Carbon Capture
Summary
American Electrical Power, the largest US electric company, and a French energy company, Alstrom are conducting a pilot project in a West Virginia coal-fired power plant called carbon capture.
Currently, coal-fired power plants emit carbon dioxide as a pollutant into the atmosphere. The goal is to capture this gaseous carbon dioxide, convert it into a liquid state, and then inject it deep within the earth via shafts bored for the purpose. There, it is permanently stored in rock formations thousands of feet below water tables and drinking water supplies. It is prevented from rising up again by the same thick solid rock layers above that have kept oil and gas deposits trapped for millions of years. The pilot project is expected to be complete in five years.
Keywords: Al Jazeera, Coal, West Virginia, Tom Ackerman, carbon capture, underground storage
