Capturing &

Storing Carbon
Dioxide Gas

Prepared by
Wisam Al-Shalchi
Oil & Gas Expert

Amman – 2008
 Contents
Introduction
Chapter One
Carbon Dioxide
1-1 Introduction 7
1-2 Physical Properties of Carbon Dioxide 8
a- Physical Characters of Carbon Dioxid 8
b- Phases of Carbon dioxide 8
1-3 Physical Properties of Carbon Dioxide 10
a- Physical Characters of Carbon Dioxide 10
b- Molecular Structure of Carbon Dioxid 11
c- Chemical Properties of Carbon Dioxide 12
1-4 Carbon Dioxide Uses 13
1-5 Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere 14
a- Composition of the atmosphere 14
b- Layers of the Atmosphere 16
c- Formation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere 17
d- Variation of CO2 concentration with time 17
e- How long does carbon dioxide remain in the atmosphere 19
1-6 The Carbon Cycle 19
1-7 Effects of Carbon Dioxide 23
a- Carbon dioxide effects on health 23
b- Effects of carbon dioxide on environment 23
Chapter Two
Emission Sources of Carbon Dioxide
2-1 Emissions of Carbon Dioxide to the Atmosphere 30
a- Changes of CO2 concentrations during the modern period 30
b- Types of CO2 sources 33
c- How to measure CO2 emissions to the atmosphere 33
2-2 Emissions of CO2 Gas from the Natural Sources 34
a- CO2 Emission from the respiration of living organisms 35
b- CO2 Emission from the decomposition of organic materials 37
c- CO2 emission from the oceans 37
d- CO2 emissions from the volcano 38
2-3 CO2 Emissions from Anthropogenic Sources 40
a- Emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels burning 41
b- Emissions of CO2 from the industrial processes 55
c- Carbon dioxide emissions due to changes in land use 61

1
2-4 Classification of Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions 64
According to Different Categories
a- Classifications of global CO2 emissions according to different 64
anthropogenic activities
b- Classification of global CO2 emissions according to the 64
geographical territories
c- Classification of CO2 emissions according to countries 67
d- Classification of CO2 emissions according to emission per 69
capita
2-5 Emissions of CO2 from Arab countries 71
a- Quantities of CO2 emitted from Arab countries 71
b- Emissions of CO2 per capita in the Arab countries 73
c- Sources of carbon dioxide in the Arab countries 74
2-6 Carbon dioxide Emissions in the Future 79
Chapter Three
Means of Reducing CO2 Concentration in the Atmosphere
3-1 Introduction 82
3-2 Natural Discharge Outlets of Carbon Dioxide 82
a- Oceans 83
b- The botanical cover 85
3-3 Increasing the Capacity of the Natural Stores to Absorb 86
CO2
a- Increasing the capacity of the oceans to absorb CO2 86
b- Increasing the ability of the botanical cover to absorb CO2 87
3-4 Halting the Increase of CO2 Concentration in the 89
Atmosphere
a- Methods of reducing the emissions of CO2 gas to the air 89
b- Ways of halting the emission of CO2 to the atmosphere 89
3-5 The UN Frame Convention on Climate Change, and 90
Kyoto Protocol
a- Principles and objectives of the Convention 91
b- Kyoto Protocol 91
Chapter Four
Capturing and Transporting CO2
4-1 Introduction 93
4-2 Capturing Carbon Dioxide 94
4-3 Carbon Dioxide Capturing Technologies 96
a- Capturing CO2 gas from the flue gas produced from the 96
power stations
b- Capturing carbon dioxide from factories 105
4-4 Utilizations of Captured Carbon Dioxide 107
4-5 Transporting Carbon Dioxide 107

2
 Chapter Five
Carbon Dioxide Sequestration
5-1 Storing Carbon Dioxide Gas 109
5-2 Conditions & Specifications of Perfect CO2 Stores 110
5-3 The Mechanism of CO2 Retention in the Natural Stores 110
a- Underwater Storage 111
b- Geological Storage 111
5-4 Available Carbon Dioxide Stores 114
a- Oceans 114
b- Oil and Gas depleted fields 114
c- Deep Saline Aquifer 115
d- In the Semi-depleted Oil & Gas Fields 115
e- Un-mined coal seams 117
5-5 Stores under Studying 118
a- Storing carbon dioxide by the mineral storage method 118
b- The storage of carbon dioxide in the underground caves 118
c- Storing carbon dioxide in the surface tanks 118
5-6 Capacities of the Natural Reservoirs to Store CO2 119
5-7 Potential risks to the Process of Storing CO2 119
a- Carbon dioxide leakage 119
b- Methane leakage 120
c- Earthquakes 120
d- Movements of the ground layers 120
e- Displacement of the deep saline aquifers 121
5-8 Monitoring and Verification 122
5-9 Worldwide Available Carbon Dioxide Stores 124
5-10 Available CO2 Reservoirs in the Arab Countries 127
Chapter Six
CO2 Capturing, Transporting & Storing Projects
6-1 Introduction 130
6-2 CO2 Capturing Projects Around the World 131
a- Projects of capturing CO2 by the post combustion method 131
b- Projects of capturing CO2 by the pre combustion method 133
c- Other carbon dioxide capturing projects 134
6-3 Worldwide CO2 Transporting Projects 134
6-4 CO2 Storing Projects around the world 136
a- Carbon dioxide geological storing projects 136
b- Storing CO2 by the EOR and EGR methods 139
c- Other carbon dioxide storing projects 142
6-5 CO2 Storing Projects in the Arab Countries 142
a- Carbon dioxide capturing projects in the Arab countries 142
b- Carbon dioxide storing projects in the Arab Countries 142

