9.51 8.02 3.43 2.30 2.25 1.19 1.16 0.90

8.98 9.62 7.21 3.45 2.30 2.44 1.18 1.13 0.90

9.14 9.24 7.87 3.74 2.17 2.28 1.17 1.13 0.78

9.27 9.26 8.14 4.08 2.27 2.51 1.13 1.13 0.84

9.98 9.20 8.96 4.26 2.70 2.53 1.15 1.12 1.03

73

Unman Bahrain Tunisia Jordan Yemen Lebanon Sudan Mauritania Djibouti Eritrea Somalia Total

0.67 0.52 0.94 0.36 0.27 0.21 0.21 0.10 0.05 0.06 2.5

0.88 0.65 0.85 0.41 0.43 0.20 0.26 0.13 0.04 0.06 2.3

0.85 0.81 0.90 0.43 0.44 0.24 0.25 0.13 0.04 0.04 2.3

0.85 0.75 0.85 0.43 0.42 0.26 0.18 0.36 0.04 0.07 0.03 2.6

0.85 0.86 0.75 0.56 0.46 0.28 0.15 0.33 0.05 0.04 0.03 2.6

0.80 0.80 0.70 0.60 0.50 0.30 0.15 0.31 0.06 0.05 0.03 2.6

0.82 0.82 0.71 0.59 0.49 0.29 0.14 0.29 0.07 0.04 0.03 2.5

0.85 0.80 0.70 0.57 0.52 0.29 0.23 0.29 0.07 0.05 0.02 2.5

0.88 0.78 0.68 0.57 0.54 0.30 0.22 0.24 0.08 0.05 0.02 2.6

0.88 0.74 0.74 0.60 0.57 0.32 0.23 0.23 0.08 0.05 0.02 2.9

* The quantities of emissions are in (MtC) ** These emissions are from the combustion of fossil fuels only.

Table (2-18): Emissions of carbon dioxide per capita in the Arab countries for the years 1980-2005. The following figure shows the emissions of CO2 per capita from the Arab countries in 2005, making the differences between them clearer.

Figure (2-31): Emissions of CO2 per capita from the Arab countries in the year 2005.

c- Sources of carbon dioxide in the Arab countries: Arab countries do not differ from other world countries, particularly the developing countries, in depending on the conventional sources of energy generation, such as the burning of various types of fossil fuels. The sources of CO2 in the Arab countries can be broadly confined to the following sectors: 74

(1) Emissions of CO2 from the electric power generation sector: Table (2-19) below elucidates the progress of electricity production and consumption in the Arab countries during the period 2000-2003(92). The table shows that the consumption exceeds the production during this period in most Arab countries, and there are tendencies to increase the production in some Arab countries, particularly the oil producing countries, to fulfill the increasing demand for energy. On the other hand, the table shows also that there are hesitations toward increasing the investments in this sector by some other Arab countries, mostly non oil countries, due to the high costs of such investments. Country Saudi Arabia Egypt UAE Kuwait Iraq Algeria Syria Morocco Libya Qatar Lebanon Tunisia Unman Jordan Bahrain Yemen Sudan Mauritania Somalia Djibouti Total

2000 Prod. Cons.

2001 Prod. Cons.

2002 Prod. Cons.

2003 Prod. Cons.

126191

108000

133674

120657

144702

114912

149767

132488

73311 39944 30617 31900 26368 25217 14570 12678 9735 9510 8256 8915 7375 6297 3414 1450 451 250 180 436629

64500 35200 27463 29160 19836 16453 13942 9977 8765 8932 7637 8700 6124 5515 2968 2164 355 250 160 376101

75759 43172 31536 32251 27159 26712 15007 13122 10222 9881 8528 9450 7544 6779 3644 1515 476 261 190 456882

72446 37500 30737 30100 21454 18383 15580 10977 9480 9522 8955 9400 6497 6254 3408 2433 370 260 175 415996

83003 46856 33112 33863 28517 28013 15757 13778 10733 10375 10363 9912 8127 7278 3769 1591 499 274 200 489314

67080 36200 39373 30035 20629 17425 14793 10454 9116 9245 7866 9040 6308 5900 3216 2251 360 250 168 404621

88855 49450 34105 34000 29515 29543 16388 14329 11160 10680 10548 10320 7988 7715 4098 1620 538 280 200 509775

77825 44419 30937 32000 22484 19839 14341 11342 9954 9950 9224 7607 7341 6810 2736 1541 429 266 176 443614

* Production and consumption in gigawatt/hour

Table (2-19): Production and consumption of electricity in the Arab countries during the period 2000-2003. Despite the lack of additional statistics on production and demand for electricity in the successive years, but it is expected that they have continued to rise faster than the figures shown above for several reasons. The main reason is the increase in oil prices in the years following the year 2003, which has increased the revenues of most Arab countries, especially the Arab oil countries, which encourages the demand of more energy. On the other hand, this same factor increased economic pressure on non-oil Arab countries, leaving them too weak to invest in this sector, and making the demand for energy to be more than the production so that the programmed drop in the processing power becomes of the 75

common things. Most of the production of electric power in the Arab countries currently reliant on the burning of various types of fossil fuels, especially those derived from oil and natural gas. This is because most of the Arab countries are oil countries, and therefore, they never search for alternative sources for energy generation. Even the non-oil Arab countries use these kinds of fuels because they get the oil in preferable prices from the other Arab oil countries. Thus, the reliance of the Arab electric power sector on the burning of oil products is estimated by about 77%, while the dependence on using natural gas is not more than 23%. The following table shows the quantities of CO2 emitted from the Arab electric generation sector during the period 1990-2003. Year

Emissions of CO2 from the Arab electric power generation sector (MtC)

Ratio with respect to the global power generation sector

1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

81.8 94.1 98.7 101.3 104.7 106.7 109.6 113.2 116.4 122.7

3.8 % 4.2 % 4.3 % 4.3 % 4.5 % 4.7 % 4.7 % 4.7 % 4.2 % 4.3 %

Table (2-20): Emissions of CO2 from the Arab electric power generation sector for the period 1990-2003. (2) Emissions of CO2 from the Arab oil industry: Since most Arab countries are oil countries and have oil industry, so it is natural that the emissions of carbon dioxide from the oil industry sector make a significant proportion of its total emissions from the whole Arab countries. Moreover, most Arab oil countries, especially the Arab Gulf states, are net exporters of petroleum products to world markets, and they are continuously seeking to develop their refineries to be able to provide these markets with their needs of oil derivatives. Therefore, the future course of Arab refining industry is heading toward expansion in refining capacity, as well as improving the capacity of conversion and processing to keep pace with growth in demand for petroleum products, on the one hand, and improving the quality, on the other hand. The design refining capacity of the Arab countries reached in 2005 about 7.3 million bbl/day, from 60 refineries. The economic growth in Arab countries has achieved in recent years relatively high rates, raising the levels of energy demand until the consumption in 2005 reached about 76

4.9 million bbl/day of oil derivatives, and 0.8 million bbl/day of LPG(93). Moreover, most Arab states are still burning large quantities of associated natural gas due to reduced capability to manufacture it, on the one hand, and the weakness of the possibilities available to export it abroad, on the other hand. It is well known that the flaring natural gas is one of the main sources of carbon dioxide gas. In general, it is estimated that the Arab oil industry emitted in 2005 about 16 MtC of carbon dioxide gas(58). (3) Emissions of CO2 from the Arab industrial sector: Most of the carbon dioxide emission from the Arab industrial sector comes from the cement factories. The number of cement factories in the Arab world is around 136 factories distributed in all Arab countries. The total production capacity of these factories reached in 2005 around 150 million tons of cement, which are about 7% of the total global production. Most of the Arab cement plants are old fashioned, but the growing interest in environmental standards in recent years, especially with regards to the issue of high emission of carbon dioxide, pushes toward giving these plants the necessary attention through the modernization of the means of production, as well as changing their old technologies by up-to-date ones, and to focus on the application of total quality management systems. Many Arab Conferences were held for this purpose, the latest one was; The (VI) Arab World Conference to protect the environment from the pollution caused by the cement industry held in Damascus during the period 20-22 November 2007. The carbon dioxide emission from the Arab cement factories in 2005 was estimated at about 36 MtC, half of it (18 MtC) was processing CO2. There are other sophisticated industries in some Arab countries which emit also carbon dioxide, such as iron and steel, petrochemical industries, chemical fertilizers and ammonia plants, and others. In general, the total emission of CO2 from the Arab industrial sector in 2005 was estimated at about 45 MtC(58). Another Arab industry which has evolved and expanded in recent decades is the water desalination industry. Water desalination plants have increased and spread because of the scarcity of water resources in some Arab countries, especially the Gulf States. These plants consume large quantities of fossil fuels for the distillation of sea water to make them sweet and fit for human consumption. As a result, water desalination plants are one of the important sources of CO2 emission in the Gulf States. It is expected that the number of these plants will increase sharply in the future due to natural water sources decline, and the expansion of demand for water due to economic and social growth.

77

(4) Emissions of CO2 from the Arab transport sector: Arab countries vary in possession of sophisticated transportation networks, as well as in the number of their existing vehicles. These differences are due to the differing degree of development of these countries and their differing economic and social development. There are wide and sophisticated networks of transportation exist in some Arab countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Syria, and some other countries such as the Gulf States have large numbers of vehicles, especially personal small cars. Although carbon dioxide emissions from the Arab transport sector are high and accounted for up to 25% of the total emissions of this gas from these countries, but the sum of these amounts is not high as in the developed countries. The emitted carbon dioxide gas from this sector in 2005 was estimated at about 90 MtC(58), two third of it came from not more than 10 Arab countries. (5) Emissions of CO2 from the other Arab sectors: Other emissions of carbon dioxide in the Arab countries come from other sectors, such as residential buildings, commercial and services sector and military institutions and other. The emissions of CO2 from these sectors in 2005 were estimated at about 75 MtC(58). There are no carbon dioxide emissions from changes in land use in the Arab countries because most of these countries are desert states. On the contrary, there are adverse movements in some Arab countries, such as the Gulf States, where artificial forests are being created, and protected areas are deployed in their territories. Some other Arab countries, such as Iraq, suffer from drought which hit them as result of natural causes like the climate changes. The following figure shows the details of carbon dioxide emissions from the Arab countries in 2005.

Figure (2-32): Emissions of CO2 from different sectors in the Arab countries in the year 2005.

78

2-6 Carbon dioxide Emissions in the Future: It is clear from the above sections that the levels of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere are related to several factors, mostly: ™ Population Growth. ™ Economic Growth. ™ Technical Growth. It is known that all these factors are in continuous development, and increasing with time, but what is not known exactly is the trend of growth in any of them and the levels of this growth. It is true to say that energy demand will grow in the future, and will increase for a long time unless prevented by outside forces, but it is not known exactly what types of fossil fuels that will be used frequently in the future. Though, most indications show that there will be a remarkable rise in using natural gas in the future with gradual slowing down in the use of coal and crude oil, but the huge rise in the prices of crude oil and natural gas which happened in the past few years probably would run against this assumption, and the use of relatively cheap coal might be in an overwhelming rise again. Moreover, the increase in the planets population is also not known accurately, not even the level of technological development which will happen in the future. In addition to this, what is not easy to predict is the extent to which human could be able to intervene through the various options available to him for the purpose of halting or reducing emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Therefore, it is difficult to draw a clear picture of the levels of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere during the next fifty or hundred years. Putting estimates that are close to reality, is complex and not easy because of the overlapping factors that can influence this matter. Nevertheless, many relevant scientific studies tried to put a number of assumptions, and built according to them several models of the level of CO2 emissions into the air in the future. For instance, IPCC put in 2001 the following assumptions for the growth of various sectors, and predicted accordingly the levels of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere which might be reached in the year 2100(94). Scenario

Growth of population

Economic Growth

Technical growth

CO2 conc. in the atmosphere in 2100

Scenario IS92e

Fast

Fast

Fast (depends on fossil fuels)

1000 ppm

Scenario IS92f

Fast

Slow

Slow

850 ppm

79

Scenario IS92a

Fast

Fast

Scenario IS92d

Slow

moderate

Scenario IS92c

Fast

Moderate

Fast (depends on different energy sources) Slow Fast

730 ppm 615 ppm 550 ppm

Table (2-21): Assumptions put by IPCC for the growth of various sectors during the 21st century. All the above scenarios were put on the assumption of an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide, with no interference from human to reduce them through using traditional emission reduction or the technologies of capturing & storing this gas or any new technology which may emerge in the future. Figure (2-33) below shows the profiles of carbon dioxide emissions according to the above consumptions.

Figure (2-33): The possible scenarios of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere during the 21st century. These increases assumed in the concentration of carbon dioxide will be accompanied by increases in temperature between 2-5 oC. The quantities of CO2 which will be emitted to the atmosphere in 2100 according to the above scenarios are shown in the following figure(99,102).

80

Figure (2-34): Quantities of CO2 which will be emitted to the atmosphere during the 21st century according to five possible scenarios. All the available data about CO2 emissions to the atmosphere during the past seven years give the indication that scenario (IS92e) is likely to take place in the coming years, and it is even somewhat optimistic for the real emissions which might happen could exceed its expectation. This case threatens dire consequences unless action is taken to stop this dramatic increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

81

Chapter Three Means of Reducing CO2 Concentration in the Atmosphere 3-1 Introduction: After knowing the sources of carbon dioxide from various activities as well as their quantities and their risks to the environment, especially the threats related to climate changes, it is now necessary to study the means by which the high concentration of this gas in the atmosphere can be reduced. First, it is necessary to know the outlets of this gas from the air. The natural outlets of CO2 gas are defined as the stores which the gas is discharged to after its emission into the air. These outlets form with the sources of emission an integrated cycle called the carbon cycle in nature, which the gas is constantly circulating in leaving a certain proportion in the air. Once the balance of this cycle is disturbed the ratio of the gas in the air will increase or decrease according to the deviation of this disturbance. As the sources of CO2 gas are divided into two major types; natural and anthropogenic sources, the gas discharging outlets are also of two types, natural and anthropogenic outlets. The natural outlets are those which God created and made them absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere spontaneously. While the anthropogenic outlets are those which Man thinks to use to store this gas, and rid the environment of its risks. The anthropogenic outlets work similar to the natural outlets, but artificially and not spontaneously. It has been seen in chapter two that nearly half of the quantity of CO2 (4 BtC) produced in 2006 from anthropogenic sources (8.1 BtC) were removed by the natural outlets. Therefore, the problem which Man has to face is to find a solution for the un-removed quantity, i.e. about 4 BtC, which is accumulating annually in the atmosphere, and is subject to increase year after year. This quantity of CO2 is nearly equal to the quantity emitted from the fixed anthropogenic sources. There are many possible ways to resolve this problem such as; increasing the capacity of the natural stores, reducing the quantities of CO2 emitted, and finally capturing the emitted gas and finding stores for it.

3-2 Natural Discharge Outlets of Carbon Dioxide: Natural discharge outlets can be considered as the natural sinks which pull carbon dioxide gas from the air, and they are present since the 82

beginning of the planet Earth, and will remain to the end of its life. These sinks are natural reservoirs for CO2, and their work in the suction of the gas is the opposite reaction to the process of its emission into the air. The capacity of these reservoirs and their ability to pull CO2 from the air were roughly equal to the amounts emitted to the atmosphere, which kept its concentration almost consistently throughout millions of years. However, the balance was disturbed after the industrial revolution and the total of carbon dioxide absorbed by these reservoirs became less than the total amounts emitted into the air, and this made the gas concentration in the atmosphere to increase year after year. These natural reservoirs are divided into two main types:

a- Oceans: Oceans are the main natural CO2 sinks, and now, approximately one third of anthropogenic emissions are estimated to be entering the ocean. The role of the oceans as sinks for CO2 is driven by two processes, the solubility pump (physical pump) which represents the ability of the oceans to dissolve carbon dioxide gas, and the biological pump which represents the needs of the marine organisms to this gas. This work of the oceans is motivated by two forces which act as suction pumps. The mechanism of the work of these two pumps can be clarified as following: (1) Solubility pump: This pump plays the main part in pulling CO2 gas from the atmosphere, and its work depends on the following two factors: (a) The ability of seawater surface to dissolve CO2: The ability of seawater surface to dissolve carbon dioxide depends directly on the balance between CO2 in the atmosphere and the dissolved CO2 in the surface seawater. Carbon dioxide has the greatest viability to dissolve in water of the oceans and seas than do oxygen and nitrogen, which are the major components of the air. In order for CO2 to dissolve in water of the oceans and seas, its partial pressure in the surface seawater must be less than that in the atmosphere. Furthermore, in order for the dissolved gas to dive to the depths, its partial pressure in the surface seawater should be higher than that in the depth. If we note these two factors carefully then we can see clearly that they act oppositely, and in fact, they are the main factors which determine whether the oceans will absorb or emit carbon dioxide. Fortunately, the present partial pressures push toward the dissolving of more CO2 gas in the oceans, and toward the dive of the dissolved gas to the depths. (b) Circulation of CO2 inside the oceans: It might be useful to say that the viability of the oceans and seas to dissolve CO2 gas is subject to specific regulations, and these depend also on the thermohaline

83

capabilities to transfer CO2 gas to other parts of the oceans. The main turnover between these systems is the one through which the warm tropical water moves to Earth's poles, where it cools and dives to the depths. This water then moves back in the form of cold currents, returning to the warmer areas in the equator. Upon the arrival of this cold water to the tropical region again, the change in its physical characteristics will make it set up to the surface once again loaded with salt, food, and organic materials. This natural phenomenon is known as the Tipper Currents. (2) Biological pump: The work of this pump depends on a series of biological processes that transport the dissolved CO2 from the surface to the depth. Furthermore, contribute to these processes, the burying of proportion of this gas in the form of organic compounds at the bottom of the seas & oceans to become after millions of years as fossil fuels such as crude oil and natural gas. The biological pump plays only a small role in dissolving CO2 gas in the oceans compared with the solubility pump. The small role of the biological pump is due to the link of its work with the environmental light and the existence of other nutrients required by living organisms in the oceans. The work of the biological pump depends on the following two factors: (a) The presence of marine micro-organisms: It cannot overlook the role of micro-organisms that live suspended and adrift on the exposed to light surface water layer of the seas and oceans, on their ability to dissolve carbon dioxide, as well as its circulation in their water. This phytoplankton is primitive plants (lichens or algae), single-celled, does not differ much from its land like, and shares with them the property of consumption carbon dioxide. These organisms absorb the dissolved CO2 in the ocean water and the nutrient minerals to form the carbohydrates through the photosynthesis operation.

Figure (3-1): The role of the phytoplankton in dissolving CO2 in the ocean water. 84

It also provides through this operation the necessary food for the zooplankton, as well as some fishes and marine animals which live on plant food. The food chain of the sea is a complex network of carbon dioxide as the most important thing consumed by marine plants that represents the basis of the food pyramid in the sea. This network ends with a group of waste and dead (organic remains), which fall to the ocean bottom where they settle as carbon sediments. (b) The acidity of the ocean water: The dissolving of CO2 in the ocean water leads to "Ocean Acidification", a phenomenon which results from the formation of hydrogen ion (H+) in the water. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the pH of the ocean water has decreased by nearly 0.1, and it is expected that it will decrease by 0.30.4 at the year 2100 due to the absorption of CO2 gas produced from anthropogenic activities. Despite this decrease in the pH of the ocean water, it is still above 7, i.e. it is still basic. Therefore, what is happening to the ocean water can be described, in fact, as becoming less basic. However, the increase in acidity of the ocean water may negatively impact the effect of the biological pump. While the high concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere helps to increase the growth of plants that live on the ground and increase their productivity, it has adverse effects and harmful impacts on the marine plants. The increase in the acidity of the ocean water will cause calcification of the marine organisms, because it produces carbonic acid which will dissociate calcium carbonate that makes up the walls of the living cells, shale, and skeletons of marine animals. It was found that this act affects many marine species, both large such as coral, and minute like lichens and algae. This makes it detrimental to the marine food network, on the one hand, and affecting the ability of oceans to dissolve carbon dioxide, on the other hand.

b- The botanical cover: The botanical cover of the earth's surface is the second natural sink which withdraws carbon dioxide gas from the air, and it absorbs about 20% of the CO2 emitted from the anthropogenic activities (nearly 1.5 BtC). Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to use it in photosynthesis operation to form the necessary organic materials like Glucose, while producing oxygen which is emitted into the air. The photosynthesis operation is a chain of reactions, but it can be represented simply by this abridged chemical equation. 6CO2 (gas) + 6H2O (liquid) + photons → C6H12O6 (aqueous) + 6O2 (gas)

85

Most plants rely on themselves to produce their food directly from inorganic compounds using the photo energy, and they are different from animals that depend on eating nutrients. The plants (and the animals) convert the food compounds by combining them with oxygen into energy necessary for growth and performance of other life activities. This operation is called Respiration, and is counterproductive to the process of photosynthesis, and can be represented by the following equation: C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O The processes of photosynthesis and respiration are parallel, as they are playing an important key role in the carbon cycle in nature. Though both processes occur throughout the year, but the process of photosynthesis is more prevalent during the warm part of the year, while the respiration becomes more prevalent in the cold. This difference leads to fluctuations in carbon dioxide gas concentration in the atmosphere, for it increases relatively in winter, while decreases in summer. Since the seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres are unlike, this means that while the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere increases over the north, it lacks in the south, and vice versa. However, these inversions are unequal in amounts, because the plants are most intensive in the northern hemisphere due to large land areas, which means that emissions of CO2 gas in the northern half are higher than its emissions in the southern half.

