The World's First Waste Incinerator That Captures Carbon Dioxide

The world's first waste incinerator with the ability to capture carbon dioxide is undergoing testing in Norway. According to Reuters, the carbon dioxide capture process at the "Klemetsrud" waste-to-energy plant, which burns household and industrial waste, is a step beyond previous efforts to capture and eliminate greenhouse gases in coal-fired power plants or facilities that use fossil fuels. So far, carbon capture and storage technologies have faced challenges due to high costs. Last December, representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed in Paris to combat climate change with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Johnny Stone, the technical manager of the Klemetsrud waste-to-energy plant, states that the heat produced at this facility is used to heat homes in the city. The facility burns waste that cannot be recycled because it is not separable. The Klemetsrud waste-to-energy plant produces over 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to 0.6% of the greenhouse gases produced by humans in Norway. This facility also burns imported waste from Britain. Carbon dioxide is the main driver of global temperature rise, often causing droughts, floods, and rising sea levels. By the end of April, the facility will capture carbon dioxide at a rate of 2,000 tons per year. Espen Jørgensen, one of the managers of this facility, says that currently, an average of two to two and a half tons of carbon dioxide is captured daily. It is expected that over 90% of the carbon dioxide produced at this plant will be captured. So far, about 80 tons of carbon dioxide have been captured. Project stakeholders say that if this pilot facility operates successfully, a fully equipped center will be built by 2020. At that time, the captured carbon dioxide could be transported to the North Sea to be permanently stored in geological structures beneath the seabed or injected into oil and gas fields to increase pressure and production. Stone states that 300,000 tons of waste come here every year, and 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide can be captured from this amount of waste. Therefore, approximately one ton of carbon dioxide can be captured for every ton of waste. About 60% of the waste burned at the Klemetsrud facility is of biological origin and includes wood and food waste. This means that pollutant capture is a step towards carbon separation in a natural cycle known as negative emission. If this experiment is successful, it is hoped that this technology will be used in waste-to-energy plants worldwide.