3
 Chapter Seven
Economic Feasibility of CO2 Capturing & Storing Projects
7-1 Introduction 145
7-2 Costs of Capturing CO2 from Stationary Sources 145
a- Costs of capturing CO2 gas from power stations 146
b- Cost of capturing CO2 from the industrial sources 151
7-3 Cost of Carbon Dioxide Transportation 151
7-4 Cost of Carbon Dioxide Storage 153
a- Cost of Geological storage 153
b- Cost of ocean storage 154
c- The cost of mineral storage 155
7-5 The Gross Cost of Capturing, Transporting and 155
Storing of Carbon Dioxide
7-6 The Economic Feasibility of the Methods of Capturing 157
and Storing CO2 Gas
a- The impact of CO2 capturing & storing costs 157
b- The impact of CO2 price in the global gas trading market 158
c- The impact of crude oil price 158
7-7 The Adoption of CO2 Capturing and Storing Projects 159
within the Clean Development Mechanism
a- The clean development mechanism (CDM) 159
b- The inclusion of CO2 capturing & storing (CCS) projects into 160
the clean development mechanism (CDM)
c- The impact of the inclusion of CO2 capturing & storing 162
projects into the clean development mechanism
d- The contributions of Arab States in the development of clean 162
development mechanism
7-8 The Future of CO2 Capturing & Storing Projects 163
a- The future role of the of CO2 capturing & storing projects in 163
the reduction of the gas ratio in the atmosphere
b- The role of trade in carbon dioxide for storage purpose in 167
the future
Chapter Eight
Conclusions & Recommendations
8-1 Conclusions 170
a- Conclusions on emissions of carbon dioxide 170
b- Conclusions on capturing and transporting of CO2 gas 171
c- Conclusions regarding the storage of carbon dioxide 172
d- The conclusions on the economic feasibility of CO2 173
capturing & storing operations
8-2 Recommendations 174
References 179
CV of the author 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 wisamalshalchi@yahoo.com

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 most-
abundant 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 carbon-
containing 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 non-
flammable 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 44.01
Boiling point -78.5oC
Latent heat of vaporization 571.3 kj/kg
Heat content 135.0 Btu/lb at 100 °C
Critical pressure 73 atm.
Critical temperature 31°C
Solubility in H2O 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 + 3H2
CO + H2O 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 non-
hybridized 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 H3O+ + HCO3- Ka1 = 4.2 x 10-7
HCO3- + H2O H3O+ + CO3= 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
NaHCO3 + NaOH 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 Ca CO3 + H2O
CaCO3 + CO2 + 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 oxygen-
producing 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 Symbol Percentage

Nitrogen N2 78.082%
Oxygen O2 20.946%
99.998%
Argon Ar 0.933%
Carbon Dioxide CO2 0.037%
Neon Ne 18.2 ppm
Helium He 5.2 ppm
Krypton Kr 1.1 ppm
Sulfur dioxide SO2 1.0 ppm
Methane CH4 2.0 ppm
Hydrogen H2 0.5 ppm
Nitrous Oxide N2O 0.5 ppm
Xenon Xe 0.09 ppm
Ozone O3 0.07 ppm
Nitrogen dioxide NO2 0.02 ppm
Iodine I2 0.01 ppm
Carbon monoxide CO Trace
Ammonia NH3 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 Amount in Billions of Metric Tons
Atmosphere 578 (as of 1700) - 766 (as of 1999)
Soil Organic Matter 1500 to 1600
Ocean 38,000 to 40,000
Marine Sediments and
66,000,000 to 100,000,000
Sedimentary Rocks
Terrestrial Plants 540 to 610
Fossil Fuel Deposits 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 record-
keeping 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 Concentration in the atmosphere* GWP