3-3 Increasing the Capacity of the Natural Stores to Absorb CO2: Any increase in the absorption of carbon dioxide gas by the eco system could play a big role in decreasing its ratio in the atmosphere. Natural stores may be considered as the main available factors to clean the air from CO2 gas emitted by the anthropogenic activities; especially the emissions resulted from the combustion of fossil fuels. Therefore, the protection of these natural stores and increasing their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide gas are substantial issues in decreasing the concentration of this gas in the air. This can be achieved by the following procedures:

a- Increasing the capacity of the oceans to absorb CO2:

Scientists have had a long pause looking attentively at the ability of the oceans to absorb carbon dioxide, thinking at the same time about the possible ways to increase this ability, and hoping to make the earth's climate recover from its problems by this increase. The scientists are assured that the oceans absorb presently about 2.5 BtC yearly of carbon dioxide emitted from anthropogenic activities, and that they can absorb 85% of these emissions throughout the coming thousand years. In order

86

for this to happen, man has to take care of this huge natural store and increase its capacity to absorb more CO2 gas. This may be done by stimulating the growth of phytoplankton to make them absorb more of the atmospheric carbon dioxide. The stimulation can be achieved by two factors, the iron enrichment and the nitrogen enrichment of the oceans. Indeed, many great ambitious plans were put to perform this task, but they are still facing lots of arguments concerning their viability to reach the proposed results. One of the new ideas which the scientists suggested is to plant the phytoplankton in some of the seas and oceans which are known to be poor of these marine plants, such as the south ocean that surrounds the Antarctica. The water of this ocean is poor of iron element which is necessary for the growth of the marine plants that absorb CO2 gas. The promoters of this idea believe that using aircrafts to fertilize the ocean by iron soils and nitrogen compounds could stimulate the growth of the marine plants in its water, and thus increase its ability to absorb carbon dioxide. On the other hand, some other scientists suspect the viability of this idea, for they think that this ocean is poor of marine plants because it is poor of the tipper currents that bring the nutrient minerals from the ocean bottom to the surface where the phytoplankton live. The suspect scientists estimate that a hundred years of hard work to apply this plan will only yield a small result, which does not exceed a decrease of 30 ppm of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, and this for sure is not worth the effort spent in performing this plan. Finally, it must be remembered that any harm that could happen to the phytoplankton which live in the oceans, such as being polluted by oil resulted from the sink of oil vessels, will definitely affect their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, or in other words, additional quantities of CO2 will remain in the air unabsorbed. Consequently, this will make the earth's temperature increase more and more, and more turmoil and chaos in the climate conditions will occur, causing more critical conditions to the residents of the Earth.

b- Increasing the ability of the botanical cover to absorb CO2: To increase the ability of the botanical cover to absorb carbon dioxide, man has to take care of this second huge natural store of CO2. Unfortunately, man now is destroying this store instead of developing it. This destruction comes from the indiscriminate cutting of trees, and deforestation for the purposes of using their timber, or reuses their lands for housing or agriculture, causing emission of approximately 20% of additional carbon dioxide into the air. It is obvious that preserving the trees as well as stopping the deforestation could significantly reduce this ratio or even cancel it, and this inevitably will be reflected positively on the problem of CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere. Surely, such a thing 87

cannot happen automatically because of Man greed and his quest for profit at any cost. But, this task can be achieved by the cooperation between the governments and non-governmental environment organizations through enacting stringent laws and imposing penalties on cutting trees. They could conversely plant new trees, establishing new forests, and reform their soils to develop its specifications and increase its ability to absorb carbon dioxide. The industrial sector could also participate in these efforts through developing timber alternatives to use in manufacturing furniture. It is necessary to exempt such types of furniture from taxes to make them cheap to promote their use, and conversely impose high taxes on wood furniture. The governments should encourage the forestation of cities, and forbid garden removal or exsiccating of lakes and marshes for the purpose of constructing buildings. It must be known that the increase in population, which is the main cause of deforestation, is also one of the main causes of the increase of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. Therefore, there is a need to encourage the plans designed specifically to organize giving birth, because it will definitely solve many problems that are intrinsically linked to this issue. On the other hand, it was mentioned previously that the rise of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere leads to stimulate the process of photosynthesis, and enhances what is so-called plants fertilization process. More over, the level of this act reaches its maximum at 600 ppm CO2 concentration in the atmosphere (35). However, reaching this concentration will lead to global warming to a level which leads in turn to melt massive amounts of ice at the poles causing the sinking of vast areas of the earth's lands. Therefore, things cannot be left on nature as it is going now, i.e. CO2 concentration in the air must never be allowed to reach this level. But, it must be not forgotten that any increase in plants growth and deployment on earth will also increase the absorption of CO2 due to the increase in the botanical cover of the earth. Therefore, man has to plan to reach a well-balanced ratio of CO2 in the atmosphere that can contribute to increase the botanical cover; while at the same time should not exceed the limits which allow the eco system to adapt to its effects. Perhaps, the eco system can bear an increase in CO2 gas concentration in the atmosphere to the level of 450 ppm. Such a concentration will help in increasing the area of the botanical cover on the earth, increasing the agricultural production, and will only lift the temperature by not more than 1.5 oC above its level at the start of the industrial revolution. Various life forms can adapt easily with such an increase in temperature. Concerning the sea level, it is expected that it will not rise more than 2530 cm above its level at the beginning of the industrial revolution.

88

3-4 Halting the Increase of CO2 Concentration in the Atmosphere: After recognizing the risks of high concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, man began to think seriously about the ways which can stop this rise. Interest in this problem at the international level starts to increase through holding conferences and conducting studies and research which suggest ideas and methods that could help in solving this problem. Indeed, many procedures begun to take their shapes, and their way into the actual application about two decades ago. The ways in which man began moving through to reduce the gas concentration in the atmosphere can be divided to the following types:

a- Methods of reducing the emissions of CO2 gas to the air:

These methods focus in the procedures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the emitting source. These procedures are followed when it is necessary to keep the source of emission because of the lack of choices or alternatives, as in the case of using fossil fuels as sources of energy. Man was aware since long that the main cause of the increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere came from the combustion of fossil fuels in different activities, as well as another small increase from the industrial sector. Therefore, the first problem that man had to face was the necessity of finding a solution for the high levels of CO2 emissions produced from the combustion of fossil fuels. The emissions of CO2 from the combustion of these fuels will remain the biggest problem, because they are simply the main source of energy, and will remain so for a long time until they run out completely. Different types of fossil fuels emit different amounts of CO2 when combusted. Table (2-6) in chapter two has shown the differences in these emissions when the fossil fuels are used in generating power. It becomes obvious from that table, and from other studies that natural gas (and its derivatives) is the least CO2 emitting fossil fuel when used in any humanitarian activity, while coal is the biggest. Thus, most efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions are concentrated toward increasing the use of natural gas as a source of energy, and conversely decrease the use of coal and petroleum products for this purpose.

b- Ways of halting the emission of CO2 to the atmosphere:

These ways concentrate on stopping the emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by replacing any emitting source with an un-emitting one. Man tried since long to find alternatives to the fossil fuels, though this was driven by economical and not environmental purposes. The only available choices were the renewable energy sources, which are sources

89

that do not emit CO2 such as the solar energy, falling water energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and tidal energy. He knew the renewable energy since long, but their use remained limited mainly because of its inability to meet the growing need for energy. The emergence of the nuclear energy as an enormous source in the mid-twentieth century was represented timely as a strong alternative to the fossil fuels, and a solution of the carbon dioxide emission problem. However, the later identified problems of this source of polluting the environment with extremely hazardous materials which are the radioactive wastes, as well as the lack of its technologies for all nations, dropped this option. These problems have led to halting expansion or even stopping the construction of more nuclear reactors, and thus, all hopes ushered in the adoption of this source as an alternative to fossil fuels, vanished. However, man continued his search for other clean energy sources, CO2 non-emitting ones, or at least less emitting of this gas than fossil fuels. Indeed, he has succeeded in creating the following alternatives that can be used as sources of energy instead of fossil fuels in some sectors such as transport: (1) Synthesis gas. (2) Alcohols such as methanol and ethanol. (3) Hydrogen. (4) Electrical battery. (5) Fuel cell. But, unfortunately none of these sources made it as crucial alternative to the fossil fuels yet, as well as their inability to be used in all sectors. Concerning the industries that emit CO2, man tried to create new products which have the same specifications of the original products, and at the same time their manufacturing methods do not emit CO2. One of these alternative materials was a paste developed by the engineer Franz-Josef Ulm(95). This material composes of C, S, H elements, and can be manufactured in cold conditions, and has, when frozen, very high solidity to be used as a substitute for cement.

3-5 The UN Frame Convention on Climate Change, and Kyoto Protocol: All actions that have been taken to reduce human emissions of greenhouse gases into the air remained sporadic and inconclusive in resolving the problem of climate change because they have not been taken orderly and united, and it was necessary for the emergence of a central effort at the international level to resolve this problem. With the growing problem of climate change, and increasing of human awareness of its serious dangers to the future of life on earth, the efforts to solve the 90

problem began to unite with time. Many international conferences were held consistently to discuss this issue for the purpose of solving it. The outcome of these discussions ultimately leads to the emergence of the United Nations Frame Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This convention was put in on 9 May 1992, and opened for signature in June of the same year, and has entered into force in 21 March 1994 after beeing ratified by 55 countries. The final task of this convention, according to article (2) of the convention, is to fight against climate changes and rise of ambient temperature by stabilizing the concentrations of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at levels that prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such levels should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.

a- Principles and objectives of the Convention: The Framework Convention on Climate Change has included the following principles to achieve its goals: (1) Provide the national announcements which list the emission of greenhouse gases from all countries around the world periodically. (2) Preparing national programs containing measures to mitigate climate change. (3) Develop and transfer technology. (4) Maintain the sinks and reservoirs of all greenhouse gases. (5) Hold annual meetings of the member countries to the convention called Conference of the Parties (COP) to follow up the implementation of their obligations under the convention.

b- Kyoto Protocol: The Framework Convention on Climate Change in its original texts did not put any specific ratios of States to control the emissions of greenhouse gases, nor mandatory actions to achieve that. During the third Conference of Parties which was held in Kyoto – Japan in 1-11/1/1997, this issue was discussed by nearly 6000 participants from 160 countries. Amid a sharp division between the world nations about the issues of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly among the advanced industrial countries and developing countries, the conference eventually adopted a system that regulates this task called Kyoto Protocol. The protocol stipulates that the industrial States listed in Annex I (35 States) should reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases by a ratio of 5.2% from their emission levels in 1990 during the period 2008-2012 called the (Commitment Period). The protocol specified the following six gases which must be included in the reduction: 91

• • • • • •

Carbon Dioxide. Methane Nitrous Oxide. Hydroflorocarbon compounds (HFCs). Perflorocarbon compounds (PFCs). Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

The year 1990 has been identified as a base for the first three gases, while for the other three the year 1995 has been identified as base year. The protocol also acknowledged flexible mechanisms to reach the permitted emissions limits of each country, which are: (1) Establishing the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): to assist Parties not included in Annex I in achieving sustainable development and in contributing to the ultimate objective of the Convention, and to assist Parties included in Annex I in achieving compliance with their quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments. (2) Emissions Trading: to trade the surplus of quota reduction of a State with another country of Annex I. (3) Implementation of Joint Activities: These are activities undertaken and jointly implemented by industrialized states as a way for the implementation of their obligations. The signing of the Protocol was opened in the period between 16/3/1998 to 15/3/1999, and the current number of signatories (2007) to the Protocol is 169 states of total share of the total emission amount of 61.6%. The Protocol entered into force on 16/2/2005 after Russia (which has a share of 17.4% of the total emissions) ratified it in 18/11/2004. Kyoto Protocol has become the real framework to the issue of control of emissions of greenhouse gases, and its name even becomes dominating in this issue beating the name of the original convention, so that the reference to the Kyoto Protocol in any international forum, has become an indirect meaning to the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

92

Chapter Four Capturing and Transporting CO2 4-1 Introduction: Government and international organizations have spared no effort in reducing carbon dioxide emissions through the enactment of laws and legislation, which are designed mainly to reduce the amounts of CO2 emitted into the air to the maximum extent possible. These measures reached its maximum in terms of the Kyoto Protocol, which necessitated the industrialized countries to cut their emissions of carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, all these measures remain insufficient, and huge quantities of this gas will continue to launch into the air as a consequence of the human industrial civilization, no matter how effective measures are taken to reduce them. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the energy demand will increase in 2030 by 59% over its present value and that 85% of this increase will come from the combustion of fossil fuels(99). Therefore, it has become necessary to search for any possible new way that could rid the world of the threat of CO2 gas. Indeed, a new way has been found by which the collection of carbon dioxide from its sources becomes possible, and deal with it in a way which ensures that it will not leak into the air. This new way is the "Carbon dioxide Capture & Storage (CCS) Technology", and is defined as "The way in which one of the technical means is used to collect the largest possible amount of carbon dioxide from the emitting source, and then compressing it, transporting it, and finally storing it in one of the natural stores in a way that ensures that it will not leak into the air in any way". Figure (4-1) below illustrates the whole method of capturing and storing CO2 resulting from human activities. Capturing and storing carbon dioxide is a relatively new method which was developed in the eighties of the last century, but its use is still yet limited to be applied on a large scale so far. This approach consists of the following three sequence operations: • Carbon dioxide capture. • Carbon dioxide transportation. • Carbon dioxide storage. Capturing and storing carbon dioxide methods can play an important and strategic role in reducing the quantities of CO2 gas emitted from the anthropogenic activities. IPCC estimates that these methods could reduce 93

15-55% of CO2 gas which will be emitted to the atmosphere until the year 2100(99). On the other hand, these methods will also provide space for the widespread use of all kinds of fossil fuels in the future while ensuring at the same time a low amount of carbon dioxide emission to the atmosphere. It also will bring the possibility of large and clean use of the low-cost and widely available coal fuel, rather than the other more expensive fossil fuels.

Figure (4-1): The methods of capturing and storing CO2 gas.

4-2 Capturing Carbon Dioxide: Capturing carbon dioxide is defined as "The operation in which a technological method is used to collect CO2 from its emitting sources". This operation could be used successfully only with the stationary sources like power stations, factories and oil refineries, while it is difficult to use with mobile sources. The number of stationary sources is around (14641) sources, spread all around the world, but they are concentrated in some areas as shown in Figure (2-4) below(100). These sources are aggregated in three clusters; one is located in east & mid North America which contains about 37% of these sources. The second cluster is located in Europe and contains 14% of the total sources, while the third one is in East Asia (particularly in China), where about 10% of the total sources exist, and the rest is distributed around the world.

94

Figure (2-4): The stationary sources around the world. Flue gas produced from the stationary sources consists mainly of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and vapor. The concentration of CO2 relative to other gases of the flue gas varies from one stationary source to another. This concentration may be low as in the case of power plants, or could be very high in some other sources to the extent that it may form a pure stream of CO2, as in the case of ethylene oxide factories and hydrogen unit in ammonia factories. When the concentration of CO2 in the flue gas is little, then it must be separated to form a pure and concentrated stream of it in order to be compressed and pumped through pipelines to the natural stores. The cost of CO2 separation increases as its concentration (partial pressure) in the flue gas decreases. One may ask: why not compress and pump the whole flue gas instead of separating carbon dioxide from it? The easy answer is that such an operation will be very expensive, because in general the costs of compressing and pumping gases for long distances are usually high. Moreover, the assimilation of the pipelines is limited; therefore, it is not useful to fill them with nondangerous gases like nitrogen and oxygen. Thus, since the cost of separating carbon dioxide is high, the method of capturing this gas is perfect to be used with sources which produce pure stream of CO2, because there will be no need to separate it. On the other hand, this style is also worth being applied with sources which produce flue gases of highly concentrated CO2, like cement factories, iron and steel factories, oil refineries and natural gas treatment plants, because the cost of separation will not be that high.

95

4-3 Carbon Dioxide Capturing Technologies: There are many types of technologies which can be used to capture carbon dioxide; some are available because they are already proven and used commercially, while others are still in the research phase and under development. In the past, no methods of collecting and separating CO2 were used commercially except in some industries like the production of hydrogen, synthesis gas and natural gas treatment. In some cases, carbon dioxide was separated from the flue gases in order to use in urea, beverages and food industries. Thus, only little experience is available in the field of capturing carbon dioxide. Nevertheless, this little experience was developed and used to design new ways of separation that can be used to capture large quantities of CO2 which are produced from the stationary sources, such as the power stations, factories, refineries and natural gas treatment plants. In general, the methods of capturing carbon dioxide produced from the stationary sources are divided into two categories according to its concentrations in the flue gases produced from them.

a- Capturing CO2 gas from the flue gas produced from the power stations: Although the concentration of carbon dioxide in the flue gases produced from the power stations is not high and does not exceed 20%, but using the methods of capturing and storing CO2 from these gases is a must, due to the large quantities of CO2 emitted from these stations, which reach about 40% of the total emissions of this gas from the combustion of fossil fuels, and are subject to reach 45% in 2030.

Figure (4-3): Illustration of capturing & storing CO2 produced from natural gas operated power stations of the type (NGCC).

96

The above figure illustrates the itinerary of capturing carbon dioxide from power plants powered by natural gas, In addition to its transportation and storage in geological reservoirs. There are several technologies used to capture CO2 emitted from power generating plants which depend on the stage in which the capture takes place. (1) Post-combustion capture: This method is used to separate CO2 gas from the flue gas produced from the power plants that use coal, oil and natural gas as fuels. This way is suitable with the Pulverized Coal (PC) power plants, which produce flue gas of 14% CO2 concentration. It is also suitable to use with Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) plants which produce flue gas of not more than 4% CO2 concentration.

Figure (4-4): Flowchart of the Post-Combustion Capture of CO2. To separate carbon dioxide from the flue gases in this method, there are some ways which are already used, and some are under developments. (a) CO2 capture available technologies: The available and implemented way used in separating CO2 gas in the method of postcombustion capture is the absorption manner, which works by forming continuous cleaning systems that are capable to separate carbon dioxide from the evolved gases. This way is designed by passing the flue gas formed from the power plant in a separating column which contains one of the liquids that are capable to absorb CO2 gas. When the liquid becomes saturated with the gas, the mixture is withdrawn and sent to another column for regeneration, where it is heated to strip carbon dioxide from the mixture and the fresh absorbing liquid is regenerated to be reused again. This absorption technology is divided into the following two sub-methods: 97

• Chemical absorption method: In this method CO2 molecules react with the solvent molecules and are connected to them by weak bonds forming an intermediate compound which can dissociate easily by heating in the regeneration process to form the original molecules again. This manner can be used when the concentration (or partial pressure) of CO2 in the flue gas is low. The operation takes place under normal atmospheric pressure by using various solvents such as mono-ethanol amine (MEA), ammonia and sodium carbonate. One of the requirements of this way is to use flew gas which is empty of sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) because they cause processing problems with the used solvents by forming un-dissociated salts. Flew gas must also be empty of particulates and hydrocarbons because they form foaming which results of losing the solvent.

Figure (4-5): Flowchart of separating CO2 gas by the chemical absorption method. The method is valid for use when the concentration of carbon dioxide in the output flue gas from power plants is between 3-20%. Therefore, this technology is suitable for use in the large power stations that use pulverized coal (PC), and it is suitable for use in the natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants. The disadvantages of this method are: ƒ The low percentage of carbon dioxide in the flue gas will make necessary to deal with large volumes of gases forcing to use highcost equipments. ƒ The low concentration of CO2 gas will need the use of high performance chemical solvents to capture this gas. On the other

98

hand, the regeneration of the dissolved gas will need to use a large quantity of energy. • Physical absorption: In the physical absorption, the molecules of carbon dioxide spread among the solvent molecules according to Henry's Law, i.e. by imposing high-pressure and reduction in the temperature as needed. This way is suitable to use when the concentration (partial pressure) of CO2 in the flue gas is high. The solvents which can be used in this method are dimethyl ether, polyethylene glycol and cold methanol. The principle of the regeneration is similar to that used in the chemical absorption, i.e. by reducing the pressure in stages to recover carbon dioxide gas from the solvent. This method is used commercially in recovering carbon dioxide gas from the synthesis gas, and in removing (CO2+ H2S) gases from the natural gas.

Figure (6-4): Implementing the physical absorption method in separating CO2 from the synthesis gas. The physical absorption is also used to separate carbon dioxide from the natural gas when its percentage exceeds 4%, because it must be reduced to at least 2.5% which is the percentage accepted by the client. The following figure shows the implementation of this method:

99

Figure (7-4): The separation of CO2 from the natural gas by the physical absorption method. The big challenge to this method is the large size and high weight of its unit, which means that it is difficult to be contained in small areas such as the marine platforms used in producing natural gas from the marine fields. (b) Methods for separating CO2 which are under development: In addition to the available methods of carbon dioxide separation, there are some other methods which are under development, and have not been used because their commercial viability is not proven yet, such as: • The Adsorption method: In this way, solid materials are used to adsorb the molecules of CO2 due to the attraction between them and some active sites in the molecules of the solid materials. This operation is carried out by passing the flue gas over a solid bed of the adsorbing material which extracts the carbon dioxide gas. Once the solid material becomes saturated with CO2, the passing is stopped and redirected to another bed to continue the operation. Regeneration of the adsorption material takes place by re-extracting CO2 molecules by several techniques, which depend on the type of the used adsorbing material, such as reducing the pressure, heating, washing with a stream of fluid or by suction using a stream of gas. These methods vary in efficiency and lead times, as well as in costs. The most used adsorbing materials in this method are Zeolite, Alumina, and Activated Carbon. The adsorption method is efficient when the concentration of CO2 in the flue gas is low, and it is characterized by limited capacity and low selectivity.

100

• The Cryogenics method: This method relies on the use of cooling

systems for the condensation of carbon dioxide and converts it to liquid, and thus separated from other gases, which remain in the gaseous state. One of the requirements of this method is that the CO2 gas is the only viable component in the flue gas which liquefies in the conditions used, which also requires the use of high pressure to assist in the liquefaction. This method could be used when the concentration of CO2 in the flue gas is high (>90%). One of the disadvantages of this method is the consumption of large quantities of energy for cooling.

Figure (4-8): The method of separating CO2 by the cryogenics method. • The use of membranes: This method uses membranes of

molecular holes, and made of polymers. There are two possible ways which can be used to separate carbon dioxide from flue gas using membranes, these are: ƒ The use of gas absorption membranes: This membrane represents the point of interface between two fluids which are moving reversibly, the first is the flue gas which contains CO2 gas while the second is liquid capable to absorb carbon dioxide. The liquid will absorb the CO2 molecules moving in the other side of the membrane. The membrane acts as a separation barrier between the two fluids to prevent their mixing, but it only allows the moving of CO2 molecules through its holes. ƒ The use of gas separation membrane: In this method, the movement of CO2 molecules through the used membrane depends on the chemical affinity between them and the molecules of the membrane itself. The movement through the membrane depends also on the partial pressure of CO2 gas in the two sides of the membrane.

