CO2 Aquifer Storage Site Evaluation and Monitoring ( CASSEM )

二氧化碳（CO2）被认为是一种温室气体。地球大气中的CO2浓度是控制地球表面温度和气候的重要因素。二氧化碳在海洋中的溶解也被认为是使表层海水异常酸性的一个重要因素，这严重影响了从藻类到鱼类和鲸鱼的生态系统和物种。大气中二氧化碳的增加被认为部分是由发电站燃烧化石燃料（如煤和天然气）造成的。碳捕获和储存是一套技术，它使二氧化碳在发电站被捕获，通过增加压力液化，通过管道运输，并注入深埋在地下的沉积岩（如砂岩）的孔隙空间。这可以有效地从化石燃料使用的动力循环中去除二氧化碳，并将二氧化碳储存数万年，使地球大气恢复正常。由于涉及的二氧化碳量非常大，不可能建立地面储存。由于CO2的酸效应，不可能将CO2注入海水。相比之下，政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）已经计算出，世界二氧化碳排放量的25%以上可以通过地质CCS储存。这可能是世界未来的重要技术。全世界对CCS有很大的兴趣，由于近海石油工业，北海是CCS迅速发展的世界主要地区之一。然而，目前世界上只有三个全面的项目。对于英国发电公司来说，要想在商业上感兴趣，技术链必须既能可靠地工作，又能具有成本效益。该项目试图确定英国靠近发电厂的地下深层含水层，二氧化碳可以安全地储存在那里，但与北海的近海相比，开发这些地点更快，更便宜。这可以使发电公司在数年内以中等规模开发CCS，并学习进行工业运营。如果这个项目成功，它可能会导致英国采用CCS。比等待大型北海管道的基础设施建设要早10或15年。当这些管道可用时，英国电力公司将完全准备好连接发电厂，以在海上大型冗余油气田中储存二氧化碳。这可以减少英国每年排放到大气中的数千万吨二氧化碳，把英国走在碳减排国家的前列。参与这个230万美元财团的大学和公司都在调查深层地下石油和天然气生产方面经验丰富。爱丁堡、赫瑞瓦特和英国地质调查局已经从苏格兰行政部门获得了160万英镑，用于建立英国最大的研究小组来研究二氧化碳储存。这一专门知识将转移到探索二氧化碳处置地点。利用英国地质调查局掌握的信息，将绘制英格兰地下深处和福斯河口深处的地图。赫瑞瓦特大学将评估二氧化碳与岩石的潜在化学反应，以及可以注入多少二氧化碳。由苏格兰电力公司领导的发电厂将为改造后的发电站提供二氧化碳。斯伦贝谢和马拉松石油公司将评估安全可靠的注入和监测所需的地下技术。爱丁堡大学将进行计算机模拟，以确定二氧化碳是否会泄漏到地下深处，并将评估特定的储存地点将如何安全地保留二氧化碳。Amec将评估通过管道输送二氧化碳的情况。廷德尔将调查候选储存地点的公众态度。

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered to be a greenhouse gas. The concentration of CO2 in the earth atmosphere is an important control on earth surface temperature, and hence climate. CO2 dissolution in the oceans is also being recognised as an important factor in making surface seawater unusually acid / this severely affects ecosystems and species from algae to fish and whales. Increased CO2 in the atmosphere is recognised as being partly caused by burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, in power stations. Carbon Capture and Storage is a suite of technologies which enables CO2 to be captured at power stations, liquefied by increasing the pressure, transported by a pipe, and injected deep underground in to pore space of deeply buried sedimentary rocks such as sandstones. This can effectively remove CO2 from the power cycle of fossil fuel use, and store the CO2 for tens of thousands of years, which enables the earth atmosphere to return to normal. Because of the very large CO2 volumes involved, it is not possible to build surface stores. Because of the acid effects of CO2, it is not possible to inject CO2 into seawater. By contrast, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have calculated that more than 25% of world CO2 emissions could be stored by geological CCS. This could be a vital technology for the world's future. There is a great deal of interest worldwide in CCS and, because of the offshore oil industry, the North Sea is one of the world's prime areas for CCS to be rapidly developed. However, there are only three full-scale projects at present in the world. For UK power generating companies to become commercially interested the chain of technologies must be both demonstrated to work reliably, and must be capable of cost-effective development. This project is trying to identify aquifer sites deep underground which are close to power plant in the U.K., where CO2 can be safely stored, but sites are quicker and cheaper to develop than offshore in the North Sea. This can enable power generating companies to develop CCS over a period of years, on a medium scale, and learn to conduct the industrial operation. If this project is successful, it could lead to take up of CCS in the U.K. 10 or 15 years earlier than waiting for an infrastructure of large North Sea pipelines to be developed for CO2. When those pipes become available, UK power companies will be completely ready to connect power plant to store CO2 in large redundant hydrocarbon fields offshore. This could save many tens of million tons CO2 per year being emitted into the atmosphere from the U.K., and place the U.K. in the forefront of carbon reduction nations. The universities and companies involved in this 2.3M consortium are all experienced in investigating the deep subsurface for oil and gas production. Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt and BGS already have 1.6M from the Scottish Executive to establish the UK's largest research grouping to investigate CO2 storage. This expertise will be transferred to exploring for CO2 disposal sites. Using the information held by the British Geological Survey, maps will be made of the subsurface deep beneath England, and deep beneath the Forth estuary. Heriot-Watt university will assess the potential chemical reactions of CO2 with rock, and how much CO2 can be injected. Electricity generators, led by Scottish Power, will make engineering designs for modified power stations to supply CO2. Schlumberger and Marathon Oil, will assess the subsurface technology required for safe and reliable injection and monitoring. The University of Edinburgh will make computer simulations to determine if CO2 will leak deep below ground, and will assess how specific site is storage sites will perform to safely retain CO2. Amec will evaluate transport of CO2 by pipe. Tyndall will investigate the public attitudes at the candidate storage sites.