CO2 383,000 1
CH4 1745 23
N2O 314 296
HFCs 0.105 1300 - 1400
PFCs 0.07 7850
CFCs 0.503 5000 - 14000
SF6 0.102 22200
* ppb in 2007

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 H2CO3
SO2 + H2O H2SO3
SO3 + H2O H2SO4
2NO2 + H2O 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) Year
277 1750
284 1800
287 1850
293 1900
311 1950
317 1960
326 1970
339 1980
354 1990
355 1991
356 1992
357 1993
359 1994
361 1995
363 1996
364 1997
367 1998
368 1999
369 2000
371 2001
373 2002
375 2003
377 2004
379 2005
381 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 Anthropogenic Sources

Emissions from respiration
Emissions from organic decomposition
Emissions from oceans
Emissions from volcanoes
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 Merapi St. Helens Kilauea Etna

Percentage % Indonesia USA Hawaii Cecelia
H2O 88.87 91.58 37.1 27.71
CO2 7.07 6.64 48.9 22.76
SO2 1.15 0.2089 11.8 47.70
H2 1.54 0.85 0.49 0.30
CO 0.16 0.06 1.51 0.48
H2S 1.12 0.3553 0.04 0.22
S2 0.08 0.0039 -- 0.76
HCl 0.59 -- 0.08 --
HF 0.04 -- -- --
COS -- 0.0008 -- --
SO -- -- -- 0.06
Temperature oC 915 802 1170 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 Reserves

Coal 984,453 (Million Tones)
Crude oil 1,277.702 (Billion Barrels)
Natural gas 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).

World total emissions of CO2 form the

Year burning of fossil fuels
(MtC) (MtCO2e)
1970 4076 14959.0
1975 4615 16937.1
1980 5130 19561.1
1985 5436 19950.1
1990 6143 22544.8
1991 6252 22944.8
1992 6121 22464.1
1993 6129 22493.4
1994 6262 22981.5
1995 6402 23495.3
1996 6560 24075.2
1997 6696 24574.3
1998 6656 24427.5
1999 6522 23935.7
2000 6672 24486.2
2001 6842 25110.1
2002 6973 25590.9
2003 7303 26802.0
2004 7696 28244.3
2005 7923 29052.0
2006 8125 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 Percentage of CO2 gas

station in the flue gas (v%)
PC 14
NGCC 4
IGCC 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 Amount of CO2emitted

fuel used (kg/kilowatt.h)
Coal 0.950
Petroleum products 0.894
Natural gas 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
 Global emissions of CO2 from the combustion
Year of fossil fuels to generate electric power
(MtC) (MtCO2e)
1970 1427 5237.1
1975 1615 5927.1
1980 1866 6848.2
1985 1912 7017.0
1990 2150 7890.1
1991 2188 8029.9
1992 2142 7861.1
1993 2145 7872.2
1994 2192 8044.6
1995 2241 8224.5
1996 2296 8426.3
1997 2344 8602.5
1998 2330 8551.1
1999 2283 8378.6
2000 2335 8569.5
2001 2395 8789.7
2002 2790 8954.8
2003 2900 9380.5
2004 3078 9887.0
2005 3169 10176.9
2006 3250 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 (b) Motorcycles
(c) Buses & trucks (d) Aircrafts
(e) Railways (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).

CO2 Global emissions from the

Year
transportation sector (MtC)
2000 1463.2
2001 1505.2
2002 1534.1
2003 1570.1
2004 1616.1
2005 1663.8
2006 1706.2
2010 1765.5
2015 1947.7
2020 2134.2
2025 2293.9
2030 2469.6
2035 2653.6

49
 2040 2858.1
2045 3086.5
2050 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 (2-
13)( 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, air-
conditioning (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.
Emissions of CO2 from the residential &
Year
commercial buildings (BtC/year)
1990 1.6
1995 1.8
2002 2.0
2006 2.2
2010 2.5
2020 2.7
2050 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 (2-
20) 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 1980-
2004(74).

Year Emissions (MtC)

1980 119.9
1985 130.9
1990 156.9
1995 195.9
2000 216.8
2001 235.8
2002 251.8
2003 274.8
2004 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).
Emissions of CO2 from
Year
changes in land use (MtC)
1950 935.47
1955 1312.07
1960 1301.58
1965 1490.75
1970 1537.19
1975 1429.72
1980 1607.58
1985 2066.40
1990 2158.09
1991 2375.61
1992 2239.78
1993 2223.69
1994 2202.23
1995 2167.38
1996 2136.38
1997 2111.47
1998 2086.45
1999 2066.25
2000 2081.22
2005 1990.43
2006 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
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Region
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
East & Middle
968.8 1148.3 1412.9 1788.9 1977.9 2070.0 2161.0 2341.6 2609.1 2726.1
Asia
Former Soviet
825.7 953.7 1174.3 730.6 638.1 633.6 638.9 670.3 684.7 703.0
Union
Others 130.5 142.7 164.8 190.8 206.4 263.3 278.5 297.0 311.6 334.2
World Total 5130 5436 6143 6402 6672 6842 6973 7303 7696 7923