101

Figure (4-9): Separation of CO2 from the flue gas by the use of membranes. Every one of the above methods used to separate carbon dioxide by the post-combustion capture method has its own conditions, and consumes a certain amount of energy for this purpose. The following table shows the main differences in these conditions. Pressure

CO2 Conc. in flue gas

Chemical Absorption

atmospheric

Low to moderate

Low

Physical Absorption

High

High

Low

Adsorption

Low to high

Low to moderate

Low to high

Cryogenics

High

High

Low

Low

Method

Membranes

High

High

Tempe.

Materials used Amines, Ammonia, Carbonates Glycol, Cold methanol Alumina, zeolite, activated carbon

advantageous High consumption of energy High consumption of energy

disadvantageous Available Available

Sensitive to impurities

Under development

-

Sensitive to impurities

Under development

Polymers, molecular sieves

Of high costs

Under development

Table (4-1): Conditions of using different methods in the postcombustion capture of CO2 from the flue gas. (2) Pre-combustion capture: In this method, the fossil fuel used in electricity generation is converted firstly to synthesis gas (CO + H2). This conversion is possible when the fuel is either coal or natural gas. In the first case, gasification process is used to convert coal to synthesis 102

gas by reacting with oxygen which is separated from the air, as shown in the following diagram.

Figure (4-10): Capturing CO2 by the pre-combustion method when the used fuel in the power plant is coal But, when the fuel is natural gas, then the conversion to synthesis gas takes place by the reforming or partial oxidation method using air or steam, as shown in the following diagram.

Figure (4-11): CO2 capture by the pre-combustion method when the used gas in the power plant is natural gas. Carbon monoxide gas is then changed to carbon dioxide by reacting synthesis gas with steam in a special reactor where the catalytic water-gas shift reaction takes place. The concentration of the resulting carbon dioxide from this reaction is between 25-40%, and its partial pressure between 15-40 bars. The separation of CO2 gas is carried out by the chemical absorption method, which will take place faster and more efficiently here due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide when 103

compared with the post-capture method. The other product from the chemical absorption process which is a gas rich with hydrogen is transported to a gas turbine or a fuel cell where it is used to generate energy in the combined cycle power station, and this power station is called the integrated coal gasification combined cycle power plant (IGCC). Several power stations of this type have been built worldwide, but their construction stayed limited due to its high costs. Though the gasification process has nothing to do with power generation, this process could be added to the power stations by building separate production lines. The pre-combustion capture method is characterized by: ƒ The high concentration & high partial pressure of carbon dioxide eases its separation and decreases the costs of this operation due to the low consumption of energy. ƒ These characters also make the number of used equipments less and of low complications. ƒ The possibility of using the produced hydrogen in other operations. ƒ The possibility of using the petroleum residues as raw materials. On the other hand, the disadvantages of this method are: ƒ The gasification operation is an extraneous and unusual process in the power generation industry. ƒ The costs of building (IGCC) plants are very high when compared to the (PC) or (NGCC) plants. ƒ The gas turbines in the power stations are designed to operate with natural gas and air mixture, and their modification to work with hydrogen is not viable yet. (3) Oxy-combustion Capture: This method is different than the postcombustion fact in that the combustion is carried out here using oxygen instead of air, which makes the concentration of CO2 in the resulting flue gas very high. The benefit of using this technology is the additional increase of CO2 concentration in the flue gas which is already rich of carbon dioxide. On the other hand, the use of oxygen for combustion will increase sharply the temperature of the combustor of the boiler, which necessitates the recycling of some of the flue gas (that contains CO2 + H2O) in this combustor to reduce the temperature of the burner's flame to make equal to the temperature of the flames of normal combustors. This operation will additionally increase the concentration of CO2 in the flue gas, and it will reach about 80% in produced gas. The remaining gas which will be steam only (H2O) can be separated by cooling & condensation to produce an almost pure stream of carbon dioxide which is then sent to compression and storage.

104

Figure (4-12): Flowchart of the oxy-combustion capture. The oxy-combustion method has only been tried on small scales in pilot plants, and they showed the following advantageous: ƒ The combustion by oxygen is appropriate and highly efficient. ƒ It can produce (100%) pure stream of CO2. ƒ The produced flue gas from this process will be free of nitrogen. Therefore, the capture will deal with smaller volumes of gas, which makes equipment used for smaller size and fewer in number. This for sure will impact positively on the economic costs of the capturing of carbon dioxide gas. ƒ The construction of power stations operating in this way will make possible in the future to dispense the recycling of flue gas, through building boilers of small combustors which would not work to the high temperatures of more than usual. These measures will reduce significantly the costs of these stations. The disadvantageous of this method are: ƒ Its economic viability for large power stations has not been proved. ƒ The separation of oxygen from air will add extra costs, because air distillation to produce oxygen is very expensive process. ƒ This way necessitates the use of new boiler specially designed for this method.

b- Capturing carbon dioxide from factories: Since the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the flue gases of the factories are very high, therefore, it is necessary to use the methods of capturing CO2 from these gases especially after the rising of the problem of CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere. The methods of capturing carbon dioxide in the industrial sector are divided to the following parts according to the type of industry: 105

(1) Capturing CO2 from the cement factories: The processing carbon dioxide in the cement factories is formed as a result of converting calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to calcium oxide (CaO). Processing CO2 makes about half of the total emissions of this gas to the air from the cement factories. The percentage of CO2 in the flue gas produced from the kiln depends on the way of production and the type of the produced cement, but in general, it lies between 14-33%. Within these concentrations it is possible to use the chemical absorption method to capture CO2 from the flue gas. Although the heat required for regenerating the used solvent is not available in the cement plant, but this problem can be solved by building the plant within an industrial complex where some other heat producing units are available. Principally, it is also possible to use the oxy-combustion capturing method, but the impact of using the flue gas produced from cement factories in this way has to be evaluated precisely before using this method commercially. (2) Capturing CO2 from the steel industry: Most of the processing carbon dioxide produced from the steel factories comes from the burning furnace where iron ore is reduced to pig iron using coke as reducing agent. The flue gas of the furnace contains about 20% CO2 under a pressure of 2-3 bars. To capture this gas it is possible to use the post combustion capture or the pre-combustion capture methods. Although the concentration of carbon dioxide here is higher than that of the flue gas resulted from the power stations, but the chemical absorption method is still the best appropriate way available to separate CO2 from the gases resulted from the burning furnace. (3) Capturing CO2 from the oil refineries: Most of the emitted carbon dioxide from the oil refineries and the petrochemical plants comes from the furnaces and boilers. The concentrations of CO2 in the gases resulted from these equipment vary from unit to another according to the type of operation and the temperature used. In general it is possible to use the post combustion way to capture carbon dioxide and the chemical absorption method to separate it from the flue gases. (4) Capturing CO2 from the gas treatment plants: Natural gas contains variable amounts of carbon dioxide that could reach 80% in some fields. Before transporting, selling and using the natural gas, its content of CO2 must not exceed 2%. To reach this level it is necessary to capture the carbon dioxide present in the natural gas. This operation is carried out in the gas treatment plants, and the best way used is the postcombustion method. All the separation methods like the chemical absorption, physical absorption, cryogenics, and using membranes could 106

be used to reach this task, but the last three methods are mostly used when the concentration of CO2 is high in the natural gas.

4-4 Utilizations of Captured Carbon Dioxide: Presently, all carbon dioxide gas used in industrial operations is manufactured specially for these industries, and not derived from the flue gases. Principally, it is possible to use captured CO2 from the flue gases and directing it to the industries which need this gas. The replacement of the now used carbon dioxide with that captured from the flue gases could provide a possible disposal way to the captured CO2. Not all industries that require carbon dioxide gas can be exploited as outlets for the disposal of the captured CO2 gas from the flue gases. Food industries and some oil industries for instance, require a lot of carbon dioxide, but the problem of these industries is that the used CO2 often remitted to the atmosphere in later stages, which means that the major task of capturing and disposing this gas will not be reached. On the other hand, some chemical industries also need big quantities of carbon dioxide, but the problem here is that the utilization of CO2 needs huge amount of energy. If the providing of such energy will be by the combustion of fossil fuels then this utilization of CO2 will be meaningless, because it will be consumed and produced again at the same time. Nevertheless, there are some industries that can use carbon dioxide without reemitting it to the atmosphere, such as(16): a- Using carbon dioxide in the oxidation of the small chain alkanes to produce aromatic compounds. b- The production of polycarbonate based polymers. c- The production of Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC). d- Using carbon dioxide in the development of some algae and agriculture products to produce the bio-fuels.

4-5 Transporting Carbon Dioxide: After capturing carbon dioxide, it is necessary to transfer it from the production places to the sites of utilization or storing. Fortunately, carbon dioxide is an inert gas and easy to deal with, making its compression and transporting by trucks, pipelines, and ships principally possible, as in the case of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In fact, the huge amounts of emitted CO2 make it unfeasible to transport it by trucks, leaving only the transporting by pipelines and ships possible to use for this task. The use of pipelines to transport carbon dioxide under pressure is known and has been used since the seventies of the previous century. The total length of such network worldwide at the present time is around 4000 km of a total 107

capacity of transporting 45 million tons yearly, and it is mainly located in USA and Mexico. About 30 MMt of CO2 are transported by pipelines yearly in USA, where the longest line (Mountain Sheep pipeline) of 656 km length is located. If the projects of capturing, transporting and storing of carbon dioxides are expanded in the future, then it is possible to build a network of pipelines across the wide world to collect this gas, which facilitates these processes and reduce their economic costs. CO2 can be transported by pipelines under a pressure between 80-200 bars. Practically, all the USA pipelines use a pressure between 120- 140 bars, and they often are buried under a depth of at least 1 m. Carbon steel and some steel alloys are used to manufacture the pipes. In some cases steam and hydrogen sulphide materials are present with pumped carbon dioxide causing corrosion to the pipes, and this is a main challenge to transporting CO2 gas by pipelines. To avoid this problem, it is necessary to dry the CO2 gas before pumping it through the pipelines. To prevent the corrosion from outside, it is possible to use coating, cathodic protection or by using corrosion inhibitors. The transporting of 1 ton CO2 by pipelines for a distance of 500 km costs about $10, which is cheaper than transmission of electricity for the same distance. Thus it is not necessary to build the power stations near the natural stores, but it is more economic to build them near the energy consumptions sites, and then transporting the emitted CO2 by pipelines to the natural stores. Carbon dioxide gas is asphyxiating in high concentrations, and since it is heavier than air and tends to accumulate in low places, it may be considered dangerous to human life. In fact CO2 gas is not that dangerous, for during the nineties about 10 major leakages from the transporting pipelines occurred in USA but without any human casualties. Nevertheless, it is better to keep the paths of the transporting pipelines away from the residential places. Block valves can also be used in these lines which work automatically when any leakage occurs. Though it is not used yet, but the transportation of CO2 by ships is principally possible. Ships like those used for transporting LPG can be used to transport liquefied CO2 under a pressure of 6 bars and temperature not more than – 55oC. If this method to be used then storing tanks similar to those used to store natural gas must be built to keep the gas for a certain periods. The same safety precautions used with natural gas can be used in case of storing carbon dioxide in tanks.

108

Chapter Five Carbon Dioxide Sequestration 5-1 Storing Carbon Dioxide Gas: It is not logical to capture carbon dioxide gas from its sources if no uses or storing places are available for it. Some of the industrial utilizations of CO2 gas, which ensure that it will not be remitted to the atmosphere again, were discussed in the previous chapter. Unfortunately, the quantities of CO2 consumed by those industries are nothing in comparison to the huge quantities emitted from this gas. Therefore, it has become necessary to find other ways leading to the discharge of the emitted CO2 to get rid of its serious threats to nature. The only available way is by storing it in special places. Carbon Dioxide Sequestration is defined as "The method of finding a natural place other than the atmosphere that can act as a store for the emitted CO2 gas to reduce its impact on the climate change, and at the same time ensures that it will not be remitted again to the atmosphere". The proposed places which can be used as stores for CO2 are: ™ ™ ™ ™

Oceans. Oil and Gas depleted fields. Deep Saline Aquifer. Un-mined coal seams.

Figure (5-1): Types of stores available to store CO2. The method of storing carbon dioxide by injecting it in the natural geological stores has not been tried widely except in few projects. 109

(Sleipner project) for natural gas production constructed by Statoil Company in the North Sea opposite to the Norwegian coast could be the best known example. United States also used the method of injecting CO2 in the depleted oil fields to increase their productivities, which is known as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). The successes in these projects lead to the idea of using the giant natural geological stores to store CO2 to save the world from the threats of increasing its concentration in the atmosphere.

5-2 Conditions & Specifications of Perfect CO2 Stores: If the operation of carbon dioxide sequestration in the natural stores is to be carried out successfully, then the following conditions and specifications must exist in the operation and the used reservoirs:

a- The storing operation must be effective. b- The operation must be cost-competitive. c- The environmental impacts of the storing operation must be low. d- The capacity of the used reservoir must be big enough to store the planned quantities of CO2, which means that exact explorations and calculations must be done before implementing the storing operation. e- The permeability of the reservoir rock layers must be high to ease the process of CO2 injection. f- The depth of the reservoir must not be less than 800 m, because in such a depth carbon dioxide gas will be in the supercritical state which makes its density appropriate for storing. g- The cap rock of the store must be impermeable to ensure that no leakage of CO2 to the above and adjacent structures and then to the atmosphere will take place. h- The reservoir must be capable to store carbon dioxide for hundreds, or even thousands of years.

5-3 The Mechanism of CO2 Retention in the Natural Stores: The mechanism of the retention of carbon dioxide in any of the natural reservoirs used for this purpose depends on the type of the reservoir, type of its materials and its depth. In all cases, carbon dioxide gas must be compressed and changed to the liquid phase to ease its detention by the constituents and materials of the reservoir. The following processes can be implemented to store CO2:

110

a- Underwater Storage: Carbon dioxide can be stored in the water of the seas and the oceans in the same way that is carried out naturally, but by human intervention. The ability of the seas and oceans to store carbon dioxide depends on the relationship between the molecules of CO2 and water at different depths, as indicated below: (1) At depths exceeding 500 m (pressure = 50 atm) liquid CO2 will evaporate directly and changes to bubbles which rise up to the surface and then to the atmosphere. (2) Between 500 – 3000 m deep, the density of liquid CO2 will be less than the density of the water, which makes its drops tend to float and move to the top, and then evaporate and return to the surface. Practical experiments show that if CO2 liquid is spread into tiny drops of diameters less than 1 cm, then they will dissolve in the water completely after cutting 100 m on their way up. (3) At depths of more than 3000 m, the density of liquid CO2 will be higher than the density of water, and thus, will dive to the depths. (4) Concerning the chemical relation, at a temperature less than 10 oC and pressure more than 44.4 atm, carbon dioxide molecule will form a solid hydrate crystal, where it will be located in the center and surrounded by water molecules. Consequently, the above concepts mean that the storing of carbon dioxide in the water of the seas must be carried out at a depth of not less than 1000 m, and by using spreaders which change its liquid to very tiny drops to ensure its fast dissolving in water.

b- Geological Storage: Geological storage is the process of detention carbon dioxide drops deep in the underground layers in a way that ensures their retention in those layers for a long time, and to prevent its return to the top and then to the atmosphere. The mechanism of capturing CO2 drops in the geological layers works in the following ways: (1) Structural Storage: The basic concept of the structural storage depends on capturing liquid carbon dioxide deep in the ground in the porous layer which is covered with non-porous rock layer, i.e. in a way similar to the oil and gas fields. The detention of CO2 drops inside the pores of the porous rocks resembles the behavior of a piece of sponge. In the early stage of carbon dioxide injection, its density is usually less than that of water. This will open the way for its return to the surface, and then to the atmosphere, in case of any leakage through the walls of

111

the injection well. To prevent this, the walls of the well are usually lined with non-porous material such as steel or cement. (2) Residual Storage: There are some rocks that contain air in their pores. When liquid carbon dioxide is injected in these rocks then the pressure differences will make the drops stick to these pores leading to their detention in the surface of these rocks. (3) Dissolution Storage: When carbon dioxide is pumped in the deep geological layers that contain saline water, it will dissolve in this water forming a layer of density higher than the density of the non-saline water. The density difference will push the heavy layer (with CO2) to stoop down, while the other light layers (without CO2) will float up. Therefore, CO2 will be captured in the saline water. (4) Mineral Storage: When carbon dioxide is pumped in the geological layers which contain saline and mineral waters, then there is a possibility for various chemical reactions to take place leading to the creation of new mineral salts which will cover the porous rock that holds CO2 inside. (5) Adsorption Storage: Carbon dioxide can also be stored by adsorbing its molecules by certain materials such as coal present in some unused mines. This way ensures the detention of CO2 as long as its coal remains un-mined, i.e. the coal of such mines must never be extracted.

Figure (5-2): The mechanisms of carbon dioxide detention in the rocks of the geological stores.

112

5-4 Available Carbon Dioxide Stores: Man is seeking to exploit the natural reservoirs for the storage of carbon dioxide for long periods, in order to save the planet from the devastating effects of this gas. The followings are the main stores which can be used for this purpose, while there are some others which are still under studying:

a- Oceans: Some ways, by which it is possible to increase the capacity of the oceans to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, have been explained previously. Apart from this trend, there is also a possibility to make carbon dioxide dissolve in this reservoir, but anthropogenically. Oceans contain about 40,000 billion metric tons of dissolved carbon dioxide, compared with only 750 billion tons present in the atmosphere. It is estimated that if all the atmospheric carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the oceans then it will only increase its concentration there by 2%, and will not increase the pH of the oceans water by more than 0.15 unit(96). In contrast to the ocean’s surface waters, the deep waters are not saturated with CO2. Therefore, it is logical to consider these waters as one of the possible options which can be exploited to store CO2. This task can be achieved by direct injection of carbon dioxide emitted from the stationery sources in the deep waters of the seas and oceans. Such an operation will guarantee the detention of carbon dioxides in these waters for hundreds or even thousands of years. This way would suit the big stationary sources of carbon dioxide which are located in places that are not far from the seas and oceans to ease the operation of transporting the captured gas and reduce its cost. According to the mechanisms of carbon dioxide detention at different depths of the seas which have been mentioned previously, the following choices of storing could be taken into consideration: (1) The first proposed way is by freezing the CO2 gas in the form of big ice cubes (blocks) which can be thrown from ships to settle in a depth of more than 3000 m deep. Practical experiments show that this way is not efficient and its economic costs are expensive. (2) By injecting liquid carbon dioxide in a depth not less than 1000 m through a pipeline extending from the shore to the depth of the sea with spreader at the end to disperse the liquid CO2 to minute drops. (3) By injecting liquid carbon dioxide in a depth not less than 1000 m through a tube suspended from a ship to the depth of the sea with a spreader at the end to disperse the liquid CO2 to minute drops. (4) By injecting liquid carbon dioxide in a depth between 3000–4000 m through a pipeline extending from the shore, or through a tube

113

suspended from a ship to the depth of the sea to form a lake of liquid CO2. The second and third choices have the least environmental impact, but their disadvantages lie in the possibility of the return of part of the stored carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere as a result of the water movement. On the other hand, though the first and the fourth choices guarantee that no gas will return to the atmosphere for a very long period, but their impacts are very harmful, especially to the marine creatures due to the increase in the acidity of the water, thus they face strong opposition from the environment protection supporters.

Figure (5-3): Storing carbon dioxide in deep oceans.

b- Oil and Gas depleted fields: After more than a century of large exploitation of crude oil and natural gas, many of their fields have dried up completely, and there are also thousands fields that are on the verge of depletion. An oil or gas field consists of a layer of porous rocks covered with a dome of non-porous cap surrounding the field. It is possible to exploit the depleted oil and gas fields to store CO2 by the structural storage mechanism in the same way that kept crude oil and natural gas in these fields for millions of years. The depleted oil and gas fields have some advantages that make them ideal sites for CO2 storage, these are: (1) There is no need to conduct an exploration in search of suitable reservoirs to store CO2. (2) These stores are considered suitable to store CO2 since they have already worked as reservoirs for oil and gas for millions of years. (3) The geological layers of the store are known previously.

114

(4) The possibility of using the same infrastructures and facilities available in the field to inject and store CO2.

c- Deep Saline Aquifer: These are deep geological layers filled with saline water consist of sedimentary rocks, mostly sandstones and little limestone rocks. The rocks of these layers are porous in a structure that allows the movement of fluids through them, and this makes them suitable to capture CO2 by either the dissolution or mineral storage mechanisms. It is possible to store huge quantities of CO2 in these layers by injecting it in a way similar to the water injection used in the oil and gas fields. There is not a lot of practical experience in the deep Saline Aquifers storage, and the only available project that uses it commercially is the Sleipner project in the North Sea.

Figure (5-4): Storage of CO2 in the deep saline aquifers in Sleipner field in the North Sea.

d- In the Semi-depleted Oil & Gas Fields: There are a lot of oil fields which are considered depleted but in fact, their crude oil has not been produced completely either due to high costs or because of technical difficulties (semi-depleted fields). In this case, it is possible to exploit the injection of CO2 to produce the remaining crude oil of these fields. This operation is called CO2 - Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2 – EOR), and is defined as "The process of injecting carbon dioxide in the oil semi-depleted fields to push the remaining crude oil by the miscible or immiscible displacement to make it flow of outside".

