An experiment to capture carbon dioxide from the fumes of burning rubbish is taking place in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, which could be used to heat buildings in the city.
Reuters reports that the city’s government aims to use the technology to contribute to tackling global warming. The Klemetsrud incinerator burns household and industrial waste and generates heat that can be used in district heating.
About 60 percent of the trach incinerated at Klemetsrud is of biological origin, meaning capturing emissions would be a step to extract carbon from a natural cycle in so-called “negative emissions.”
Oslo’s mayor, Marianne Borgen told a gathering at an opening ceremony for the project, “I hope Oslo can show other cities that it’s possible” to capture emissions from waste.
The Klemetsrud incinerator emits more than 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, and consists of five containers feeding exhaust gases through a series of pipes and filters which will capture carbon dioxide at a rate equivalent to 2,000 metric tons per year. The test will be conducted until the end of April 2016.
If successful, a full-scale carbon capture plant could be built by 2020. A use for the captured CO2 could be to inject it into oil and gas fields to increase pressure and improve production rates.
Source: COSPP