* 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 1990-
2000, 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
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Region
USA 1296.7 1250.5 1367.3 1443.5 1542.8 1565.9 1571.7 1583.9 1612.4 1624.6
China 396.7 501.4 611.2 783.6 826.6 868.7 901.6 1063.1 1283.8 1451.6
Russia NA NA NA 433.9 424.4 421.5 422.0 437.0 459.5 462.5
Japan 255.7 243.5 276.8 293.4 324.6 319.0 323.5 339.4 344.2 335.6
India 81.5 119.8 160.4 236.5 272.9 277.8 279.4 284.2 303.5 317.9
Germany NA NA NA 238.9 231.0 236.9 229.9 235.3 235.2 230.2
Canada 123.4 118.6 130.5 137.7 155.0 151.4 153.6 161.8 160.4 172.1
UK 165.9 160.4 163.2 151.4 150.3 154.4 151.4 154.5 158.1 157.4
S. Korea 34.5 45.0 64.9 107.3 120.7 119.5 127.0 129.5 135.5 136.3
Italy 100.0 102.0 112.7 116.6 121.1 120.5 122.4 128.3 132.2 127.3
Rest of
NA NA NA 2234.3 2200.4 2351.7 2662.5 2517.2 2605.4 2907.5
world
Total 5130 5436 6143 6402 6672 6842 6973 7303 7696 7923

* 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 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Region
Qatar 16.37 10.35 10.54 13.41 12.65 9.73 10.01 10.80 12.49 16.89
Bahrain 6.11 7.16 7.68 7.53 8.68 8.75 8.98 9.14 9.27 9.98
Trinidad &
2.49 4.10 4.13 5.30 6.68 7.34 7.61 7.39 8.14 9.68
Togo
UAE 8.09 12.43 11.74 11.12 9.29 9.51 9.62 9.24 9.26 9.20
Kuwait 6.12 4.11 3.48 6.70 8.18 8.02 7.21 7.87 8.14 8.96
Singapore 3.51 3.48 5.17 6.35 7.22 7.12 7.11 7.11 7.86 8.25
Luxemburg 8.81 7.36 7.63 5.89 5.57 5.77 6.28 6.55 7.21 7.31
USA 5.69 5.24 5.45 5.41 5.63 5.48 5.46 5.46 5.52 5.49
Australia 3.70 3.88 4.22 4.29 5.02 5.17 5.23 5.19 5.22 5.52
Canada 5.01 4.56 4.60 4.66 4.94 4.87 4.88 5.01 5.19 5.25
World
1.12 1.09 1.11 1.06 1.07 1.07 1.08 1.12 1.16 1.19
Average
* 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).

Total CO2 Percentage compared

Year
emissions (MtC) to the world
1980 141.1 2.7%
1985 168.1 3.1%
1990 204.5 3.3%
1995 235.2 3.7%
1996 246.7 3.8%
1997 253.2 3.8%
1998 261.8 3.9%
1999 266.8 4.0%
2000 274.0 4.1%
2001 283.0 4.1%
2002 291.0 4.2%
2003 306.7 4.2%
2004 332.3 4.2%
2005 359.1 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 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Region
Saudi
47.9 49.1 56.7 63.8 78.9 81.8 84.4 94.0 105.2 112.5
Arabia
Egypt 11.5 21.6 25.0 26.9 32.5 35.9 36.3 38.9 44.5 44.1
UAE 8.1 17.0 21.4 27.3 29.9 32.2 34.2 34.5 36.2 37.6
Iraq 13.7 13.3 18.6 20.9 20.0 21.1 21.5 19.4 21.2 26.8
Algeria 17.7 18.8 22.6 23.9 22.7 21.5 22.2 22.2 21.7 24.0
Kuwait 8.4 7.1 7.5 10.9 16.2 16.4 15.2 17.2 18.4 20.9
Libya 8.7 7.9 11.4 10.7 11.4 11.8 13.1 12.6 14.2 14.6