115

Figure (5-5): Production of crude oil by Injecting CO2 in the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) method. Carbon dioxide could be injected either singly or with water. It is possible by using this way to produce 10-15% of the crude oil present in the field, and it needs 140-280 m3 of CO2 gas to produce one barrel of crude oil (96). Though most of the injected carbon dioxide will remain in the field (about 71%), but still some considerable quantity of it will flow out with the crude oil. This quantity of CO2 can be separated from the oil in the degassing stations and reused in the injection operation. The commercial profits gained from this operation may compensate the costs of injecting carbon dioxide in these semi-depleted fields. The application of this method in the semi-depleted gas fields is not practically easy, because the produced natural gas will contain big quantities of CO2 due to their close densities, which would lead them to mix with each other to a large extent (98). However, this method has been used in some cases and called the Enhanced Gas Recovery (EGR), as in the case of the (In Salah) gas field in Algeria. It must be noted that CO2 gas must be separated from the natural gas before pumping it to the markets. The technologies used in drilling wells for carbon dioxide injection are not different from those used in drilling oil or gas wells. When the goal of the operation is to produce crude oil by the CO2-EOR method, then the same technologies used in drilling wells for water injection can be used, with only inserting some simple modifications to prevent the corrosion caused by this gas in the presence of water. The biggest danger, that may occur during the injection of carbon dioxide in the oil or gas depleted or

116

semi-depleted fields, is the failure of the injection wells, which may cause huge quantities of the injected CO2 to return to the surface again, and then to the atmosphere. However, the installation of closing valves that are sensitive to the return of this gas can reduce these risks to a large extent. The other danger that may happen is the well explosion, which could take place due to the failure of the valves of the well head. Such an event will also allow huge quantities of CO2 with some hydrocarbons and water vapors to flow off to the atmosphere. In fact, the danger does not come from the nature of these materials themselves, but it is related to the risks of the explosion itself and the fire that would result from it. However, the technical development and improvement of the sensitivity and safety means have reduced these risks to the maximum extent possible.

e- Un-mined coal seams: It is possible to store carbon dioxide by injecting it in the unexploited coal mines, which are not intended to be invested in the future. CO2 molecules will be adsorbed by the coal bed removing the adsorbed methane molecules which are usually present in these mines.

Figure (5-6): Storing CO2 in coal seams in the unexploited coal mines. The production of methane by this method is called Enhanced Coal Bed Methane Production (ECBM), and is defined as "The operation by which methane gas of the coal mines is produced due to its displacement by the injected carbon dioxide gas". In addition to the injection wells, it is also necessary in this method to drill wells for the methane production. The produced methane can be used as a source of energy exactly like the natural gas, and this will compensate the economical costs expended to inject CO2 in the coal mines. Although the burning of methane will also produce carbon dioxide gas, but in fact, capturing this gas and injecting it in the same coal mines is still possible because the capability of coal to adsorb CO2 is twice its capability to

117

adsorb methane. The (ECBM) method is very efficient, because the storing of carbon dioxide in the coal mines could last for thousands of years. Some environment scientists do not consider the enhanced oil recovery (EOR), enhanced gas recovery (EGR), and enhanced coal bed methane (ECBM) as ways of reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, because the emitted quantities of CO2 from the consumption of the produced materials exceed the quantities used in the injection. For instance, it is estimated that about 20 million tons of CO2 will be injected in Weyburn field in Canada to produce 130 million barrels of crude oil. The burning of the produced quantity of oil will emit about 60 million tons of CO2, i.e. three times the quantity used in the injection.

5-5 Stores under Studying: In addition to the above methods, there are some more that can be used to store carbon dioxide, but the commercial feasibility of these operations has yet to be proved, such as:

a- Storing carbon dioxide by the mineral storage method: The essence of this method lies in the possibility of reacting carbon dioxide with some mineral salts, like magnesium silicate, to produce mineral carbonates which will become permanent stores for CO2. This method depends on the quantity of mineral salts available in the mine, because the storing of the carbon dioxide emitted from the anthropogenic activities needs huge quantities of these salts. This kind of storage needs two types of operations; the conventional mining and the chemical processing. The conventional mining includes the drilling and development of mines, extraction, crushing and grinding, while the chemical processing, includes the chemical activation and the carbonation.

b- The storage of carbon dioxide in the underground caves: Some caves, such as mined salt domes, that are used to store natural gas for certain periods can be used also to store carbon dioxide. But, these caves are too small for storing huge quantities of emitted CO2.

c- Storing carbon dioxide in the surface tanks: In this way, carbon dioxide is frozen to produce dry ice which then can be stored in big spherical tanks of 400 m diameter. These tanks are installed in the ground surface, and must be thermally isolated to prevent any heat transfer which could cause the evaporation of the frozen gas. Such tanks can store carbon dioxide safely for more than 4000 years(16).

118

5-6 Capacities of the Natural Reservoirs to Store CO2: The above described reservoirs have different capacities to store carbon dioxide, and in fact, most of them can accommodate only limited amounts of this gas. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated through its Greenhouse Gas R&D Program that the capacities of these reservoirs to store CO2 are as shown in Table (5-1) below (97): Reservoir Deep Oceans Depleted Oil & Gas Fields Deep Saline Aquifer Un-Minable Coal Seams

Capacity to store CO2 (BtC) Unlimited 920 400 – 10,000 > 15

Table (5-1): Capacities of the natural reservoirs to store CO2. The above capacities were estimated during the nineties of the previous century, and they involve a great deal of inaccuracy, particularly with regard to the deep saline aquifers. In any case, it can be concluded from these figures that there is a definite possibility to contain all the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities, at least during the present century, conditionally on the adoption of the capturing & storing carbon dioxide projects seriously.

5-7 Potential risks to the Process of Storing CO2: Carbon dioxide is used in lots of industries and operations such as food industries, welding, cooling, foaming … etc. Practical experience derived from these industries has demonstrated that all possible accidents occur as a result of dealing with CO2 could be controlled. But, things that may happen, and the risk of accidents due to the storage of carbon dioxide in natural reservoirs, have not been accurately identified so far, for the simple reason that the existing storage projects present so far are still few and recent, and the practical experience derived from them are still too limited. In general, the following risk of accidents in the storage projects can be predicted.

a- Carbon dioxide leakage: Carbon dioxide leakage from the injection well could take place as a result of erosion and ruptures of the steel or cement linings of the well. Such leakages may even occur in the oil or gas wells when the injection is carried out in the depleted oil and gas fields, and in fact, these events are more likely to take place. On the other hand, it is also possible that leakage will happen from the non-porous rock layers which detents the 119

gas in case of their fracture. To avoid this, the gas pressure must be kept below a certain pressure called the Fracture Pressure, which is the pressure that causes such a fracture. Moreover, CO2 may react with some minerals that cover the non-porous rocks, or with the rocks themselves, the thing that could increase in the permeability of these rocks, and thus, obtain a release of carbon dioxide to the top or to the sides. Such leakages of carbon dioxide to the surface and then to the atmosphere has many impacts, such as its direct effect on human health due to its breathing, acidifying the pure groundwater, acidifying the soil and thus destroying the plants nutrients. Other than these impacts, carbon dioxide gas leakage would dash all the efforts to protect the planet from the effects of climate change, because when it returns again to the atmosphere, it would negate the whole purpose of the storage operation.

b- Methane leakage: The fracture of the non-porous rocks due to the above mentioned factors could cause also the leak of methane gas when the injection of CO2 gas carried out in the un-minable coal seams. The effects and results of methane leaks resemble those of carbon dioxide, especially, the effects related to the climate change.

c- Earthquakes: Carbon dioxide injection could cause in some cases artificial earthquake. This earthquake happens because of the pressure resulted from the injection operation, which causes the underground layers to move and to fracture causing internal landslides, and consequently, causing earthquakes.

d- Movements of the ground layers: The operation of carbon dioxide injection in the underground reservoirs can also cause a collapse of the internal ground layers due to their movement. This movement occurs due to the same reasons which cause the artificial earthquakes, or in other words, because of the occurrence of spaces and pressure dislocations which lead to a collapse in the ground layers, and then transfer its effect to the surface.

120

Figure (5-7): Potential risks to the Process of Storing CO2 in the underground stores.

e- Displacement of the deep saline aquifers: The internal landslides resulted from the injection of carbon dioxide in the deep saline aquifers could occur as a result of the brine displacement to the adjacent regions due to their push by the injected CO2. This displacement will make the brine layers to spread in the underground, and could reach and pollute even the underground water. The possibility of these risks to occur, and their serious effects on life and the environment calls for deep and thorough studies of the natural reservoir to be used for the storage of carbon dioxide before the start of the implementation of the storage actually. These studies must include the followings: ™ The layer rocks of the reservoir must be examined thoroughly. ™ The Impact of carbon dioxide on these rocks of the reservoir must be chemically tested. ™ Implementing checks to monitor the permeability of the rocks in different concentration and pressures of CO2. ™ Examining the performance of the layers rock to determine their ability to withstand different pressures. ™ The appointment of potential pathways for migration of different materials in the reservoir such as the water and gas. ™ Determination of the positions and quantities of the groundwater in the vicinity of the reservoir. ™ The exact determination of the various environmental impacts, which could result from the process of storing CO2 in the reservoir.

121

™ Determination of the possible seismic prospects which may result from CO2 storage in the reservoir. ™ Building models of the reservoir area to show the researcher and observer the real effects of near and long-term result of the occurrence of potential long-term storage of carbon dioxide in the reservoir. ™ When the depleted oil and gas fields are to be exploited to store CO2, sufficient checks of the closed wells must be done, because they are usually left in poor condition by the companies using those fields. If any bad effects are observed in these wells, it is necessary to be treated before the implementation of CO2 injection. The exploration operations which are implemented through the seismic experiments, and the drilling of exploratory wells, may provide lots of information about the reservoir which will be used to store CO2. Even after implementing the storing operation, the reservoir must be kept under precise and prolonged monitoring to observe any new thing that may occur underground. For instance, in Sleipner field where the biggest carbon dioxide storing operation worldwide is presently taking place, very close monitoring is carried out by the European scientists. Various research centers are established in the area, and evaluation studies are conducted over time to take note of any unforeseen consequences that could occur in the reservoir area.

5-8 Monitoring and Verification: The possibility of carbon dioxide leakage from the storage sites and its return to the surface once again is subject to happen at any time. This possibility depends on the way of CO2 detention in the geological layers. The danger of this gas on public health, as well as its adverse impacts as one of the greenhouse gases that cause the climate changes require monitoring and verification to ensure that it will not leak to the surface again, and to ensure that it remains under the ground for a long period of time. The monitoring operation must be precise enough to reduce the occurrence of potential health hazards, and to protect the ecosystems of the unexpected fast or slow leakages. It is possible to use many different techniques of monitoring and verification methods, which vary according to the stage of storage of carbon dioxide. In the initial stage of storing in the reservoir (CO2 injection stage) for instance, the following operations must be carried out: ™ ™ ™ ™

Wellhead pressure monitoring. Injection rate monitoring. CO2 concentration measuring near the wellhead. Micro-seismic measuring near the injection region. 122

™ Continuous seismic surveys to the storing region. Seismic imaging technology is currently being developed to monitor the reaction of the dynamic geological reservoirs in Sleipner field in Norway and Weyburn field in Canada. This technology can easily discover any big leakage of carbon dioxide, but the discovering of small leakages has not been independently verified yet. The other means of monitoring and verification that can be used during the reservoir operation and postclosure stages includes: ™ ™ ™ ™

Gravimetric surveys. Electromagnetic surveys. Continuous monitoring of the flow of carbon dioxide underground. Measurement of the pressure and testing the quality of the water layers above the reservoir. ™ Continuous measurement of CO2 gas concentration in the air at the reservoir area atmosphere. These operations are among the long-term methods of monitoring and verification which must be conducted continuously for long periods that may reach decades. Soome of the monitoring and verification operations which are carried out during different stages of carbon dioxide storing are shown in Figure (5-8).

Figure (5-8): Some of the monitoring & verification methods used in carbon dioxide capturing projects

123

Big carbon dioxide leaks to the upper water layers can be detected by measuring the carbonate ions concentration, the pH, or by identifying the presence of heavy metal ions in these layers. The slow leaks through the soil to the surface can be inferred from the death of the living soil microorganisms, or from the death of the plants in the region. To give the capturing and storing of carbon dioxide projects a kind of security and confidence in the future it is imperative that the agencies responsible for monitoring and verification are qualified and reliable. It is also essential that the results of monitoring and verification are always kept available for studying and analysis by responsible authorities. Conducting a strict monitoring and verification of carbon dioxide capturing and storing projects, and handing over this task to reliable authorities that are able to give it enough attention will for sure create a kind of confidence and acceptance of these projects at both the governmental and popular levels.

5-9 Worldwide Available Carbon Dioxide Stores: After knowing the properties of the natural reservoirs which can be used to store carbon dioxide emitted from the anthropogenic sources, it is necessary now to know the locations of these stores. Apart from the seas and oceans, which are the largest reservoirs at all, there are hundreds of other natural sites distributed throughout the world that could serve principally as reservoirs for the storage of carbon dioxide. These reservoirs are varied among the depleted and semi-depleted oil and natural gas fields, deep saline aquifers and un-minable coal seams. The following figures show the distribution of these reservoirs worldwide (99), as well as their estimated capacities (101).

Figure (5-8): Available natural carbon dioxide reservoirs worldwide. 124

Figure (5-10): The capacities of the available CO2 reservoirs worldwide. It is clear from the above two figures that there are a lot of giant reservoirs around the world, which have large opportunities for exploitation in the field of carbon dioxide storage. In addition to these reservoirs, there are a large number of other reservoirs around the world, but they have only small chances, or even no chances to store CO2 gas because of the unavailability of some other needed properties, especially the economic feasibility. In order for any reservoir to be used to store carbon dioxide within the current economic circumstances, it must have, in addition to the source of the carbon dioxide, a number of conditions which can be identified within the followings: ™ High storage capacity: The more capacity of the reservoir to store CO2, the more chance to use it for this object in economic terms. ™ The close distance between the source and the reservoir: The reservoir used to store CO2 must be located in a nearby area that does not exceed 300 km from the source of carbon dioxide gas. This is necessary to reduce the costs incurred in the transfer of carbon dioxide through pipelines (or any other means) because of their high costs. ™ Large CO2 emission: The quantity of CO2 emitted from the source and intended to be stored must be large, and not less than 100,000 ton/year. ™ High concentration of CO2 in the effluent gases: The more CO2 concentration in the emitted stream of gases from the emitting sources the more economic the capturing operation will be. Generally, it is preferred that the concentration of CO2 must not be less than 95%.

125

As far as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the flue gas stream is concerned, only 2% of thousands of stationary sources produce effluent gases of more than 95% CO2. While regarding the distance of the source from the reservoir, this requirement is verified in many of the sources emitting carbon dioxide around the world. According to these conditions, as well as the capacity of the reservoir, it is possible to identify the suitable reservoirs to store carbon dioxide around the world within four clusters of reservoirs, these are: ™ ™ ™ ™

East, Central and West North America. North and West Europe East China Central and South West Asia

Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has conducted a study to investigate the potential early opportunities to capture and store carbon dioxide around the world according to the conditions and characteristics described above. The study was based on the principles of the appointment of sources suitable for use in CO2 storage projects around the world according to a number of indicators such as low capture costs, availability of economic reservoirs like the EOR and ECBM projects, and short distances between the sources and the reservoirs which must not exceed 100 km. According to these indicators, the study has identified 198 carbon dioxide sources located near the oil fields and coal mines in various regions of the world, which are suitable to be parts of CO2 capturing and storing projects as shown in Figure (5-11) below (100).

Figure (5-10): The viable economic sources of CO2 around the world.

126

Subsequently, the study made a comparison to determine a number of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and Enhanced Coal Bed Methane (ECBM) stores which are possible to be used with these sources by making a short list of technical terms and the least economic cost. The study has identified 15 (EOR) stores, 12 of them are located in North America, 2 in Saudi Arabia and 1 in Mexico. It also identified 15 (ECBM) stores, 9 of them are located in China and 6 in Europe. These stores represent the best possible opportunities to be exploited for the storage of carbon dioxide in the future in terms of an economic level. However, when this industry takes hold of in the future, and high level of expertise is gained from it, it is possible then to move toward the exploitation of more stores in the other parts of the world to expand the storage of carbon dioxide operations.

5-10 Available CO2 Reservoirs in the Arab Countries: Most Arab countries have huge oil and gas fields which have no parallel in any other region in the world. The majority of these fields occur in the Middle East, particularly in the west and north of the Arabian Gulf, and there are also fields of less importance in the region of North Africa. These facts lead immediately to the conclusion that these areas can be used at the same time as reservoirs for carbon dioxide, especially in the sector of the enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and enhanced gas recovery (EGR). Figure (5-11) below shows the reservoirs with a big opportunity for exploitation in these areas, as well as the available carbon dioxide sources near them.

Figure (5-11): Available reservoirs in the Arab Countries which can be used to store carbon dioxide. 127

It is clear from the above figure that most of the Arab countries are situated, in fact, over large natural reservoirs which can be used to store carbon dioxide, and the sizes of these reservoirs are big enough to store giant quantities of CO2. It is also obvious from this figure that there is a big reservoir situated in east and north of the Arab Island which is suitable to be used as a store for CO2 as shown in the following figure.

Figure (5-12): The Arab explored and unexplored gas and oil fields in the Arab Island, which can be used to store CO2 gas. Within the region indexed in the figure above, the geological Arabian Shelf is located, which contains 60% of the world reserves of crude oil, as well as hundreds of discovered and undiscovered oil and gas fields. The geological sections of this region, especially the basin area of the Arabian Gulf and the surrounding areas, show that it is composed mainly of sedimentary rocks from the type Sandstone and Siltstone, which are the reservoir rocks for oil and gas, as well as calcium soils and stones. The depth of the oil reservoirs which includes these types of rocks exceed 3000 meters, and beneath them occurs rock domes holding Saline aquifers. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that east and north of the Arab Island is geologically suitable to be used as a store of CO2 by the EOR and deep saline aquifers storage. But, storing carbon dioxide in the Arab regions faces some difficulties because not all the conditions of perfect storage are available in their reservoirs. Principally, the geological conditions such as the structures and sizes are available, but there are other important conditions which are not available, like:

128

a- Lack of stationary CO2 sources in the region:

Most of the Arab countries are developing countries, and this means that they have no big stationery carbon dioxide sources, and the CO2 concentrations in the flue gases of their sources are usually low. Presently, this represents a serious challenge to the possibility of exploitation of the reservoirs of the Arab region for the storage of CO2. Furthermore, in the case of thinking to exploit these reservoirs widely, then a long and wide network of pipelines must be built to collect and transport the CO2 gas captured from distant sources, and this will remove the economic feasibility of the operation.

b- High density of the Arab Oils: Most of the Arab oil fields produce heavy or medium crude oil. The density of the medium crude oil is usually between 0.845 - 0.898 t/m3. These values are heavier than most oils which the EOR method was tried with successfully. The practical experiments showed that the success of the EOR method is guaranteed when the oil density does not exceed 0.9 t/m3. Considering that most of the remaining oils in the semi-depleted fields are heavy, then the implementation of the EOR method in the Arab oil fields needs lots of thinking and studying.

c- High temperature of the Arab oil reservoirs: The practical studies conducted on the EOR method showed that the temperature which ensures the carbon dioxide injected with the crude oil must not exceed 120oC. The big depths of the Arab oil fields make the temperature inside these fields frequently more than this temperature. For instance, the temperature of Ghawar oil field is between 137-150oC. This temperature will reduce sharply the possibility of mixing between the injected CO2 and the remaining heavy crude oil and this will make the production by the EOR method is very low and this will threaten its economic feasibility. However, the above difficulties are not necessarily applicable on all the Arab oil fields, and it is also expected that carbon dioxide stationary sources will increase in the future due to the industrial and economic development occurring in the Arab countries, especially the oil countries. This means the possibility of storing carbon dioxide by different methods in the Arab regions will increase in the future. These facts will lead to think seriously to build big carbon dioxide projects in the region, and to exploit this issue economically through storing the gas emitted from other countries.

129

Chapter Six CO2 Capturing, Transporting & Storing Projects 6-1 Introduction: The projects of capturing and storing carbon dioxide depend on the presence of stationary sources that emit large quantity of CO2, which are mostly the power stations, factories, refineries and gas treatment plants. Presently, there are more than 100 carbon dioxide capturing and storing projects working commercially or for research purposes. Although, these projects have not been constructed for protecting the environment, subsequently they work toward this direction. After the worsening of the climate change problem during the past two decades, interest has risen in CO2 capturing and storing projects and this industry started to take its place between the other types of industrial processes in the world. Currently, there are plans to set up a lot of additional projects to capture and store CO2 gas. Figure (6-1) below shows the locations of the available most important projects of capturing and storing carbon dioxide, as well as the planned ones.

Figure (6-1): The locations of the available important CO2 capturing and storing projects, and the planned ones.

130

6-2 CO2 Capturing Projects Around the World: There are a lot of carbon dioxide capturing projects around the world, to use the gas for industrial purposes, or to store it in geological reservoirs. Since the CO2 capturing projects are not necessarily related to the storing projects, their number is much bigger than the storing projects. The following is the most important projects for capturing carbon dioxide around the world, which are using different techniques of capturing:

a- Projects of capturing CO2 by the post combustion method: The method of post combustion capture method is known and applied in many industrial projects around the world such as the power stations, especially those which work by the circulating fluidized bed combustion and the gas fired combined cycle technologies. The absorption of CO2 gas is frequently carried out by the Chemical absorption method using ethanol amines, or by using some solutions developed by certain specialized companies. Captured carbon dioxide is not necessarily stored, but it can be used in some industries such as the food industries and urea manufacturing. The following table shows the current important CO2 capturing projects around the world. Project

Type

Country

CO2 Use

Capturing Capacity

Bellingham plant

320 MW Power station

USA

Food Industries

320-350 t/d

Shady Point

2x160 MW Power station

USA

Food Industries

240 t/d

Warrior Run

180 MW Power station

USA

Food Industries

150 t/d

IMC Global Inc.

NaCO3 factory & Power plant

USA

Used in the same factory

-

Kedah Somotom Chemicals Luzhou Natural Gas Chemicals Indo Gulf Fertilizer Co

Fertilization Plant

Malaysia

Used to produce urea in the same factory

160-200 t/d 150-165 t/d

Power Plant

Japan

Food Industries

Urea & Ammonia Factory

China

Used in the same factory

Fertilization Plant

India

ِAonla

Fertilization Plant

India

Phulpur

Fertilization Plant

India

Abu Dhabi

Fertilization Plant

UAE

Bahrain

Fertilization Plant

Bahrain

Used to produce urea in the same factory Used to produce urea in the same factory Used to produce urea in the same factory Used to produce urea in the same factory Used to produce urea in the same factory

160 t/d 150 t/d 450 t/d 450 t/d 400 t/d 450 t/d

Table (6-1): Worldwide CO2 capturing projects working by the post combustion capture method.