71
Qatar 3.8 3.6 5.1 8.2 8.4 7.5 7.9 8.8 10.5 14.6
Syria 4.6 6.9 10.1 10.8 14.0 13.4 14.0 14.0 14.0 13.6
Morocco 4.2 4.4 5.9 7.1 8.4 9.1 9.1 9.3 9.6 10.6
Unman 1.0 3.6 3.4 3.8 5.9 6.0 6.2 6.1 6.6 8.1
Bahrain 2.1 3.0 3.84 4.3 5.5 5.7 5.9 6.1 6.3 6.9
Tunisia 2.3 3.0 3.6 3.9 5.3 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.7 6.1
Jordan 1.5 2.3 2.8 3.6 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.6 4.9 5.1
Yemen 1.9 2.8 3.1 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.7 4.5 4.5 4.7
Lebanon 1.8 1.9 1.3 3.4 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.4
Sudan 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.8 2.0 2.3 2.7 2.9 2.9
Mauritania 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.7
Djibouti 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Eritrea - - - 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Somalia 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Total 141.1 168.1 204.5 235.2 274.0 283.0 291.0 306.7 332.3 359.1
* 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 2005
Region
Saudi
16.37 10.35 10.54 13.41 12.65 9.73 10.01 10.80 12.49 16.89
Arabia
Egypt 6.11 7.16 7.68 7.53 8.68 8.75 8.98 9.14 9.27 9.98
UAE 8.09 12.43 11.74 11.12 9.29 9.51 9.62 9.24 9.26 9.20
Iraq 6.12 4.11 3.48 6.70 8.18 8.02 7.21 7.87 8.14 8.96
Algeria 4.79 3.68 3.53 3.19 3.41 3.43 3.45 3.74 4.08 4.26
Kuwait 0.88 1.36 1.90 1.80 2.33 2.30 2.30 2.17 2.27 2.70
Libya 2.83 2.15 2.74 2.31 2.22 2.25 2.44 2.28 2.51 2.53
Qatar 0.58 0.62 0.40 1.02 1.24 1.19 1.18 1.17 1.13 1.15
Syria 1.61 0.72 1.28 1.20 1.16 1.16 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.12
Morocco 1.04 0.84 1.03 1.07 0.88 0.90 0.90 0.78 0.84 1.03

73
 Unman 0.67 0.88 0.85 0.85 0.85 0.80 0.82 0.85 0.88 0.88
Bahrain 0.52 0.65 0.81 0.75 0.86 0.80 0.82 0.80 0.78 0.74
Tunisia 0.94 0.85 0.90 0.85 0.75 0.70 0.71 0.70 0.68 0.74
Jordan 0.36 0.41 0.43 0.43 0.56 0.60 0.59 0.57 0.57 0.60
Yemen 0.27 0.43 0.44 0.42 0.46 0.50 0.49 0.52 0.54 0.57
Lebanon 0.21 0.20 0.24 0.26 0.28 0.30 0.29 0.29 0.30 0.32
Sudan 0.21 0.26 0.25 0.18 0.15 0.15 0.14 0.23 0.22 0.23
Mauritania 0.10 0.13 0.13 0.36 0.33 0.31 0.29 0.29 0.24 0.23
Djibouti 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.07 0.08 0.08
Eritrea - - - 0.07 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.05
Somalia 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02
Total 2.5 2.3 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.6 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.
2000 2001 2002 2003
Country
Prod. Cons. Prod. Cons. Prod. Cons. Prod. Cons.
Saudi
126191 108000 133674 120657 144702 114912 149767 132488
Arabia
Egypt 73311 64500 75759 72446 83003 67080 88855 77825
UAE 39944 35200 43172 37500 46856 36200 49450 44419
Kuwait 30617 27463 31536 30737 33112 39373 34105 30937
Iraq 31900 29160 32251 30100 33863 30035 34000 32000
Algeria 26368 19836 27159 21454 28517 20629 29515 22484
Syria 25217 16453 26712 18383 28013 17425 29543 19839
Morocco 14570 13942 15007 15580 15757 14793 16388 14341
Libya 12678 9977 13122 10977 13778 10454 14329 11342
Qatar 9735 8765 10222 9480 10733 9116 11160 9954
Lebanon 9510 8932 9881 9522 10375 9245 10680 9950
Tunisia 8256 7637 8528 8955 10363 7866 10548 9224
Unman 8915 8700 9450 9400 9912 9040 10320 7607
Jordan 7375 6124 7544 6497 8127 6308 7988 7341
Bahrain 6297 5515 6779 6254 7278 5900 7715 6810
Yemen 3414 2968 3644 3408 3769 3216 4098 2736
Sudan 1450 2164 1515 2433 1591 2251 1620 1541
Mauritania 451 355 476 370 499 360 538 429
Somalia 250 250 261 260 274 250 280 266
Djibouti 180 160 190 175 200 168 200 176
Total 436629 376101 456882 415996 489314 404621 509775 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.