131

Figure (2-6): The locations of the worldwide CO2 capturing projects working by the post combustion capture method. Currently, there are the following three kinds of technologies applied in the above projects to capture carbon dioxide gas by the chemical absorption method, and they are different according to the type of the chemical solvent: (1) Daniel Fluor Technology: In this technology the absorption solvent is a solution of 30% (by weight) Hydro Mono-Ethanolamine (MEA) and a corrosion inhibitor. The capturing capacity of the absorption unit which uses this technology is 350 t/d of CO2 gas. An example of this type of project is the Bellingham Power Plant in USA, where about 350 tons of CO2 gas are captured daily from the generation turbines to be used then in the food industries. (2) ABB Lummus Technology: This technology uses a solution of 1520% (by weight) Mono-Ethanolamine (MEA). The capacity of this unit is around 400 t/d of CO2. This technology is used in Shady Point Power Plant which was established in 1991 in USA to generate 320 MW of electricity. About 200-240 tons of carbon dioxide is captured daily to be used in the food industries. (3) MHI Technology: This is a technology created by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Company that uses various solutions of Mono Ethanol Amines bases to absorb CO2. Three types of solutions are used in this unit, KS-1 ,KS-2 and KS-3, and the capacity of the capturing is 160 t/d of CO2. There are many industrial plants that use this technology successfully such as Kedah Fertilization plant, which was established in Malaysia in 1999. The captured carbon dioxide is used to produce urea in the same plant.

132

b- Projects of capturing CO2 by the pre combustion method:

The pre combustion capture method is a new one, and has not been used commercially yet. Lots of projects which will use this method of capturing are currently under construction. Project Carson NRG Energy BP DF-2 Dakota SNG FutureGen Indiana EPCOR Nuon Magnum RWE Seimens Power E.ON Killingholme PowerFuel Hatfield CENTRICA/PEL GE Energy Draugen GreenGen ZeroGen

Type 500 KW Power station 680 KW Power station 500 KW Power station Coal Gasification Power Station 500 KW Power station Power Station 1200 KW Power station 450 KW Power station 800-900 KW Power station 800 KW Power station 900 KW Power station 800 KW Power station Power station 100 KW Power station 500 KW Power station Coal Gasification

Country

CO2 final destination

Capacity

USA

EOR

4-5 Mt/y

USA

EOR

1 Mt/y

USA

EOR

500 t/d

USA USA USA Canada Holland Germany Germany UK

Geological Storage & EOR Geological Storage Geological Storage EOR Depleted oil field storage Depleted oil field storage Depleted oil field storage Depleted oil field storage

1 Mt/y 1-2 Mt/y 3-4 Mt/y 1 Mt/y 0.2 Mt/y 2.3 Mt/y 1.2 Mt/y

UK

EOR

-

UK

EOR

-

Poland

Geological Storage

400,000 t/y

Norway China Australia

Geological Storage Geological Storage

420,000 t/y 420,000 t/y

Table (6-2): Worldwide most important CO2 capturing projects by the pre-combustion method.

133

Figure (6-3): The locations of the CO2 capturing projects by the pre combustion method.

c- Other carbon dioxide capturing projects: Some companies established pilot plants to conduct researches to develop the methods of capturing carbon dioxides, as well as inventing new solvents which can be used to separate CO2 from the flue gases. The following tables show some of these plants: Name of Pilot Plant Boundary Dam

Country

Type of use

USA

To create new solvents to absorb CO2

CASTOR

Norway

Vattenfall

Germany

To develop CO2 capturing & storage operations To develop power generation without CO2 emissions

Table (6-3): The most important pilot plants used to develop CO2 capturing.

6-3 Worldwide CO2 Transporting Projects: Transporting carbon dioxide is the middle stage between capturing the gas in the sites of emissions and its storage or utilizations. Usually huge quantities of CO2 are transported by pipelines because it is not practical to transport it by portable tanks carried by trucks for this purpose. It is also possible to use marine vessels which are used to ship LPG to transport carbon dioxide. Most of the CO2 transporting projects are located in USA where the total length of the pipelines used for this purpose is more than 2500 km, and they transfer about 50 million tons of CO2 from its emission sites to the fields of enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The transported stream 134

of CO2 must be dry and absent of hydrogen sulphide and other acidic gases to reduce the corrosions of the pipes. The carbon dioxide transporting pipes are manufactured from carbon-manganese steel because it is corrosion resistant. The following table shows the locations and lengths of pipelines used to transport CO2 around the world. Name of Country Pipeline USA Weyburn USA Cortez Kinder USA Sheep Mountain Canyon Reef USA Carriers USA Bravo USA Val Verde Turkey Bati Raman Totals

Pipeline Length km 320 808 660

Capacity t/y 5 19.3 9.5

Gasification Plant McElmoDome Sheep Mountain

225

5.2

Gasification plants

350 130 90 2591

7.3 2.5 1.1 49.9

Bravo Dome Val Verde Gas Plants Dodan Field

Source of CO2

Table (6-4): Worldwide carbon dioxide transporting projects

Figure (6-4): Networks of CO2 transporting pipelines in USA. One of the most important carbon dioxide transporting projects is the Weyburn pipeline, which is 320 km long, and connecting coal gasification plant in Beulah city in North Dakota in USA with Weyburn oil field in Canada. This pipeline transports CO2 from the capturing unit in the gasification plant to the EOR project. Transporting the CO2 gas started in October 2000 with a rate of 5000 t/d, and its cost was about 100 million dollars.

135

Figure (6-5): CO2 transporting pipeline connecting the gasification station in Beulah to the EOR project in Weyburn oil field in Canada.

6-4 CO2 Storing Projects around the world: Carbon dioxide storing projects are distributed in various parts of the world, but they are intensified mainly in USA and Europe.

Figure (6-6) Carbon dioxide storing projects around the world. The type of these stores varies according to the implemented methods of storing, and the type of project, whether it is researching or economical. The followings are the most important storing projects around the world:

a- Carbon dioxide geological storing projects: The geological storing projects are usually aimed to get rid of carbon dioxide for environmental purposes, i.e. to reduce the emission of this gas to the atmosphere. Therefore, the number of this type of projects is relatively small. Mostly, the method of storing in this type of stores is of 136

the Saline Aquifiers type. The following table shows the most important existing and planned projects of this type: Name of the project

Country

Type of project

Date of injection

Rate of injection

Sleipner

Norway

Commercial

1996

3000 t/d

Snøhvit

Norway

Commercial

2006

2000 t/d

Gorgon

Australia

Commercial

2009

10,000 t/d

Type of store Saline Aquifiers Saline Aquifiers Saline Aquifiers

Table (6-5): The most important geological stores of CO2 Below is some information on these projects. (1) Sleipner project to store CO2 in Norway: Statoil Company is producing natural gas from the western Sleipner field in the North Sea in the region opposite to the Norwegian coast. The produced natural gas contains 9% carbon dioxide which must be reduced before selling to 2.5% which are the maximum ratio accepted by the client. Since the Norwegian government imposed in 1996 a tax of $50 against every ton of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere, the company thought of collecting the separated CO2 and injecting it in the deep saline aquifers present under the North Sea field which is called geological Utsira formation.

Figure (6-7): Sleipner project to store carbon dioxide. The width of Sleipner field is around 200m, and is located at a depth of 1000m under sea level. The implemented studies and seismic experiments showed that the low density of carbon dioxide in comparison to water will make it rise up as bubbles an accumulate under the non-permeable rock layer, but it will start to dissolve later.

137

The implemented calculations showed that 18% of the injected quantity of CO2 will dissolve in the saline aquifers layer and will go down during the age of the project which is about 20 years. The remaining quantity will dissolve completely within 5000 years, and will be captured forever and will never leak to the atmosphere again.

Figure (6-8): Storage of CO2 in the Saline Aquifer of Sleipner field. It is found that 99% of carbon dioxide storage in this field takes place by the dissolution storage and 1% by the mineral storage. It is interesting to note that studies have shown that the injection of carbon dioxide increases the solidity of the rock layer that covers the permeable layer, and decreases its porosity by 2.7%. This is due to the mineral deposits that occur on the rocks of this layer, due to the presence of carbon dioxide. The injection of carbon dioxide in this field started in 1996, and more than one million tons of the gas has been injected so far. It is intended to inject 20 more million tons of CO2 gas in this project. The storage capacity of this project is estimated to be about 600 billion tons of CO2, or in other words, it can contain the anthropogenic emissions of this gas for more than 20 years. This project, which is supported by the European Union, is under scrutiny, and has provided an opportunity for European researchers to observe and examine the prospects and expectations of the migration of carbon dioxide injected in the geological layer by seismic explorations. (2) Snøhvit carbon dioxide storage project in Norway: This project resembles Sleipner project. It takes carbon dioxide from the LNG project installed in the north Norway coast which was supposed to start working in 2007 and inject it in the Utsira geological structure of the North Sea. The project consists of a carbon dioxide-natural gas separating unit, 160 km pipeline to transport CO2 gas from the plant to the sea platform where the injection will take place. The injection 138

occurs at about 2500 m depth by a rate of 700,000 ton of CO2 yearly. This project is implemented by Statoil Company which has become a global experienced company in the field of CO2 gas storage, gained from the experience carried out by the Sleipner project in the North Sea.

b- Storing CO2 by the EOR and EGR methods:

The carbon dioxide storage projects by the enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and enhanced gas recovery (EGR) are much more than other carbon dioxide geological storage projects for a very simple reason that they are economically feasible in comparison to the other projects. The EOR projects were used in USA since the seventies, though the used CO2 gas is not captured from other projects, but produced specifically to these projects. In the last decade, especially after the legislation of Kyoto protocol, some countries have been moving towards the use of this method in order to get rid of the carbon dioxide emitted from some of their existing stationary sources, and at the same time increasing the productivity of their semi-depleted oil fields. The following table shows the most important projects of this type around the world. Name of project

Country

Type of project

Date of injection

Rate of injection

Type of store

Weyburn Salt Creek Permian Basin In Salah

Canada USA

Commercial Commercial Commercial

2000 2004

3-5000 t/d 5-6000 t/d

EOR EOR

1972

500 Mt

EOR

Commercial

2004

3-4000 t/d

EGR

USA Algeria

Table (6-6): CO2 storage projects around the world by EOR and EGR Here are brief descriptions of the most important projects of this type: (1) Weyburn field project for EOR in Canada: This is a producing oil field since 1954, but its productivity has decreased from 31000 bbl/day in 1963, to 9400 bbl/day in 1996. In October 2000, EnCana Company started to inject big quantities of carbon dioxide gas in Weyburn oil field to enhance the oil production by the EOR method. The injection of CO2 gas takes place by a rate of 5000 ton/day in about 1400 m depth by water exchange method. Carbon dioxide mixes with the crude oil to reduce its viscosity, and thus, increasing its flow to the surface by the pressure imposed by injected water. This action increased the production rate to 22000 bbl/d, offering the possibility to produce an additional 130 million barrels of crude oil which will lengthen the duration of the productivity of the field for a period of twenty-five years. 139

Carbon dioxide is provided for this purpose through a 320 kilometer long pipeline, starting from the gasification plant used for the production of methane gas from coal in the city of Beulah in North Dakota in the United States. The field contains 720 production wells, and one CO2 injection well was dug in the center of every eight wells productive area with a separation distance of 150 meters from each well. It is expected that about 20 million tons of carbon dioxide will be stored on a permanent basis during the life of the project, which extends to 25 years. The Weyburn CO2 strage project allows the Canadian government to reach a ratio of 5% required to reduce emissions of CO2 than the level reached in 1990 during the period 2008-2012 under the Kyoto Protocol.

Figure (6-9): The production of crude oil from Weyburn field in Canada by the EOR method. (2) In Salah project to produce natural gas by the EGR method: This is a project implemented by a joint venture of Sonatrach, BP, Statoil to produce natural gas from the middle of the Algerian desert. The project consists of seven production wells, and the produced natural gas contains 10% CO2, which requires the reduction of this ratio to 0.3%, which is the ratio accepted by the consumers, before pumping it to the countries of the European Union. Carbon dioxide is separated by the chemical absorption method using MEA solvent. Since 2004 the separated CO2 was reinjected through three injection wells which were dug specially to enhance the production of the natural gas by the EGR method. CO2 is injected at a depth of 1800 m in the 20 m width water layer located underneath the gas layer. It is expected to inject about 17 million tons of CO2 by a rate of about 1 million ton yearly during the lifetime of the project which could reach 20 years. The cost of the project is US$100 million, i.e. the cost of injection is about $6 per ton of CO2.

140

Figure (6-10): Sketch of the production of natural gas in In Salah filed by the EGR method. The geological predictions have shown that carbon dioxide will remain in the saline layer present under the natural gas layer during the lifetime of the project, and will move to the gas layer only after the field is depleted completely, i.e. after about 25 years.

Figure (6-11) Sketch of storing CO2 in In Salah gas field during the lifetime of the project. The following figure shows the quantities of carbon dioxide expected to be stored in different commercial & monitored storing projects until 2010.

141

Figure (6-12): Quantities of CO2 which are expected to be stored in different commercial storing projects until 2010.

c- Other carbon dioxide storing projects: In addition to the above storing projects, there are some researching projects which are erected in different parts of the world as pilot plants. The following table shows the names and locations of these projects. Name of Pilot Plant Country K12B Recopol CO2 SINK Pembina Fenn Big Valley CSEMP Teapot Dome Frio Pilot Qinshui Basin Otway Yubari Minami-Nagoaka

Storing capacity

Type of storing

Holland Polland Germany Canada Canada Canada

0.1 Mt/y 1000 t 60,000 t -

USA USA China Australia Japan Japan

3000 t/ (2005-2006) 50,000 t/y 10400 t/ (2004-2005)

EGR ECBM Deep saline Storing EOR ECBM ECBM EOR Deep saline Storing ECBM EOR ECBM Deep saline Storing

-

Table (6-7): Worldwide CO2 researching storing projects.

6-5 CO2 Storing Projects in the Arab Countries: There are only few capturing & storing carbon dioxide projects in the Arab countries, and here are some of the most important projects:

a- Carbon dioxide capturing projects in the Arab countries: Only two carbon dioxide capturing projects are available now in the Arab countries, these are: 142

(1) United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi: Mitsubishi signed in April 2006 a contract with Ruwais Fertilizer Industries (FERTIL) in UAE to authorize it to build carbon dioxide capturing plant which works by the MHI technology, in its fertilization factory. The factory is located about 250 km west of the city of Abu Dhabi, and was built in 1980 by a contract between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and French oil and gas integrated company. The capacity of the capturing plant will be 450 ton/day, and the captured CO2 will be used to produce urea in the same factory. This plant is expected to complete in 2010. (2) Bahrain: Mitsubishi signed in October 2007 a contract with Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) to build CO2 capturing plant which works by the MHI technology, in its fertilization factory. (GPIC) was established in 1979 according to a deal between Bahrain and Saudi Cooperation Company for Basic Industries and collaboration of Kuwait Petrochemical Industries Company. The capacity of the new capturing plant is 450 ton/day, and is expected to complete in 2010. The capturing gas will be used to produce urea in the same factory.

b- Carbon dioxide storing projects in the Arab Countries: There is no working carbon dioxide storing project in the Arab countries now except In Salah natural gas project in the Algerian desert. But, some Arab countries are interested to establish such projects, and feasibility studies are being conducted now. Here are some of the planned projects. (1) Masdar Initiative: Abu Dhabi initiated in 2006 an international campaign called Masdar Initiative which aimed to use energy in a developed way by focusing on the use of sustainable energy and clean technologies. 15 billion dollars are allocated to be invested in projects included in this initiative which will guarantee the reduction of CO2 emissions from the emirate. To reach this task, it is planned to reduce CO2 gas emissions in Abu Dhabi by a ratio of 40 – 50% by through budding CO2 capturing projects from its sources in the emirate. The captured gas will be used through the EOR method to increase the crude oil production by 10%. The initiative focuses to take advantage of the privileges of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) afforded by the Kyoto Protocol by attracting the investments of the major industrialized countries in these projects. In February 2007, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC) called Foster Wheeler, Technip, Parsons, SNCLavalin, and Jacobs Engineering companies to submit their offers to conduct the feasibility study of this project. The study includes the identification of onshore and offshore projects that can be exploited to capture CO2 gas, and means of delivery of gas into the fields where it will be injected for crude oil and natural gas extraction. Following the implementation of these projects, this initiative will be expanded to 143

cover all the other emirates of the UAE. During the International Summit of Future Energy held in Abu Dhabi in 2008 and within Masdar Initiative, a contract was signed with Hydrogen Energy in collaboration with BP Company for Alternative Energy and Rio Tinto Company for the implementation of a joint venture in Abu Dhabi to produce hydrogen from natural gas which will be used to generate electric power, as well as, capturing & storing carbon dioxide gas produced from this project. The project aims to produce low carbon energy. On the other hand, the captured CO2 will be pumped to be injected in one of the near oil fields to enhance the production of crude oil by the EOR method instead of injecting natural gas. The injected CO2 will increase the oil production of Abu Dhabi Emirate. This project will capture & store about 90% (1.7 Mt/year) of the carbon dioxide produced from the projects, or in other words, nearly equivalent to CO2 emissions from the transportation sector in Abu Dhabi. The project will cost 45 Million dollars, and is expected to complete at the end of 2008. (2) Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is planning to focus on cutting harmful CO2 emissions resulting from the use of fossil fuels, rather than reducing their consumption, as part of the global effort which aims to curb the changes in climate. During the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change, and the meeting of parties to the Kyoto Protocol held in Bali, Indonesia on 2007 in the presence of representatives from 130 countries to discuss the replacement of Kyoto Protocol which will expire by in 2012, The Saudi oil minister told that the Kingdom has commissioned $750 million for the development of studies looking at the possibility of building projects to reduce emissions of CO2. The plans include projects to capture CO2 from its sources in the kingdom, and be injected in the fields of crude oil almost depleted, which would increase the Kingdom's oil production between 10-15%, the minister said. This effort will be contributed also from Kuwait, Qatar, and UAE. The Saudi minister said that the allocations could be increased by another 3 billion dollars at the entry of the implementation stage. This initiative is part of a campaign by Saudi Arabia aims to the introduction of clean technologies, instead of limiting the production and consumption of crude oil. Saudi Arabia, the first country in the production of crude oil in the world, whose economy relies heavily on revenues from oil export, has expressed concern that crude oil has become a victim of selective environmental policy, which calls for a reduction in global consumption of oil. In response to the implementation of environmental projects focusing on the introduction of clean technologies, Saudi Arabia has been called to develop the best solution to accomplish economic development without harming the environment. 144

Chapter Seven Economic Feasibility of CO2 Capturing & Storing Projects 7-1 Introduction: The main constituents of carbon dioxide capturing & storing are Capturing (including compression), Transportation, and Storing (including monitoring & verification). Although, all these constituents are available and implemented commercially, but, there is no single integrated project that contains all of them at the same time. Therefore, there is not enough economic experience that enables evaluating the costs of integrated carbon dioxide capturing and storing projects in case they are implemented in the future. The available economic information varies from one project to another because they depend on several factors. In general, the costs of CO2 capturing & storing projects depend on the following factors: ™ Type of CO2 stationary source which the gas is captured from. ™ Type of capturing technology used. ™ Method of transporting the captured gas, and the distance of transportation. ™ Type of CO2 storing. ™ Crude oil prices. The future predictions about the costs of carbon dioxide capturing & storing projects vary sharply, and are subject to large level of uncertainty. But, it is agreed that their costs will decrease in the future as long as their numbers are increased and their technologies are developed.

7-2 Costs of Capturing CO2 from Stationary Sources: The cost of capturing carbon dioxide from the stationary sources as well as its compression & pumping represents the main cost of any CO2 capturing & storing project. The main part of this cost goes in providing the necessary energy needed in this technology. Generally, the cost of carbon dioxide capturing process from any stationary source depends on the following factors: ™ Type of stationary source and type of the operation. ™ Type of fossil fuel used to produce the energy in this source. 145

™ The age of the stationary source. ™ Capital cost of the project. ™ Operating & maintenance cost of the project. ™ Type of capturing technology used and the design of the unit. ™ The need for CO2 gas compression and booster compressors to maintain the pressure in the transporting pipeline.

a- Costs of capturing CO2 gas from power stations:

Carbon dioxide capturing units are available commercially in many power stations, but most of them do not work for the aim of storing the gas but for other purposes. As mentioned previously, there are three types of power stations, Pulverized coal-fired steam cycle (PC), Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC), and Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). The concentration of CO2 in the flue gas produced varies from one type to another, and it equals to 14% for (PC), 4% for (NGCC), and 7% for (IGCC) power stations. To evaluate the cost of CO2 capturing operation in these power stations they must be compared with similar stations but without capturing units called reference plant. The age of the station has a big impact on the cost of CO2 capturing operation, and in order to reach a reliable comparison to estimate the cost of CO2 capturing we will assume that all the considered stations are new. It is very important to take into account the difference between the quantities of Avoided CO2 gas and the Captured CO2. Since the capturing operation consumes energy and therefore increases the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from the station to the air. Therefore, the captured quantity of CO2 shall be more than the original quantity which was needed to be avoided, as shown in Figure (1-7) below (99).

Figure (7-1): The difference between CO2 avoided and CO2 captured.

146

It is possible to calculate the cost of capturing avoided CO2 from the following formula: Cost of CO2 avoided ($/t) =

($/MWh) after – ($/MWh) before (ton CO2/MWh) before – (ton CO2/MWh) after

Where (before) refers to power station without CO2 capturing unit and (after) to station with CO2 capturing unit. To calculate the cost of the captured gas then {(ton CO2/MWh) captured} must be introduced instead of {(ton CO2/MWh) after}. The capturing operation decreases the amount of produced power because a significant part of it is consumed in this operation, which means that the plant efficiency decreases when a CO2 capturing unit is introduced to the station. The decrease in the produced power when a capturing unit is built called Energy Penalty, and is defined as "The percentage ratio of the decrease in the produced power when capturing operation is performed, compared to the power produced when no capturing operation takes place provided that the same amount of fuel is consumed". The following table shows the Energy Penalty for different types of power stations when CO2 capturing units are introduced to them (104) . Type of Power Plant PC NGCC IGCC

Energy Penalty (%) 25 13 15

Table (7-1): Energy Penalty for different types of power plants when CO2 capturing units are introduced. When it is desired to maintain the power production in the same level then more fuel must be consumed to compensate the decrease in the power production. The efficiency of CO2 separation in the capturing units is between 85-90%, and the following table and picture show the quantities of carbon dioxide emitted in USA in some power stations per unit power produced, as well as the decrease in power cost when capturing unit are added to these plants(105) .

147

Type of Power Plant PC NGCC IGCC

Qty. of CO2 produced without capturing Unit (t/MWh) 0.810 0.374 0.818

Qty. of CO2 produced with capturing Unit (t/MWh) 0.107 0.440 0.890

amount of CO2 gas decreased (t/MWh) 0.703 0.330 0.729

ratio of decrease 86.8 % 88.2 % 89.1 %

Table (7-2): Quantity of CO2 produced from different types of power stations.

Figure (7-2): The decrease in CO2 emissions from different types of power plants when capturing operation is performed. It can be seen from the above figure that the greatest decrease in carbon dioxide emissions when capturing operation is performed, takes place in PC power plant and this is due to the high percentage of CO2 gas in the flue gas produced from such plants. This same factor makes the decrease in CO2 emissions the smallest when compared with the other types. When the amounts of power consumed in the capturing operations are calculated we get the following figures (105). Type of Power Plant PC NGCC

amount of CO2 gas decreased (t/MWh) 0.703 0.330

Amount of power consumed in CO2 capturing (MWh/t) 1.4 3.0

IGCC

0.729

1.3

Table (7-3): Energy consumed in capturing operations in different types of power plants. 148

It is clear from these results that the NGCC power stations are the highest fuel consumers with regard to carbon dioxide capturing operation. This is due to the low concentration of CO2 in the flue gas produced from such stations, which normally does not exceed 4%. The inserting of CO2 capturing units to the power plants will increase the Cost of Electricity (COE) produced from these plants because of the increase in energy consumption. The ratio of this increase will depend on the type of the power plant and its production capacity. The ratio usually lies between 10-40%, and it increases to reach 30-60% when it is succeeded by transporting and storing the captured gas. The following table and figure show the electricity unit price in USA in the year 2002 in different types of power stations, and the changes in the prices when CO2 capturing units are inserted in these plants (105). Cost Type of Plan Without CO2 Capturing Unit With CO2 Capturing Unit Increase in Cost

($/MWh COE)* PC 46 72

NGCC 43 59

IGCC 49 63

26

16

14

* Mean Average Costs

Figure (7-4): The cost of electricity produced in USA in 2002, and the changes in these costs when CO2 capturing units are inserted.

Figure (7-3): The increase in the electricity costs when CO2 capturing units are inserted to different power plants in USA in 2002.

149

The reason of the small increase in the electricity cost of the IGCC plants when CO2 capturing units are introduced compared to other types is due to low volumes of gases produced from such plants. When the above information are used to calculate the cost of capturing one metric ton of CO2 from these plants we will get the following results (105): Type of Plant PC NGCC IGCC * Mean Average

CO2 Capturing Cost ($/t)* 38 49 20

Table (7-5): Cost of capturing CO2 from different power plants.

Figure (7-4): The cost of capturing CO2 from different power plants. It is observed from these results that the NGCC power plant has the highest capturing cost, and this is certainly due to the high consumption of energy needed for capturing in comparison to the other stations. In general, it is possible to conclude that the cost of capturing carbon dioxide in USA is between $20 -50/t. It must be remembered also that the absence of practical experience in big CO2 capturing systems makes the above conclusion of a big uncertainty, and if the same calculation is made in different countries then different results might be obtained, especially when the reference plant is not similar to the examined plant. It must be mentioned also that the above calculations are related to the avoided CO2, and if the cost of CO2 captured is to be calculated then the extra emitted gas must be taken into consideration, and this shows the complexity of such calculations. Finally, the above calculated costs include the cost of CO2 compression to a pressure between 80-120 bar to put it in the ultra critical phase. 150

b- Cost of capturing CO2 from the industrial sources:

In addition to the power stations, the capturing methods are also applied in some industrial sources of carbon dioxide gas like the oil refineries, gas treatment plants, cement factories, iron & steel factories…etc. The sites use mostly the post-combustion method to capture CO2 gas using amines by the chemical absorption. There are also some attempts to use the pre-combustion method in some industrial sites like the iron plants. This technology is successful and efficient, and it can use the waste heat of the plant. The cost of capturing CO2 gas from the industrial sources depends on the concentration of the gas in the flue gases. The following table shows the ratios of CO2 in the flue gases of some of the industrial sites as well as the average cost of capturing (106). Type of the industrial site Cement Factories Iron & Steel Plants Ammonia plants (CO2 in the flue gases) Ammonia Plants (CO2 from the reaction) Oil Refineries Hydrogen Plants (CO2 in the flue gas) Hydrogen Plants (CO2 from the reaction) Petrochemical Plants

Conc. of CO2 in the flue gas 15 - 25 % 15 - 20 % 8%

Average cost of capturing CO2 ($/t) 37 38 47

Pure Stream

-

3 - 18 % 8%

38 - 55 47

Pure Stream

-

8 - 13 %

42 - 47

Table (7-6): Concenetration of CO2 in the flue gases of some of the industrial sites. As expected, it can be easily observed that the cost increases as the concentration of CO2 in the flue gas decreases. The average cost of capturing carbon dioxide from the industrial sources can be estimated to be around $37-55/t, which is a bit higher than the cost of capturing the gas in the power station, which is around $20-50/t. Since the emissions of CO2 gas from the power stations (which are about 40% of the total emissions) are higher than the emissions from the industrial sources (which do not exceed 17%), therefore, the cost of capturing CO2 gas from the anthropogenic stationary sources may be considered, for the calculation purposes, to be around $25-50/t (with an average of $37.5/t).

7-3 Cost of Carbon Dioxide Transportation: It is possible to transport carbon dioxide gas from the capturing sites to the utilization or storing places by pipelines or by marine vessels. Although the transportation of CO2 by trucks is principally possible, but 151

in fact, it is not feasible to transport by this way due to the huge quantities of the gas which are needed to be transported. In general, the cost of transportation CO2 gas depends on: ™ The distance between the source and the utilization or storing place. ™ The volume of the transported gas. ™ The availability of the infrastructure needed for the transportation. The cost of transporting carbon dioxide gas by pipelines is estimated to be around $1-5 /t (or an average of $3 /t) for a distance of not more than 100 km. The cost of transportation increases as the distances increase, as shown in Figure (7-5) below (107) .

Figure (7-5): The relation between the cost of CO2 transportation and the distances. On the other hand, the cost of CO2 transportation decreases as the annual quantities of the transported gas increase, i.e. with increasing the capacity of the pipeline, as shown in Figure (7-6) (99).

152

Figure (7-6): The relation between the cost of CO2 transportation and the transportation capacity of the onshore & offshore pipelines. The cost of transporting carbon dioxide gas by marine vessels also depends on the distances and the volumes of the transported gas. In general, the cost of marine transportation of CO2 gas is around $5 /t for a distance not more than 250 km, and $15 /t for a distance more than 1250 km(99), which is nearly equal to the cost of transportation by pipelines as shown in Figure (7-6) above. This means that the costs of transportation by pipelines and marine vessels reach the same level as the distance increase.

7-4 Cost of Carbon Dioxide Storage: The purpose of carbon dioxide storage is to put the gas in a place where it can be kept safely for a long time without any possibility of re-emission to the atmosphere again. The cost of this operation depends on the type of storage as shown below:

a- Cost of Geological storage: The cost of this type of storage depends on the following factors: (1) Type of geological store. (2) Characters of the store. (3) The method of storing. (4) The depth of storing. (5) The place of storing. The technologies used in geological storage resemble to a big extent the technologies used in oil and gas production. This makes the cost estimation of carbon dioxide storage by this type somewhat easier and more realistic than the other methods of storage. The following table 153

shows costs estimations of different geological storing methods of carbon dioxide including the cost of monitoring and verifications(106). Type of Geological Storage Land Saline Aquifer Marine Saline Aquifer Land Depleted Gas Fields Marine Depleted Gas Fields Land Depleted Oil Fields Marine Depleted Oil Fields

Storing Costs ($/t) 1000 m Depth 2000 m Depth 3000 m Depth 2.5 3.6 7.9 6.0 9.8 15.3 1.5 2.1 4.8 4.8 7.5 10.3 1.5 2.1 4.8 4.8 7.5 10.3

Table (7-7): Costs of geological storage of carbon dioxide. It can be seen from the above table that the cost of geological storage of CO2 gas in 2000 m depth is in the range of $2-10 /t (or of an average of $6 /t). On the other hand, the costs of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), enhanced gas recovery (EGR), and enhanced coal bed methane production (ECBM) go in the opposite direction, i.e. it makes the storage of carbon dioxide profitable rather than being a costly operation. The profitability of these methods varies according to the prices of crude oil and natural gas. Before the year 2003, when the oil prices were less than $20 /bbl, the profitability of storing CO2 gas by the above methods was around $20-16 /t(99). Presently (2007/2008), after the oil prices have reached about $90 /bbl, the average profit gained from the enhanced production methods is estimated to be $55 /t(99).

b- Cost of ocean storage: The cost of ocean storage of carbon dioxide depends mainly on the distance between the storing region and the shore, as well as the storage depth. The cost is composed of two basic constituents, the cost of marine transportation and the cost of gas injection. As mentioned previously, there are several methods of storing CO2 gas in the oceans, the following table shows the costs of these methods(99). Type of ocean storage By a pipeline extending from the shore to the depth of the sea By transporting the gas by ships and then injecting it by a tube suspended from a platform to the depth of the sea By transporting the gas by ships and then injecting it by a tube suspended from a ship to the depth of the sea

Cost ($/t CO2) 6 - 31 12 - 16 10 - 14

Table (7-8): The costs of ocean storages of carbon dioxide.

154

Therefore, the cost of ocean storage of carbon dioxide is in the range of $6-30 /t (or of an average of $18 /t), which includes the cost of sea transporting of the gas from the shore to a distance of 100-500 km as well as the cost if injection in the depth of the sea.

c- The cost of mineral storage: This method is still under development, and it has not been used commercially yet. Therefore, its cost estimation is still uncertain, but in general, the cost of mineral storage is estimated to be $50-100 /t. This high value is contributed to the high consumption of energy needed for the reaction, an operation that itself emits carbon dioxide which must be captured. The cost of this type of storage is relatively high when compared with the other types of storage, and it must be reduced at least by third of its value in order to be feasible(99).

7-5 The Gross Cost of Capturing, Transporting and Storing of Carbon Dioxide: In light of what is given above, it can be assigned to the capturing, transporting and storing of carbon dioxide emitted from anthropogenic sources of pollutants through the results set forth in the following table. •

• • ™

• ™

• ™

Activity Capturing Carbon dioxide emitted from the anthropogenic sources. Transporting by pipelines for a distance of 100 km or less. Geological Storage. Total Cost of capturing, transporting and storing carbon dioxide by the geological storage. Storing by EOR mehod. Total cost of capturing, transporting and storing carbon dioxide by the EOR method Ocean Storage Total cost of capturing, transporting and storing of carbon dioxide by the ocean storage

Average Cost $37.5 /t $3 /t $6 /t $46.5 /t – $55 /t – $14.5 /t $18 /t $58.5 /t

Table (7-9): The average costs of capturing, transporting & storing of carbon dioxide gas by three different storage methods. It is easy to observe from the above table that the highest cost of capturing, transporting and storing of carbon dioxide occurs when the method of ocean storage is used, and this may justify why this method still under development and has not used commercially yet. The next method in the cost rank is the geological storage, which is applied now in 155

Sleipner project in Norway. Finally, we find the capturing, transporting and storing of carbon dioxide gas by the EOR method is profitable rather than being costly because a profit of $14.5 /t is gained from using this method, and this explains why this method is spreading widely in all parts of the world. The geological storage and the EOR methods are the most likely methods to use in the commercial-scale within the foreseeable future. If we presume that both of these methods shall be used equally, then the average cost of them will be $16 /t. The total emissions of carbon dioxide gas from the anthropogenic sources were in 2006 around 8.1 BtC (29.7 BtCO2e). It was seen in chapter three that to stop the effect of carbon dioxide on the climate change, it is needed to find a solution for around 4 BtC (14.8 BtCO2e) of this gas annually which the natural stores can’t contain, i.e. about all the emissions from the stationary sources. If we assume that all of these quantities will be captured and stored by the geological and EOR methods, then Man has to spend 236.8 billion US dollars yearly. If we want to have an idea of the costs to be borne by some of the most CO2 gas emitting countries in the world which are listed in Table (2-15) above, and which are capable to apply both the geological storage and EOR methods in their territories, then we get the following results: Country USA China Russia Canad UK The rest of the world World total

5.9 5.1 1.7 0.59 0.58

Total CO2 emissions from anthropogenic sources (BtCO2) 2.95 2.55 0.85 0.3 0.29

Cost of capturing & storing of CO2 by CCS (B$) 47.2 40.8 13.6 4.8 4.6

2.9

10.7

5.45

122.8

7.9

28.99

14.8

236.8

Total CO2 emissions (BtC)

Total CO2 emissions (BtCO2)

1.6 1.4 0.46 0.17 0.16

Table (7-10): The costs of capturing & storing CO2 gas emitted from the stationary sources in some of the industrial countries in 2005. It is clear from these results how big the cost of capturing and storing of carbon dioxide gas emitted from the stationary sources in these countries, which are also expected to increase steadily in the coming years. It is obvious that the level of these costs and the absence of the economic feasibility will not encourage these countries to do such operations unless international measures are taken to support these efforts.

156

7-6 The Economic Feasibility of the Methods of Capturing and Storing CO2 Gas: It is clear from the previous sections that the high costs of carbon dioxide capturing & storing methods obstacle to the spread of these projects at the present time, and that all the existing projects have been established for economic purposes rather than environmental ones. The main truth which might be concluded from the previous experiences in this field is that; "Man would not establish CO2 capturing & storing projects now or in the future, unless an economic feasibility of these projects exists, or an economic pressure pushes toward this establishment". This fact is the only indication that can give the impression of the extent to which such projects can be deployed in the future. In general, the economic feasibility of the projects of capturing & storing carbon dioxide is directly related to the following factors:

a- The impact of CO2 capturing & storing costs:

Most of the existing CO2 capturing projects worldwide were established only due to the need for the captured gas in other industries. It was found practically that the cost of capturing carbon dioxide from the flue gases of the power stations or from the fertilization factories is cheaper than manufacturing the gas by a chemical industry, and in fact, this was the main reason behind building capturing units in these sites. As for CO2 storage projects, the Norwegian experience has shown that the presence of high taxes on carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere has in fact pushed the operating companies to look for economic alternatives less costly to get rid of the burden of these taxes. If the cost of CO2 capturing & storing projects were not economic, on the one hand, and if the EU did not support this experience, on the other hand, then the companies would not have taken to set up such projects. Similarly, the use of the American and Canadian companies of the method of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to produce crude oil by injecting carbon dioxide gas in the oil fields would not have happened if this were not the best way of production than using water or natural gas injection for this purpose. Even in the In Salah project in Algeria, the natural gas producing company was forced to separate CO2 gas from natural gas prior to its marketing because of its high ratio in the produced natural gas. The company decided latterly to use the separated CO2 gas to increase the productivity of the field by the EGR method. Consequently, this helped in getting rid of the huge quantities of carbon dioxide. Whatever the real reason behind building CO2 capturing & storing projects in the past was, the result in all cases is in the interest of the environment because they reduce the emissions of this gas to the atmosphere, in one way or another. 157

b- The impact of CO2 price in the global gas trading market:

It was shown in the previous sections that the total cost of capturing, transporting & storing carbon dioxide by the geological storage is around 46.5 $/t. The best example of this kind of projects is Sleipner project in Norway, which is performed by Statoil Company after the Norwegian government imposed a tax of $50 /t for carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere. Due to some special conditions, the cost of CO2 capturing & storing in this project is around $31 /t (16). Its economic feasibility is considered excellent and encouraging at this cost of gas CO2 capturing & storing. The price of carbon dioxide gas in the global stock trading within the mechanism of Emission Trading is currently (2007/2008) about $35 /t (€25 /t)(108). Although, there are high expectations for this price to rise in the future, as announced by Mr. Al Gore - former U.S. vice-president on 10-12-2007, it is still considered less than the limit under which CO2 capturing & geological storing projects become economically feasible. The remaining of carbon dioxide price at this level during the commitment period of Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012), will push most of the industrial countries to buy CO2 low emission shares of the developing countries, rather than implementing projects to capture and store this gas in their own territories. It is possible for a $32 /t price to become economically feasible in some places and conditions. But, to achieve economic feasibility for all similar projects throughout the world, now or in the future, the global price of CO2 gas must not be less than $50 /t, i.e. equal to the tax imposed by Norway Government for the emission of CO2 gas to the atmosphere. Moreover, the Governments of all countries, whether industrial or developing, should follow Norway's example in imposing a local tax of not less than $50 /t on CO2 gas emission to the atmosphere. This action will force the operating companies to set up projects to capture and store this gas at the existing sites of emissions, and also in any new CO2 emitting project.

c- The impact of crude oil price: The price of crude oil affects various aspects of carbon dioxide capturing and storing projects, but its impact appears clear on projects of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), enhanced gas recovery (EGR), and enhanced coal bed methane production (ECBM). These projects are of significant economic feasibility, so we find them prevalent in some regions of the world, especially in USA, despite the fact that the used carbon dioxide is not captured from its emission sources, but is being produced specifically for this purpose. The economic feasibility of these projects depends often on the prices of crude oil and natural gas. Within

158

the current price of crude oil (2007/2008), which is about $90 /bbl, the profit accruing from the storage of carbon dioxide by the EOR method is around $55 /t(99). If such projects for capturing and storing CO2 are adopted, then the overall profitability would be of an average of $14.5 /t, which makes the economic feasibility of these projects good, especially in the case of the adoption of a global trading price of carbon dioxide gas of not less than $50 /t. Therefore, it is expected that these kinds of projects will be promoted in the future, especially since there are a lot of oil and gas fields which are almost depleted, and which can be used with these methods for the production of their remaining stockpiles. Some environmentalists think that these methods are not means of reducing CO2 gas emissions into the atmosphere, because the combustion of the produced crude oil and natural gas will emit three times the amount of injected CO2 gas. The best reply to these postulations is that; Man will produce these crudes anyway, especially when their prices will rise in the future as expected. This means that the quantities of CO2 gas resulted from the combustion of these crudes shall be emitted into the air anyway. Therefore, the use of CO2 injection for the production of crude oil and natural gas is better than using other means of production.

7-7 The Adoption of CO2 Capturing and Storing Projects within the Clean Development Mechanism: a- The clean development mechanism (CDM): It is a system established under Kyoto Protocol which allows the industrialized countries (Annex I countries) which have commitments to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases to invest in projects that reduce emissions from developing countries as an alternative to reduce emissions in their own countries. The establishment of such projects could allows the industrial countries to reduce the same amount of emissions required to be reduced, but at a lower cost than if the same projects are set up in their countries. The aim of the clean development mechanism is to achieve sustainable development in the developing countries economically, socially and environmentally. It will help in providing cleaner air, cleaner water, better use of land, and to achieve social benefits such as rural development, employment, poverty alleviation, and decreasing reliance on fossil fuels …etc. Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a mechanism of voluntary flexible agreement between an industrial and a developing country to establish a particular project which meets the specifications given to the most important contribution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in a developing country. This reduction in emissions is calculated in favor of 159

the industrial country total reduction, i.e. it will increase its quota under the Kyoto Protocol. In order to adopt any CDM project, there are certain criteria which must be available, including: (1) The joint desire by the parties concerned. (2) That the projects in question are real and actually reduce the emissions of the green house gases such as CO2, and it should be a measurable reduction, long-term, has a direct relationship with the reduction of climate change. (3) That the reductions in emissions are additional to any reduction that would occur in the absence of the certified project activity. Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is supervised by an Executive Board (EB) which acts as an agent of the Parties to the Convention, and is composed of ten members representing different regions of the world. This mechanism has been entered into the actual implementation in May 2005. Hundreds of projects are now under implementation within this mechanism, four of them are already implemented or in the process of evaluation in the Arab countries like Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Qatar.

b- The inclusion of CO2 capturing & storing (CCS) projects into the clean development mechanism (CDM): The issue of the inclusion of CO2 capturing & storing (CCS) projects into the clean development mechanism (CDM) was suggested for the first time during the first conference of parties (COP1) of the United Nations Frame Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was held in Montréal/Canada in December 2005. This conference acted at that same time as a conference of parties of Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP1). The conference decided in a timely manner the followings: (1) Organizing a workshop in May 2006 to discuss this subject. (2) Requesting the parties of Kyoto Protocol to submit their views and suggestions on the topic of the inclusion of CO2 capturing & storing (CCS) projects in the clean development mechanism (CDM), in particular with regard to the borders, leakage, and permanence. (3) Asking the executive board (EB) of the clean development mechanism to put and adopt suggestions concerning the new implemented methods of CO2 capturing & storing technologies. (4) To submit these proposals during the next conference to reach a decision in this regard. Indeed, most of the parties submitted their proposals on the topic of covering CO2 capturing & storing projects into the Clean Development Mechanism, which was much in favor of such an approach, despite the reservation of a considerable number of members toward this issue. In the 160

light of what happened, a number of proposals were submitted to the second meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP2), held in Nairobi in December 2006, but the conference decided at the time that this topic still needs further study before reaching a decision on the adoption of the (CCS) projects under the (CDM). The conference requested the executive board (EB) to proceed to hear the views of other parties to the protocol, and further develop the proposals and recommendations on this issue and submit them in September 2007, to put them on the agenda of the next conference of parties. The third meeting of parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP3) was held in December 2007, in Bali in Indonesia. The conference discussed again the inclusion of CO2 capturing and storing projects amid a sharp divide between countries that support the inclusion of these projects within the clean development mechanism, especially the oil producing countries, and the preservative countries which called for further study of this topic. It was decided eventually to conduct further studies, and to postpone taking a decision in this regard to the next meeting to be held in late 2008. The coverage of the CO2 capturing and storing projects under the clean development mechanism faces significant challenges because of the specialty of this kind of project. These projects usually include large areas starting from the capturing region, passing through the regions in which the gas is transferred, and ending in the storage site, which in turn could also be extended to large areas and may exceed the borders of the country in which the project will be implemented. The occurrence of a sudden leak problem in any part of the project has serious consequences, as it means the emission of huge quantities of this gas in the form of clouds near the earth's surface which would threaten all forms of life living within the area of leakage and cause immediate suffocation and death. Therefore, such projects require constant monitoring and verification which may extend to tens of years, and perhaps even longer than that, by specialized agencies which the developing countries may lack. This matter can never be left, however, under the control of non-specialist parties. Therefore, it is necessary to examine this issue deeply before giving the green light to the inclusion of CO2 capturing and storing projects in this mechanism. Such projects already suffered from many problems and fraud in the past through the overstatement of the level of reductions in emissions and overestimate of the cost of projects implemented under this mechanism. Within this orientation, it is essential to note the following points related to CO2 capturing and storing projects: (1) The specifications of the project. (2) The regional and international boundaries, especially with regard to the stores. 161