Emissions of CO2 from Ratio with respect to the

Year the Arab electric power global power generation
generation sector (MtC) sector
1990 81.8 3.8 %
1995 94.1 4.2 %
1996 98.7 4.3 %
1997 101.3 4.3 %
1998 104.7 4.5 %
1999 106.7 4.7 %
2000 109.6 4.7 %
2001 113.2 4.7 %
2002 116.4 4.2 %
2003 122.7 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).

Growth of Economic Technical CO2 conc. in the

Scenario
population Growth growth atmosphere in 2100
Fast (depends
Scenario IS92e Fast Fast 1000 ppm
on fossil fuels)
Scenario IS92f Fast Slow Slow 850 ppm

79
 Fast (depends
Scenario IS92a Fast Fast on different 730 ppm
energy sources)
Scenario IS92d Slow moderate Slow 615 ppm
Scenario IS92c Fast Moderate Fast 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 0.3-
0.4 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

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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

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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 25-
30 cm above its level at the beginning of the industrial revolution.

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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

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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

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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:

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 • 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.

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 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.

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 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 non-
dangerous 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).

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 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 post-
combustion 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:

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• 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 high-
cost 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.

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 • 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.
CO2
Materials
Method Pressure Conc. in Tempe. advantageous disadvantageous
used
flue gas
Amines, High
Chemical Low to
atmospheric Low Ammonia, consumption Available
Absorption moderate
Carbonates of energy
Glycol, High
Physical
High High Low Cold consumption Available
Absorption
methanol of energy
Alumina,
Low to Low to zeolite, Sensitive to Under
Adsorption Low to high
moderate high activated impurities development
carbon
Sensitive to Under
Cryogenics High High Low -
impurities development
Polymers,
Under
Membranes High High Low molecular Of high costs
development
sieves

Table (4-1): Conditions of using different methods in the post-

combustion 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

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 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

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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 post-
combustion 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.

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 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:

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(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 post-
combustion method. All the separation methods like the chemical
absorption, physical absorption, cryogenics, and using membranes could

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 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

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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.

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 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.

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(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.

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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).

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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 Capacity to store CO2 (BtC)

Deep Oceans Unlimited
Depleted Oil & Gas Fields 920
Deep Saline Aquifer 400 – 10,000
Un-Minable Coal Seams > 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.

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 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.

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™ 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.

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™ 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 post-
closure 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

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 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 micro-
organisms, 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.

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 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%.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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:

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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.

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 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.

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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.
Capturing
Project Type Country CO2 Use
Capacity
Bellingham
320 MW Power station USA Food Industries 320-350 t/d
plant
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 NaCO3 factory & Power Used in the same

USA -
Inc. plant factory
Used to produce urea
Kedah Fertilization Plant Malaysia 160-200 t/d
in the same factory
Somotom
Power Plant Japan Food Industries 150-165 t/d
Chemicals
Luzhou
Used in the same
Natural Gas Urea & Ammonia Factory China 160 t/d
factory
Chemicals
Indo Gulf Used to produce urea
Fertilization Plant India 150 t/d
Fertilizer Co in the same factory
Used to produce urea
ِAonla Fertilization Plant India 450 t/d
in the same factory
Used to produce urea
Phulpur Fertilization Plant India 450 t/d
in the same factory
Used to produce urea
Abu Dhabi Fertilization Plant UAE 400 t/d
in the same factory
Used to produce urea
Bahrain Fertilization Plant Bahrain 450 t/d
in the same factory

Table (6-1): Worldwide CO2 capturing projects working by the post

combustion capture method.

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 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 15-
20% (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.

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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.

CO2 final
Project Type Country Capacity
destination
500 KW
Carson USA EOR 4-5 Mt/y
Power station
680 KW
NRG Energy USA EOR 1 Mt/y
Power station
500 KW
BP DF-2 USA EOR 500 t/d
Power station
Coal Geological
Dakota SNG USA 1 Mt/y
Gasification Storage & EOR
Geological
FutureGen Power Station USA 1-2 Mt/y
Storage
500 KW Geological
Indiana USA 3-4 Mt/y
Power station Storage
EPCOR Power Station Canada EOR 1 Mt/y
1200 KW Depleted oil
Nuon Magnum Holland 0.2 Mt/y
Power station field storage
450 KW Depleted oil
RWE Germany 2.3 Mt/y
Power station field storage
800-900 KW Depleted oil
Seimens Power Germany -
Power station field storage
E.ON 800 KW Depleted oil
UK 1.2 Mt/y
Killingholme Power station field storage
PowerFuel 900 KW
UK EOR -
Hatfield Power station
800 KW
CENTRICA/PEL UK EOR -
Power station
Geological
GE Energy Power station Poland 400,000 t/y
Storage
100 KW
Draugen Norway
Power station
500 KW Geological
GreenGen China 420,000 t/y
Power station Storage
Coal Geological
ZeroGen Australia 420,000 t/y
Gasification Storage

Table (6-2): Worldwide most important CO2 capturing projects by

the pre-combustion method.

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 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
Country Type of use
Plant
Boundary Dam USA To create new solvents to absorb CO2
CASTOR Norway To develop CO2 capturing & storage operations
To develop power generation without CO2
Vattenfall Germany
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

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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 Pipeline Length Capacity
Country Source of CO2
Pipeline km t/y
Weyburn USA 320 5 Gasification Plant
Cortez Kinder USA 808 19.3 McElmoDome
Sheep Mountain USA 660 9.5 Sheep Mountain
Canyon Reef
USA 225 5.2 Gasification plants
Carriers
Bravo USA 350 7.3 Bravo Dome
Val Verde USA 130 2.5 Val Verde Gas Plants
Bati Raman Turkey 90 1.1 Dodan Field
Totals 2591 49.9

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.

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 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

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the Saline Aquifiers type. The following table shows the most important
existing and planned projects of this type:
Name of the Type of Date of Rate of Type of
Country
project project injection injection store
Saline
Sleipner Norway Commercial 1996 3000 t/d
Aquifiers
Saline
Snøhvit Norway Commercial 2006 2000 t/d
Aquifiers
Saline
Gorgon Australia Commercial 2009 10,000 t/d
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.

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 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

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 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 Country Type of Date of Rate of Type of
project project injection injection store
Weyburn Canada Commercial 2000 3-5000 t/d EOR
Salt Creek USA Commercial 2004 5-6000 t/d EOR
Permian Commercial
USA 1972 500 Mt EOR
Basin
In Salah Algeria Commercial 2004 3-4000 t/d EGR

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.

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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.

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 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 Storing capacity Type of storing

K12B Holland 0.1 Mt/y EGR
Recopol Polland 1000 t ECBM
CO2 SINK Germany 60,000 t Deep saline Storing
Pembina Canada - EOR
Fenn Big Valley Canada - ECBM
CSEMP Canada - ECBM
Teapot Dome USA - EOR
Frio Pilot USA 3000 t/ (2005-2006) Deep saline Storing
Qinshui Basin China - ECBM
Otway Australia 50,000 t/y EOR
Yubari Japan - ECBM
Minami-Nagoaka Japan 10400 t/ (2004-2005) 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:

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(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, SNC-
Lavalin, 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

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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.

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 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.

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™ 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.

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 It is possible to calculate the cost of capturing avoided CO2 from the
following formula:
($/MWh) after – ($/MWh) before
Cost of CO2 avoided ($/t) =
(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 Energy Penalty (%)

PC 25
NGCC 13
IGCC 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) .

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 Qty. of CO2 Qty. of CO2 amount of
Type of
produced without produced with CO2 gas ratio of
Power
capturing Unit capturing Unit decreased decrease
Plant
(t/MWh) (t/MWh) (t/MWh)
PC 0.810 0.107 0.703 86.8 %
NGCC 0.374 0.440 0.330 88.2 %
IGCC 0.818 0.890 0.729 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 amount of CO2 Amount of power consumed

Power Plant gas decreased (t/MWh) in CO2 capturing (MWh/t)
PC 0.703 1.4
NGCC 0.330 3.0
IGCC 0.729 1.3

Table (7-3): Energy consumed in capturing operations in different

types of power plants.

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 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 ($/MWh COE)*
Type of Plan PC NGCC IGCC
Without CO2 Capturing Unit 46 43 49
With CO2 Capturing Unit 72 59 63
Increase in Cost 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.

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 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):
CO2 Capturing Cost
Type of Plant
($/t)*
PC 38
NGCC 49
IGCC 20
* Mean Average

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.

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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).
Conc. of CO2 Average cost of
Type of the industrial site
in the flue gas capturing CO2 ($/t)
Cement Factories 15 - 25 % 37
Iron & Steel Plants 15 - 20 % 38
Ammonia plants (CO2 in the flue gases) 8% 47
Ammonia Plants (CO2 from the
Pure Stream -
reaction)
Oil Refineries 3 - 18 % 38 - 55
Hydrogen Plants (CO2 in the flue gas) 8% 47
Hydrogen Plants (CO2 from the
Pure Stream -
reaction)
Petrochemical Plants 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).
Storing Costs ($/t)
Type of Geological Storage
1000 m Depth 2000 m Depth 3000 m Depth
Land Saline Aquifer 2.5 3.6 7.9
Marine Saline Aquifer 6.0 9.8 15.3
Land Depleted Gas Fields 1.5 2.1 4.8
Marine Depleted Gas Fields 4.8 7.5 10.3
Land Depleted Oil Fields 1.5 2.1 4.8
Marine Depleted Oil Fields 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 $55 /t(99).
b- Cost of ocean storage:
The cost of ocean storage of carbon dioxide depends mainly on the
distance between the storing region and the shore, as well as the storage
depth. The cost is composed of two basic constituents, the cost of marine
transportation and the cost of gas injection. As mentioned previously,
there are several methods of storing CO2 gas in the oceans, the following
table shows the costs of these methods(99).
Cost
Type of ocean storage
($/t CO2)
By a pipeline extending from the shore to the depth of the sea 6 - 31
By transporting the gas by ships and then injecting it by a tube
12 - 16
suspended from a platform to the depth of the sea
By transporting the gas by ships and then injecting it by a tube
10 - 14
suspended from a ship to the depth of the sea