(3) (4) (5) (6)

The captured and avoided carbon dioxide quantities. Carbon dioxide transporting pipes monitoring responsibility. The leakage treatment occurring in the transporting pipes. The regulations implemented in choosing the store, and its appropriation to store carbon dioxide gas. (7) The impacts of the project on international groundwater. (8) The monitoring & verification methods. (9) The long term monitoring & verification responsibility. (10) The operation of the store. (11) The long term store management. (12) The long term leakage risks and their levels. (13) The paths of the possible leakages from the store. (14) The available methods to treat any occurring leakage from the store. (15) The environmental issues of the projects.

c- The impact of the inclusion of CO2 capturing & storing projects into the clean development mechanism: Although the inclusion of CO2 capturing & storing projects into the clean development mechanism is not decided yet, and in spite of the extreme caution in the possible adoption of such projects within this mechanism, the achievement of this goal will eventually bring many positive benefits for the investor and the hosting country, especially with regard to the enhanced recovery projects, such as: (1) Most of the crude oil and natural gas producers are developing countries, and the implementation of enhanced recovery projects within their territories will provide economic benefit, and at the same time will get rid of large amounts of CO2 gas. (2) The presence of many depleted crude oil and natural gas fields, which can be used as almost ready CO2 stores. (3) The presence of many deep saline aquifer reservoirs that could be used for the storage of carbon dioxide in the territory of developing countries, especially the oil countries. (4) Many of the oil-producing countries, has substantial financial reserves, enabling them to manage such a project and the provision of appropriate specialized crews to work in them. (5) Low construction costs and the availability of cheap labor.

d- The contributions of Arab States in the development of clean development mechanism: The Arab countries, especially the oil countries, are interested in the clean development mechanism as one of the means available to solve the problem of climate change facing the world. This concern has been 162

evident through the holding of conferences and initiatives designed to promote projects within this mechanism to make the Arab environmentally clean. The following are some of the pursuits done by some Arab countries in this direction: (1) First International Conference for Clean Development Mechanism: This conference was held in Riyadh - Saudi Arabia during the period 19-21 September, 2006. It was organized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia. The conference aims to publicize the (CDM) and examine the possibility of the implementation of projects under its umbrella in the country, especially CO2 capturing and storing projects. The conference held an open dialogue through a round table between the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the European Union (EU). This dialogue focused on the possibility of the exploitation of CO2 capturing & storing projects as one of the means available to fight climate change. (2) The symposium of clean development mechanism: This symposium was held in Manama – Bahrain on 9 April, 2007, by the National Authority for the oil and gas in Bahrain. This symposium aims to attract foreign direct investment in the Kingdom of Bahrain through this mechanism. (3) World Summit for Future Energy: Within the Masdar Clean Development initiative adopted by the United Arab Emirates, was held the World Summit on the future of energy in Abu Dhabi on 21 January, 2008. The aim of the summit was to explore clean energy sources available in the future and their development and commercialization, as well as to strengthen cooperation with international investors in different areas. There has been an important aspect of discussions at the summit concerning the CDM projects including carbon management projects.

7-8 The Future of CO2 Capturing & Storing Projects: a- The future role of the of CO2 capturing & storing projects in the reduction of the gas ratio in the atmosphere: So far, no clear and agreed imagination has appeared to the future role of CO2 capturing & storing (CCS) technologies in reducing the proportion of this gas in the atmosphere. However, the projects of capturing & storing carbon dioxide are expected to play an important role in reducing its ratio in the air during the present century if applied in scientific and deliberated ways. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that CO2 capturing & storing technologies can 163

contribute to reduce the rate of emissions of this gas to the atmosphere in the 21st century by a ratio between 15-55%. However, these projects face significant and serious obstacles, as well as many economic and technical problems. The most important problem facing this industry is the high cost of capturing and storing carbon dioxide operations. Therefore, the spread of these technologies is directly linked to the future price of carbon dioxide in the global trading markets. Based on the rate of CO2 gas in the global trading market, four possible scenarios have been developed to imagine the possible extent of the deployment of these projects around the world, and the quantities that can be withdrawn from the carbon dioxide emitting from its sources. The following figure shows these possible scenarios which were put according to ($100, $50, $25 and $10) prices of a metric ton of CO2 (109).

Figure (7-7): Four possible scenarios for the deployment of CO2 capturing & storing project up to the year 2050. It is clear from the above figure that the spreading of CO2 capturing & storing projects in the world will increase as the price of CO2 gas in the global trading markets is increased, and this is obviously normal due to the increase of the incentives derived from such projects. It is also noted that the beginning of a significant deployment of CCS projects will begin approximately in mid of next decade (2015), and this is also expected because the levels of energy demand will increase sharply in that time. The IPCC has developed several scenarios of what is expected to be the carbon dioxide gas emissions during the present century (without human intervention to reduce them), which was previously shown in Figure (2164

33) in Chapter Two. Table (7-11) below shows the quantities of CO2 which will be emitted to the atmosphere in 2050 and 2100 under these scenarios (94,102,103). CO2 CO2 conc. CO2 emissions in the emissions to the atm. to the atm. atm. in in 2050 2100 in 2100 19 BtC 1000 ppm 37.5 BtC

Total CO2 emissions to the atm. until 2100 2190 BtC

Scenario

CO2 conc. in the atm. in 2050

Scenario IS92e

600 ppm

Scenario IS92f

520 ppm

17 BtC

850 ppm

27.7 BtC

1830 BtC

Scenario IS92a

470 ppm

13 BtC

730 ppm

21 BtC

1500 BtC

Scenario IS92d

450 ppm

11.5 BtC

615 ppm

17 BtC

980 BtC

Scenario IS92c

420 ppm

10.1 BtC

550 ppm

13 BtC

770 BtC

Table (7-11): Quantities of CO2 which will be emitted to the atmosphere in the years 2050 & 2100 through 5 scenarios put by the IPCC. It is seen from Figure (7-7) above that when the price of CO2 gas is $50 /t (scenario b), which is the most likely price to be achieved in the coming years, then the expected quantity of CO2 to be captured & stored in the year 2050 will be 4.9 BtC (18 BtCO2). This level of capturing & storing complies with the scenarios (IS92f), (IS92a), (IS92d) put for possible increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during the present century as shown in Table (7-11) above. This means that the ratio of reduction by the CCS projects with these scenarios will be between 30 – 45% of the total emission. This amount of reduction in such scenarios is considered reasonable if the role of the other means of reduction is taken into account, which can also be effective if applied in earnest. But, if the increase in CO2 ratio in the atmosphere occurs according to scenario (IS92e) in Table (7-11) above, in which the quantity of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere in 2050 will be 19 BtC, then the price of CO2 in the global trade markets must be $100 /t in order to apply scenario (a) in Figure (7-7) above. The level of reduction in the year 2050 by this scenario will be 6.6 BtC (24.2 BtCO2), or by a ratio of 35% from the total emission in that year.

165

Figure (7-8): The presumed scenarios of CO2 emissions during the 21st Century. All the evidences currently available suggest that scenario (IS92e) is likely to get through this century. If we assume that this is what will actually happen, and that CCS projects will be implemented widely after the year 2015 to reduce about 35% of the total emissions of this gas into the air, then the reduced quantities will be as follows: Year

Total anthropogenic emissions

2025 2050 2075 2100

12.0 BtC 19.0 BtC 28.0 BtC 37.5 BtC

Amount of Amounts must emissions disposed be reduced by naturally CCS projects 4.0 BtC 4.0 BtC 4.0 BtC 4.0 BtC

4.2 BtC 6.6 BtC 9.8 BtC 13.1 BtC

Remaining amount which must be reduced by other means 3.8 BtC 8.4 BtC 9.8 BtC 20.4 BtC

Table (7-12): Quantities of CO2 which need to be reduced by the CCS projects if the ratio of the gas increases according to the scenario (1S92e). The total quantities of CO2 which will be emitted to the atmosphere through the current century according to that scenario (1S92e) will reach 2190 BtC (103), and this means that the total quantities of CO2 which need to be removed by the CCS projects will be 766.5 BtC. Since we are assuming that the price of CO2 gas with this scenario should be 100 $/t, then this in turn means that Man has to spend 76,650 billion dollars on CCS projects for the disposal of only 35% of the total anthropogenic

166

emissions of this gas to the atmosphere, or an average of about 900 billion dollars a year starting from mid of next decade.

Figure (7-9): Quantities of CO2 which need to be removed by the CCS projects if the ratio of the gas increases according to the scenario (1S92e). Despite the large amount of CO2 gas emissions and the huge magnitude of money which should be spent to remove it, the adoption of CO2 capturing and storing industry as one of the strategic options for reducing the ratio of this gas in the atmosphere would be a must in the future. This option should be met also with serious prospects for increasing the gas that can be reached through this century. Even the wide adoption of this option is not enough alone, as we seen from the figure above, without the adoption and development of other options. The dangers posed to the planet Earth that could be caused by this gas needs the union of all nations and concentrating all efforts, and to follow all the available options and means to overcome these dangers.

b- The role of trade in carbon dioxide for storage purpose in the future: It is noted in the preceding paragraph that Man would have to spend huge amounts of money during this century to reduce part of the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide into the air. This issue will be imperative for all countries in a period which does not exceed the end of the first quarter of this century. Even countries that are reluctant to conduct such an approach will find themselves latterly compelled to follow it once they start noting the disadvantages of climate changes as soon as its effects become tangible. With the prospect of complacency in some countries to take such expenditures will require the international

167

community to impose strict legislation in this regard, because the effects caused by CO2 emissions are not limited to countries responsible for these emissions, but would harm all countries in the world. The legislations, which came in the Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol are not more than shy and modest initiatives in front of what man has to conduct in ten or fifteen years. The procedures and legislations that man has to take in the future at the international level to address the problem of CO2 emissions from the countries that are not committed to international legislation, must upgrade to levels similar to measures taken by the international community in the political crises, like the economic embargo and the imposition of sanctions. Part of these legislations can be toward requiring countries, which do not have capacities to store CO2 gas in their territories to export the captured quantities of this gas from the stationary sources to the countries that possess storing capacities against certain financial payments. Therefore, it is expected that such a trade would be flourished from the second quarter of this century, especially if man legislates heavy and tough acts to reduce emissions of this gas to the atmosphere. What will promote this trade is that lack of many advanced industrial countries of reservoirs suitable for storage of CO2 gas, while most developing countries possess vast reservoirs that can contain large quantities of carbon dioxide, but emit only limited quantities of it. The construction of CCS projects in the developing countries will enable them to import the emitted quantities of CO2 gas from the industrialized countries against financial payments, and this will provide huge financial revenues to them. As it was mentioned earlier "Promotion of Carbon dioxide capturing & storing industry in developing countries must be allowed only when the operation and management of such projects are put under international control". When such issues are conducted then an international organization must be established to monitor the trade and storage of carbon dioxide at the international level, similar to the organization of the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Fortunately, the Arab countries possess vast reservoirs that can accommodate about two-thirds of the quantities to be captured & stored of carbon dioxide this century, according to the scenario (IS92e). The Arab states could start to pay attention to this aspect through the development of primary plans to invest their capacity to store carbon dioxide in the future. To achieve this, the Arab countries must do the following: (1) Start henceforward to move towards the use the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and enhanced gas recovery (EGR) to increase the productivity of their semi-depleted oil and gas fields, leaving the methods of water or natural gas injecting for this purpose. The Arab

168

countries can begin the storage of carbon dioxide emitted from stationary sources within their territories, and to be expanded in the future toward the storage of natural gas imported from other countries. (2) Put future plans for the exploitation of CO2 gas reservoirs in the Arab countries. The Arab countries should begin the first movement towards storing the gas emitted from their stationary sources in order to compose the necessary infrastructure and expertise needed to run such projects. (3) The Arab countries must begin to develop plans towards building a regional network of pipelines to transport CO2 gas, which can be expanded to other countries when the trade of this gas flourishes in the future. (4) The Arab countries should also consider the formation of an infrastructure to import gas carbon dioxide from industrial countries by sea through the development of plans to build giant tanker ships and unloading ports and reservoirs for this gas. (5) The Arab countries which do not have financial capabilities to build CCS projects their territories can sell the rights to exploit reservoirs to investing international companies against financial returns.

169

Chapter Eight Conclusions & Recommendations 8-1 Conclusions: a- Conclusions on emissions of carbon dioxide: (1) The growing proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes many important effects and risks. The most important are: (a) Causes climate changes. (b) Causing acid rain. (c) Damages the marine creatures. The cause of the climate change is the most danger damage due to its impact to the life forms that live on the planet Earth. (2) The gathered information showed that the summer of the year 2007 was the hottest summer over the globe in more than one thousand years, and this is due to the increased proportion of CO2 gas in the atmosphere. (3) The emissions of carbon dioxide gas from natural sources do not make any risks because it is always less than the natural discharge of this gas. (4) 75% of carbon dioxide anthropogenic emissions in the world come from burning fossil fuels for different purposes. And 40% of the emissions resulted from burning the fossil fuels come from the power generating sector. (5) Coal is the most fossil fuel which emits carbon dioxide when burned, and natural gas is the least. Crude oil and its derivatives occur between the two types. (6) Natural gas combined cycle power station (NGCC) is the least carbon dioxide emitter, while the steam pulverized coal power station is the most. The integrated gasification combined cycle power stations (IGCC) lies between the two types. (7) Carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector form 21% of the total emissions of this gas to the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels. (8) The changes in land use, mostly the forest's removal, forms about 20-22% of the total carbon dioxide anthropogenic emissions. (9) The economic, industrial, and civil developments of any country increase its carbon dioxide emissions. (10) China exceeded USA in CO2 emissions for the first time in 2007.

170

(11) Carbon dioxide emissions from Arab countries form only small proportion of the total global emissions, which does not exceed 44.5%. This ratio is expected to increase quickly in the future due to the economical, industrial, and cultural developments of these countries. (12) There is a sharp contrast in the annual carbon dioxide emission per capita between rich and poor Arab countries. (13) It is expected that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will increase sharply and quickly in the future to reach 1000 ppm in 2100, unless an action is taken to reduce this growing.

b- Conclusions on capturing and transporting of CO2 gas: (1) Carbon dioxide capturing from power plants will be an option of no alternative in the future due to the large quantities of the gas emitted from these plants. These emissions currently amount to about 40% of the total emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, and is expected to reach about 45% in 2030. (2) The post-combustion capturing method is used to separate carbon dioxide from the flue gas resulting from the traditional steam coal burning power plants. The absorption method is used in this method for separating CO2 from the gas flowing streams in a continuous way by passing the flue gas in a separation column containing a liquid capable of absorbing carbon dioxide gas. (3) The pre-combustion capturing method for separating carbon dioxide gas from power plants is a good method and of advantageous properties, but it is not being used widely because of its high cost due to the inserting of the gasification process as an additional and extraneous operation. (4) The post-combustion capturing method by oxygen is of excellent and efficient properties, but it is not used in commercial-scale because its economic viability has not been proven yet. (5) The chemical and physical absorption methods are currently the most used methods to separate carbon dioxide from the flue gases resulting from different electric power stations. The other methods of separation like adsorption, refrigeration, and using membranes are still not used on the commercial-scale due to lack of proof of economic viability yet. The Chemical & physical absorption methods can also be used widely to separate carbon dioxide from flue gases resulting from various factories and plants. (6) The current uses of carbon dioxide gas do not make a considerable ratio, and it cannot guarantee the disposal of large quantities of the gas emitted from human activities. (7) Carbon dioxide gas can be transported after compression for long distances by pipeline or marine vessels. 171

c- Conclusions regarding the storage of carbon dioxide: (1) The most ideal conditions for a reservoir, which can be used for the storage of carbon dioxide is its capability to store the gas safely for long period of time, which may last for thousands of years. (2) THE Ocean can be used to store carbon dioxide gas at a depth of not less than 1000 m, using spreading equipments which cut CO2 drops to small parts to facilitate their solubility in water. (3) It is possible to inject carbon dioxide gas in the oceans through a pipeline stretching from the beach to the depth, or through a tube hanging from carrier vessels. (4) The injection of carbon dioxide in deep oceans affects the marine creatures due to the increase in water acidity. (5) The depleted oil and natural gas fields are considered perfect reservoirs to store carbon dioxide. (6) It is possible to use the injection of carbon dioxide gas in almost depleted crude oil and natural gas to produce at least 10-15% of the amount of crude oil or natural gas present in these fields. This process generally requires the injection of large amounts of carbon dioxide, for instance, it requires injecting between 140-280 m3 of CO2 gas to produce one barrel of crude oil. (7) The Benefit gained from the production of the remaining crude oil and natural gas in the semi-depleted fields through the enhanced recovery methods offset the cost incurred in the injection of carbon dioxide gas in these fields in addition to extra large profit. (8) Massive amounts of CO2 gas can be stored in deep saline aquifers by injecting the gas in the same manner used in injecting the gas in the semi-depleted crude oil and natural gas fields in the enhanced recovery methods. (9) The deep saline aquifers are the largest reservoirs in the earth available to store carbon dioxide at all, followed by depleted crude oil and natural gas fields. (10) Leakages of carbon dioxide gas from the reservoirs used to store this gas for various reasons are the biggest threat to this operation. (11) Long-term monitoring and verification of CO2 gas storage projects are necessary and unavoidable operations. (12) Reservoirs for the storage of carbon dioxide are available in various parts of the world. But, the best economic reservoirs possible to use now and in the future are those available in the United States, the Arabian Peninsula, China, and Europe, which can be used through the enhanced recovery methods.

172

(13) The Arab countries are located over huge reservoirs, which are possible to be explicated to store carbon dioxide. The reservoir that exists in the east and north of the Arabian Peninsula can accommodate all the gas which will be emitted into the air throughout this century. Nevertheless, the available CO2 gas sources in the region are very few. (14) The results of using the enhanced recovery methods with the oil fields in the Arab countries are not guaranteed because of the high density of the crude oil, and the high temperature of the oil reservoirs.

d- The conclusions on the economic feasibility of CO2 capturing & storing operations: (1) The cost of capturing carbon dioxide gas from various types of power stations is between $20-50 per metric ton. (2) The cost of capturing carbon dioxide gas from industrial sources is between $37-55 per metric ton. (3) The cost of capturing carbon dioxide from various types of anthropogenic sources in general is between $25-50 per metric ton, or at an average of $37.5 per metric ton. (4) The cost of transporting one ton of carbon dioxide gas by pipeline is between $1-5 /t, or at an average of $3 /t. (5) The cost of geological storage of carbon dioxide gas is between $210 /t, or at an average of $6 /t. Moreover, the average cost of storage of carbon dioxide by enhanced recovery methods is -$55 /t, where the negative sign refers to gained profit rather than expense cost. (6) The cost of marine storage of CO2 gas is between $6-30 /t, or at an average rate of $18 /t. (7) The average cost of carbon dioxide capturing and geological storing is $46.5 /t. (8) The average cost of capturing carbon dioxide gas and storing by the enhanced recovery methods is -$14.5 /t at the current (2007/2008) crude oil prices ($90 /bbl). (9) In general, the world average cost of capturing, transporting, and storing carbon dioxide gas by various methods is $16 /t at the current crude oil prices ($90 /bbl). (10) Based on the above general figure, the total cost of capturing, transporting and storing the quantities of carbon dioxide that accumulate each year in the atmosphere (14.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) is about 236.8 billion US dollars. (11) It requires imposing a tax rate of not less than of $50 /t against carbon dioxide emission in order to make its capturing, transporting and storing operations economically viable.

173

(12) The profitability gained from enhanced recovery operations using carbon dioxide increases, as the prices of crude oil and natural gas increase. (13) The inclusion of CO2 capturing and storing projects within the clean development mechanism is beneficial to both the emitting countries and the countries that carry out the storage in their territories. (14) The extent to which carbon dioxide gas capturing and storing projects are promoted depends in the future on the price of this gas in the global trading markets, This industry will become promoted within acceptable levels when the gas price becomes between $50-100 /t, and the boom will increase as the price becomes higher. (15) Within the current emission rates, the total CO2 gas concentration in the atmosphere in 2050 is expected to reach 600 ppm. This concentration is expected to increase to about 1000 ppm in 2100. (16) Under the current emissions rates, the projects of capturing & storing carbon dioxide can contribute in the reduction of this gas emission to the atmosphere during this century by 35%. (17) With such a course of emission, the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions from the human sources during the 21st century is expected to reach 2190 BtC. The amount which must be spent on CO2 gas capturing and storing projects to remove only 35% of this quantity is about 76.650 billion US dollars (76,650 trillion US dollars).

2-8 Recommendations: a- Due to the serious and high increase in carbon dioxide gas

emissions to the atmosphere during the 21st century, therefore, all the possible means to reduce these emissions must be adopted. In general, CO2 emissions resulting from the burning of different types of fossil fuels in various human activities can be reduced by the following procedures: (1) Stopping the work of power stations that use coal wherever possible. (2) Modifying the existing coal-fired power plants in order to work by natural gas, or at least to use light petroleum products instead of carbon. (3) To allow only the construction of new power plants, which work with natural gas. (4) To impose high taxes on conventional cars and exempt the new cars which use natural gas derivatives from such taxes. (5) Rationalization of energy consumption at the national level.