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

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 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 Average Cost
• Capturing Carbon dioxide emitted from the anthropogenic
$37.5 /t
sources.
• Transporting by pipelines for a distance of 100 km or less. $3 /t
• Geological Storage. $6 /t
™ Total Cost of capturing, transporting and storing carbon
$46.5 /t
dioxide by the geological storage.
• Storing by EOR mehod. – $55 /t
™ Total cost of capturing, transporting and storing carbon
– $14.5 /t
dioxide by the EOR method
• Ocean Storage $18 /t
™ Total cost of capturing, transporting and storing of carbon
$58.5 /t
dioxide by the ocean storage

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

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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 $16 /t.
The total emissions of carbon dioxide gas from the anthropogenic
sources were in 2006 around 8.1 BtC (29.7 BtCO2e). It was seen in
chapter three that to stop the effect of carbon dioxide on the climate
change, it is needed to find a solution for around 4 BtC (14.8 BtCO2e) of
this gas annually which the natural stores can’t contain, i.e. about all the
emissions from the stationary sources. If we assume that all of these
quantities will be captured and stored by the geological and EOR
methods, then Man has to spend 236.8 billion US dollars yearly. If we
want to have an idea of the costs to be borne by some of the most CO2 gas
emitting countries in the world which are listed in Table (2-15) above,
and which are capable to apply both the geological storage and EOR
methods in their territories, then we get the following results:
Total CO2 Cost of
Total CO2 Total CO2
emissions from capturing &
Country emissions emissions
anthropogenic storing of CO2
(BtC) (BtCO2)
sources (BtCO2) by CCS (B$)
USA 1.6 5.9 2.95 47.2
China 1.4 5.1 2.55 40.8
Russia 0.46 1.7 0.85 13.6
Canad 0.17 0.59 0.3 4.8
UK 0.16 0.58 0.29 4.6
The rest of the
2.9 10.7 5.45 122.8
world
World total 7.9 28.99 14.8 236.8

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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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 (3) The captured and avoided carbon dioxide quantities.
(4) Carbon dioxide transporting pipes monitoring responsibility.
(5) The leakage treatment occurring in the transporting pipes.
(6) 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

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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

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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 (2-

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 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 Total CO2
CO2 conc.
emissions in the emissions emissions
Scenario in the atm.
to the atm. atm. in to the atm. to the atm.
in 2050
in 2050 2100 in 2100 until 2100
Scenario IS92e 600 ppm 19 BtC 1000 ppm 37.5 BtC 2190 BtC
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.

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 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:
Remaining
Total Amount of Amounts must
amount which
Year anthropogenic emissions disposed be reduced by
must be reduced
emissions naturally CCS projects
by other means
2025 12.0 BtC 4.0 BtC 4.2 BtC 3.8 BtC
2050 19.0 BtC 4.0 BtC 6.6 BtC 8.4 BtC
2075 28.0 BtC 4.0 BtC 9.8 BtC 9.8 BtC
2100 37.5 BtC 4.0 BtC 13.1 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

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 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

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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.

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 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.

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 (11) Carbon dioxide emissions from Arab countries form only small
proportion of the total global emissions, which does not exceed 4-
4.5%. 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.

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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 $2-
10 /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
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 CURRICULUM VITA (CV) OF THE AUTOR
Name: Mr. Wisam Al-Shalchi
Age: 53
Address: Amman-Jordan
E-mail: wisamalshalchi@yahoo.com
Moile: 00962785200764

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION:
University Degree
• University of Essex / UK M.Sc. in Petroleum Chemistry
• University of Baghdad / Iraq 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,

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 pipelines …etc, either by direct implementation or by creating joint ventures with
the specialized international firms.
2. 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.
3. Putting plans for the Reconstruction & Development of the Iraqi destroyed Oil &
Gas establishments.
4. 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.
5. 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?
6. Working as a Project Manager for building a small refinery plant
7. Working as a teacher & trainer in the field of oil refining and gas treatment.
8. 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.scribd.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. ***

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