174

(6) Rationalization of energy consumption on the personal level. This can be assisted by the imposition of progressive taxes with the increase in energy consumption by individuals. (7) Reducing the production and rationalizing the consumption of industrial products which their manufacturing emits CO2 gas. This can be achieved by imposing high taxes on these types of products. (8) To encourage scientific research that contributes to finding alternatives to substances that their production and manufacturing cause the emission of carbon dioxide gas into the air. (9) Imposing severe tax on each ton of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere. (10) Deploying the monitoring and verification means at both the national and international levels to control the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere from all sources. (11) Replacement of the use of coal as a fuel for generating power in factories and plants with natural gas wherever possible, and do not allow in future the construction of any plant, which produce energy from coal. (12) To reduce the production of vehicles that use medium and heavy oil products such as diesel or fuel oil, and to expand on the other hand the manufacture of vehicles that use light fuel such as gasoline. (13) To encourage the use of natural gas derivatives as fuel for vehicles, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), rather than using gasoline and diesel. To promote the use of these types of light fuels, it is needed to impose high taxes on the traditional cars and to exempt the natural gas cars from these taxes.

b- Pursue all possible means of limiting emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The measures that can be used to limit carbon dioxide emissions are summarized by the followings: (1) To encourage the use of renewable sources of energy in all areas and at all levels. (2) To encourage the shift from the use of petroleum fuels in the transport sector towards the use of batteries and alcohols. (3) Accelerating the development of the fuel cell to use it instead of small and medium-sized electric generators. (4) Speed up the development of cars that can operate by hydrogen fuel. (5) Gasification of coal for the production of synthesis gas, which can be used as fuel instead of coal, or changed to gaseous fuels by the GTL process. 175

(6) To encourage the shift towards the use of alternative materials for cement and iron in the construction sector, as well as the shift from the use of wood in the furniture industry to other alternative materials. (7) Stopping the changes in land use and stop the logging and deforestation, even by using force if necessary. It is necessary to legislate strong measures for this purpose at the international level to curb such acts, and to impose stiff penalties on violators. (8) To encourage the establishment of artificial forests and green belts around towns, and plant the streets. Protective areas should be deployed, which will be one mean to plant trees, as well as to protect the endangered animals. The removal of house gardens to build more houses must be forbidden.

c- Lay the bases to find a new convention to replace the Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, as the terms of this convention and the protocol are no longer fit to work in a large and dangerous increase in carbon dioxide emissions in the present time and the future. d- The terms of any new convention to limit carbon dioxide emission into the air should include all the world countries, and not to pay attention only to the most emitting countries of this gas. Any reduction in CO2 emissions, however small, could help at the international level in reducing this gas ratio in the atmosphere e- Severe penalties should be imposed on countries that don not commit to the international legislations which limit carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. The level of these penalties must rise to those which were applied in the political crises such as enforcing sanctions and economic embargo, which their usefulness has been proven in the past. f- To promote the implementation of projects of capturing and storing carbon dioxide in all countries of the world. Such a promotion can be achieved through increasing the economic viability of these projects. There are many measures that can be followed both by the governments of countries, or by companies working in this area, which can help to spread these projects in the future. These measures can be divided into the following two types: (1) Administrative measures: A set of legislation taken by the governments of countries, which can contribute to the promotion CO2 capturing and storing projects in the future, such as: (a) To impose high taxes on CO2 emissions to the atmosphere from the stationary sources. 176

(b) To grant economic incentives and facilities for the stationary sources which build units to capture carbon dioxide gas. (c) The imposition of high taxes on electricity produced from plants and units, which do not have units to capture CO2 gas, and in turn reduce the tax on electricity produced from plants, which have such units. (d) Not to allow the construction of any new project without a unit to capture CO2 gas. (e) To encourage the establishment of international markets for CO2 gas trading which would be able to sell the gas from the producing project to the projects that can use it. (f) The granting of facilities and economic incentives to build factories which need CO2 gas as a raw material, such as granting of loans and reduction of taxes and others. (2) Technical measures: Although most of the components of carbon dioxide capturing and storing projects are known, well developed and have been tested previously, but this has been done piecemeal and in insignificant levels. In order to integrate these components and make them work economically, the companies which work in this field should achieve the following technical aspects which will help to gain knowledge and experience, thus contributing to the promotion of this industry: (a) To continue the researching and development to reduce the cost of CO2 gas capturing & storing project components. The means of researching in this area can be promoted particularly by granting attractive prizes and incentives to researchers who are able to invent new ways to reduce the growing rate of the gas emissions into the atmosphere. (b) To conduct further tests on these projects to gain experience and expertise, and to remove any ambiguity concerning them. (c) To test the design and implementation of integrated projects of the components of the capturing and storage of CO2 gas. (d) The creation of administrative, regulatory, and legal environment which enables the management of carbon dioxide storing projects for a long period on the correct basis of duties and responsibilities in an orderly fashion. (e) To create developing ways and means to enable the scientific estimation of the correct and exact levels of avoided quantities, captured quantities, leaked quantities, and stored quantities of carbon dioxide gas. (f) To create professional staff members able to work in this type of projects. 177

g- Encouraging the use of enhanced recovery methods for the production of oil and gas by the injection of carbon dioxide gas instead of the traditional methods of extraction using water or natural gas for this purpose. The governments should encourage this by providing facilities and reducing the taxes on companies that use these methods. h- To include carbon dioxide capturing and storing projects in the clean development mechanism (CDM), and to keep such projects under the international management and control. i- To lay the bases to find a new international convention that deals with the mechanism of CO2 gas circulation between the emitting countries which do not have the means to store it and the countries that own natural reservoirs, which can be used to store this gas. j- To establish an international UN organization responsible for the control of carbon dioxide gas emissions into the air in all the countries of the world, reporting directly to the Secretary-General and to the Security Council. The powers of such an organization must be wide and substantial, as is the case of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

178

References (1) Carbon Dioxide. Encyclopedia Article, msn Encarta, from the site: http://encarta.msn.com/Carbon_Dioxide.html (2) Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Properties, Uses, Applications. From the site: http://www.uigi.com/carbondioxide.html#facts (3) Chemical and process technology encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine, Consulting Engineer, Los Angeles, California McGRAWHILL BOOK COMPANY. (4) Carbon dioxide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. From the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide (5) Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Properties, Uses, Applications, from the site: http://www.uigi.com/carbondioxide.html#Poprties (6) Bassam Z. Shakhashiri: Chemical of the Week: Carbon Dioxide, from the site: http://scifun.chem.wisk.edu/chemweek/CO2/CO2.html (7) Carbon dioxide glass created in the lab, 15 June 2006. Paul F. McMillan, and Scandolo, Wilson A. Crichton. From the site: www.newscientisttech.com, also taken from the site: Amorphous carbonia. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphous_Carbonia (8) The many Faces of Carbon Dioxide, from the site: http://www.llnl.gov (9) Carbon Dioxide - CO2, from the site: http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/physical_scince/chemistry/co 2_molecule_bog_gif_image.html& (10) Molecular Structure: Vibration and Rotation, from the site: http://www.phy.davidson.edu/StuHome/jimn/CO2/Pages/CO2Spectr a.htm (11) Ann. Physik, 1932, 13,453 (12) Carbon Dioxide, from the site: http://www.ucc.ie/academic/chem/dolchem/html/comp/comp000.html (13) Inorganic Chemistry. An Intermediate Text, C. W. Wood, 1967. (14) Development and Integration of New Processes Consuming Carbon Dioxide in Multi-Plant Chemical Production Complexes. By Sudheer Indala. B.Tech., Andhra University, India, 2001. (15) Creutz, C. and Fujita, E., 2000, “Carbon Dioxide as a Feedstock”, Carbon Management: Implications for R&D in the Chemical Sciences and Technology: A Workshop Report to the Chemical Sciences Roundtable. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. (16) The Possibilities to Discard Carbon Dioxide. Dr. M. Mukhtar AlLabibidi – Manager of the Directorate of Technical Affairs- Oapec.

179

(17) Earth's Atmosphere, from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_atmosphere#column-one (18) History of the Earth, from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_earth (19) Structure and Composition of Earth's Atmosphere. Origin of the Earth's Atmosphere, from the site: http://ess.geology.ufl.edu/HTMLpages/ESS/GLY1033_notes/lecture1 .html (20) Lide, David R. Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Baca Raton, FLCRC, 1996: 14-7. From the site: Mass of the Atmosphere http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/LouiseLiu.shtml (21) Composition of Air, from the site: http://mistupid.com/chemistry/aircomp.htm (22) Atmosphere, from the site: http://www.solcomhouse.com/atmosphere.htm (23) The Atmosphere History, from the site: http://teachertec.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/comp.html (24) Carbon Footprint, from the site: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/faq.html (25) CO2 Statistics via Natural Production, from the site: http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1819258/posts (26) D. Schimel, D. Alves, I. Enting, M. Heimann, F. Joos, D. Raynaud, T. Wigley, CO2 and the carbon cycle. Pages 76-86 in [IPCC 95]. From the Site: http://archive.greenpeace.org/climate/science/reports/carbon/clfull2.html#fnB9 (27) Carbon cycle, from the site: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Carbon_cycle (28) The Carbon Cycle, from the site: http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Water/co2_cycle.html &edu=mid (29) Introduction to the Biosphere. The Carbon Cycle, from the site: http://www.physicalgeography.net/physgeoglos/c.html#carbon_cycle (30) The present carbon cycle, from the site: http://www.grida.no/climate/vital/13.htm (31) Respiration (physiology), from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiration_(physiology) (32) Greenhouse Effect, from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect (33) Global Climate Change and Energy, Greenhouse Gases, at: http://www.seed.slb.com/en/scictr/watch/climate_change/gases.htm (34) Army magazine, from the site: http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/?In=ar (35) Svante Arrhenius, from the site: 180

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svante_Arrhenius (36) Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, from the site: http://www.oism.org/pproject/review.pdf (37) Pollution, from the site: http://aliwe-2006.maktoobblog.com/?post=276991 (38) Increasing CO2 concentration will harm the marine livings in the oceans, from the site: http://www.freearabi.com/PollutionAndCancer.htm (39) Atmospheric Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide, 1000-2005, from the site: http://www.earth-policy.org/indicators/CO2/2006_data3.htm#top (40) Global, Regional, and National Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions, from the site: http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/emis/graphics/global.cumulative.1751 _2004.pdf (41) Visualization Techniques, from the site: http://members.tripod.com/~smohith/proj/vhp/thesis/node15.html (42) Song, C., Gaffney, A. F. and Fujimoto, K. F., 2002, CO2 Conversion and Utilization, ACS Symposium Series 809, Chapter 1, American Chemical Society, Oxford University Press, Washington, D.C. (43) M. Prather, R. Derwent, D. Ehhalt, P. Fraser, E. Sanhueza, X. Zhou. Other trace gases and atmospheric chemistry. Pages 86-103 in [IPCC 95], from the site: http://www.radix.net/~bobg/ (44) U.S. Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in Perspective, from the site: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/gg97rpt/chap1.html, and Summarized from ranges appearing in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 17-19 (45) Climate & Ozone, from the site: http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/ (46) Cellular respiration, from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_respiration (47) Marland, G., Boden, T.A., and Andres, R.J., 2006, Global, Regional, and National Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions, In Trends: A Compendium of data on global change, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A. from the site: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/tre_glob.htm (48) Volcanic Gases, from the site: http://volcano.und.nodac.edu/ (49) Symonds, R.B., Rose, W.I., Bluth, G., and Gerlach, T.M., 1994,

181

Volcanic gas studies: methods, results, and applications, in Carroll, M.R., and Holloway, J.R., eds., Volatiles in Magmas: Mineralogical Society of America Reviews in Mineralogy, v. 30, p. 1-66. From the site: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Hazards/What/VolGas/volgas.html (50) Volcanic Gases, from the site: http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vw_exchange.html (51 Pacific Ring of Fire, from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pacfic_Ring_of_Fire.png (52) Decker, Robert W. and Barbara B. Mountains of Fire. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge: 1991. (53) Tropical Rainforests: Disappearing opportunities, ATMOSPHERIC ROLE OF FORESTS, from the site: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0907.htm (54) Oil & Gas Journal, January 1, 2005. (55) Oil & Gas Journal, Vol. 102, No. 47 (December 20, 2004). (56) J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci. 2000, 40, 833-838. (57) Global Carbon Emissions from Fossil Fuel Burning, from the site: http://www.earth-policy.org/indicator/CO2/2006_data2.htm (58) Eco-Economy Indicator, from the site: http://www.earth-policy.org/indicators/CO2/2006_data.htm#fig4 (59) Electricity generation, from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity (60) Carbon Dioxide Emissions, from the site: www.CarbonDioxideEmissions.com (61) Source: IEA World Energy Outlook – 2002. (62) G. Marland, T.A. Boden, and R.J. Andres, "Global, Regional, and National Fossil Fuels CO2 Emissions", from the site: http://earth-policy.org/indicators/CO2/2006.htm (63) Chapter 7: Transportation, from the site: http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap2-2/public-reviewdraft/SOCCR_Chapter07.pdf (64) Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2003, from the site: http://eia.doe.gov/ (65) Technologies, Policies and Measures for Mitigating Climate Change. INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE. Edited by: Robert T. Watson- World Bank, Marufu C. Zinyowera- Zimbabwe Meteorological Services, Richard H. MossBattelle Pacific Northwest-National Laboratory. (66) Sector Trends and Driving Forces of Global Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Focus in Industry and Buildings Lynn Price, Ernst Worrell, Marta Khrushch. Energy Analysis Department Environmental Energy Technologies Division Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 182

University of California (67) The World Bank, News & Broadcast. From the site: http://www.worldbank.org/news/ (68) NATURAL GAS FLARING AND VENTING. Report to the Honorable Jeff Bingaman, Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, from the site: http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-809 (69) Climate Justice, enforcing climate change law. From the site: http://www.climatelaw.org/ (70) Global, Regional, and National Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions, from the site: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/tre_glob.htm (71) Tropical Rainforests: Disappearing opportunities, from the site: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/09carbon_emissions.htm#co2_global_1750-2000 (72) Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Global Cement Industry, from the site: http://industrial-energy.lbl.gov/ (73) Global Energy Use, CO2 Emissions and the Potential for Reduction in the Cement Industry. Cement Energy Efficiency Workshop Organized by IEA in cooperation with WBCSD, Paris, 4-5 September, 2006. (74) Marland, G., T.A. Boden, and R.J. Andres. 2006. Global, Regional, and National Annual CO2 Emissions from Fossil-Fuel Burning, Cement Manufacture, and Gas Flaring: 1751-2003. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy. CDIAC: Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Available online at the site: http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/ftp/ndp030/ (75) Industrial Processes, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 -2004. (76) Direct Emissions from Iron & Steel Production. CLIMATE LEADERS GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY PROTOCOL CORE MODULE GUIDANCE (77) Environmental aspects of global trade in steel: The North America steel industry perspective. Submitted to the steel committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and development. (78) Ammonia, from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonia (79) 4. Industrial Processes, from the site: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 -2004 (80) Fertilizer Manufacture, from the site: http://www.incitecfertilizers.com.au/environmental_facts.cfm (81) Documentation for Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2002, Energy Information Administration Office of Integrated 183

Analysis and Forecasting U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. (82) Lime kiln, from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lim_kiln#Carbon_dioxide_emissions (83) Lime, U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2005. (84) World GHG Emissions Flow Chart, data for 2000 from the IPCC. (85) CO2 Emissions from land use change, from the site: http://www.grida.no/climate/vital/10.htm (86) Land use effects on terrestrial carbon sources and sinks, by Josep G. Canadell. Global Carbon Project, GCTE, CSIRO Land and Water, PO Box 1666, Australia (email: [email protected]). (87) Carbon Flux to the Atmosphere from Land-Use Changes, from the site: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/landuse/houghton/houghton.html (88) Annual Net Flux of Carbon to the Atmosphere from Land-Use Change: 1850-2000, from the sites: http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/ftp/trends/landuse/houghton/houghtondata.txt and: http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/landuse/houghton/houghton.gif (89) Carbon Emissions Indicator Data: from the sites: http://www.earth-policy.org/Indicators/CO2/2006_data.htm#fig3 and http://www.earth-policy.org/Indicators/CO2/CO2_data.htm#fig4 (90) Energy Information Administration (eia), International Energy Annual 2005. World Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Consumption and Flaring of Fossil Fuels, 1980-2005, from the site: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tableh1.xls (91) Energy Information Administration (eia), International Energy Annual 2005. World Per Capita Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Consumption and Flaring of Fossil Fuels, 1980-2005, from the site: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tableh1c.xls (92) Future of the generation of electric power from the nuclear energy. Dr. Mahmoud Nasir Al-Din, Dr. Dhou Saad Misbah, Arabic Board of the Nuclear Energy. From the site: http://www.oapecorg.org/images/8%20AEC/Technical%20Sessions/ Mahmoud%20Nasreddine.doc (93) Refining Industry and the Environmental legislations, Adil AlMoayyad- Bahrain Oil Company (BABCO). (94) Human Choices And Global Warming, Science Museum of the National Academy of Science. From the site: http://www.koshlandsciencmuseum.org/exhibitgcc/index.jsp (95) Concrete Proposal to Cut Carbon Dioxide Emissions, from the site: http://www.livescience.com/environment/070129_clean_concrete.html (96) Carbon Capture and Storage from Fossil Fuel Use. Howard Herzog and Dan Golomb, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Laboratory 184

for Energy and the Environment. (97) Putting Carbon back into the ground. IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D progremme. (98) Capturing and Storing Carbon Dioxide: Technical lessons learned. R&D and technology exploitation sources, capture, transportation and geological storage. (99) IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage. Edited by: Bert Metz, Ogunlade Davidson, Heleen de Coninck, Manuela Loos, Leo Meyer. (100) Overview of CO2 emission sources, potential, transport and geographical distribution of storage possibilities. John Gale, IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme. (101) GLOBAL WARMING AND THE FUTURE OF COAL. The Path to Carbon Capture and Storage. By Ken Berlin and Robert M. Sussman Bracken Hendricks, Project Manager Center for American Progress. May 2007. (102) The IPCC Carbon Dioxide Predictions are Erroneous by Jarl R. Ahlbeck D.Sc.(Chem Eng.), Research Associate, Abo Akademi University, Finland. (103) Greenpeace, Fossil Fuels and Climate Protection-The Carbon Logic. Researched and written by Bill Hare. Climate Policy Director, Greenpeace International. (104) THE COST OF CARBON CAPTURE. Jeremy David and Howard Herzog, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA (105) Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration Annual Report. Reporting Period: November 1, 2003 – November 1, 2004. Principal Author: Brian McPherson. Issue Date: November, 2004 DE-PS26-03NT41983. Submitting Organization: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (106) Global carbon dioxide storage potential and costs, By Ecofys in cooperation with TNO. From the sight http://www.ecofys.nl (107) An update on CCS technologies & costs Harry Audus. IEA (108) Nobel winner Gore sees CO2 prices rising. Reuters, - UK. Mon Dec 10, 2007. (109) The Future Role of CO2 Capture in the Electricity. Dolf Gielen and Jacek Podkanski. International Energy Agency, Paris, France

185

CURRICULUM VITA (CV) OF THE AUTOR Name: Mr. Wisam Al-Shalchi Age: 53 Address: Amman-Jordan E-mail: [email protected] Moile: 00962785200764

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION: University • University of Essex / UK • University of Baghdad / Iraq

Degree M.Sc. in Petroleum Chemistry B.Sc. in Petroleum Chemistry

POSITIONS (EMPLOYMENT HISTORY): 1. From 2007 to 2009 Name of employer: Al-Qabas Oil Services Co. Position: Planning Manager. Country: Jordan 2. From 2004 to 2007 Name of Employer: Directorate of Studies & Planning & Follow up/ Ministry of Oil – Iraq Positions: a- Deputy Manager of Gas Department b- Deputy Manager of Environment Department Country: Iraq 3. From 1997 to 2004 Name of Employer: United Nations Position: Chief Chemist – Advisor for the implementation of (Oil for Food & Medicine) Agreement between UN & Iraq Country: Iraq 4. From 1985 1997 Name of Employer: Oil Training Centre – Iraq Positions: a- Head of Oil Refining & Gas Treatment Department. c- Project Manager of building small refinery plant d- Teaching & Training Country: Iraq 5. From 1981 to 1982 Name of Employer: OMV Company Position: Processing Chemist Country: Austria

SUMMARY OF EXPERTISE (more than 25 years of experience in the following fields): 1. Building new oil & gas projects in Iraq, as well as adding new units to the working oil refineries such as water & waste water treatment units, tanks,

186

2.

3. 4.

5.

6. 7. 8.

pipelines …etc, either by direct implementation or by creating joint ventures with the specialized international firms. Supplying the new and the working oil & gas projects in Iraq with their needs of equipments, machines, materials ... etc by procurement of such items from the international manufacturers. Putting plans for the Reconstruction & Development of the Iraqi destroyed Oil & Gas establishments. Working in the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) as an advisor for the rehabilitation of the Iraqi Oil & Gas Sectors during the implementation of the Oil for Food & Medicine agreement. Heading the Oil Refining & Gas Treatment Department in the Iraqi Oil Training Institute, which is responsible to qualify people who will work in the oil refineries & gas projects? Working as a Project Manager for building a small refinery plant Working as a teacher & trainer in the field of oil refining and gas treatment. Working as Processing Chemist in an oil refinery.

Researches & Technical Papers: 1. Publications: • • • • •

Petroleum Environment Directory – Iraq, 2007 Safety in Oil Establishments – Iraq, 2007 Environment Protection – Iraq, 2006 Instrumental Chemical Analysis – Iraq, 1994 Oil and Gas Technology – Iraq, 1992

2. Published Researches and Studies: • • • • • • • • • •

Development of Mansuriya gas field in Iraq – Jordan, 2008 Development of Akkas gas field in Iraq – Jordan, 2008 Capturing & Storing Carbon Dioxide – Jordan, 2008 * Gas To Liquids Technology (GTL) – Iraq, 2006 ** Determination of Traces in Natural Gas – Iraq, 2005 The use of Natural Gas Derivatives (LNG, CNG, and LPG) as vehicles fuels – Iraq, 2005*** The Possibility to use CNG as fuel for cars in Iraq- 2004 Comprehensive Petroleum Education and Training in Iraq – 1996 Development of the phenolic plastics prepared in acidic medium. – 1990 The Mechanisms of the acid catalyzed hydrolysis of esters – 1988

Most of the above publications & researches are published in the website: http://www.pdfcoke.com/people/view/306371-wisam-al-shalchi

3. Awards: •

The International Annual Prize of the Oapec Organization for the research "Capturing & Storing Carbon Dioxide" – December, 2008. * • The International Annual Prize of the Oapec Organization for the research “Gas to Liquids (GTL)” – Doha / 1st December 2007. ** • Letter of appreciation from UNEP Organization for the research “Using Natural Gas Derivatives as Vehicles fuels" – 2004. ***

187