IAEA Begins Carbon Capture, Nuclear Waste Study
July 21, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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Economists and energy planners at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have embarked upon a multi-year project that will make a comparative analysis of the storage of nuclear waste and carbon dioxide (CO2).
The project will examine the advantages and drawbacks of both approaches to dealing with power generation by-products and is expected to be of interest to many countries investigating nuclear power while weighing mounting anxiety over climate change, said IAEA.
"Even with a phenomenal increase in renewable and other energy sources, the main energy sources will still be fossil-based for the foreseeable future," said Ferenc Laszlo Toth, senior energy economist in the IAEA Planning and Economic Studies Section (PESS).
"Our study will seek to provide information and experience about the possible advantages and disadvantages of going to fossil-based or nuclear-based power generation."
According to IAEA, concerns over climate change and energy security have prompted greater interest in carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology that would reduce greenhouse gases emissions by trapping CO2 emitted by fossil fuel power plants and storing them underground.
With "new build" countries keen to develop a nuclear power program, the safe long-term disposal of nuclear waste is also an issue of concern, said IAEA.
Roughly twenty papers have been commissioned in preparation for the coordinated research project (CRP). The study will examine various aspects of the geological storage of both nuclear waste and CO2, including characteristics, requirements, transport and their physical storage.
The CRP will look at the environmental impact of storing the two waste products underground, analyze the transport options available for both and study the potential hazards to human health. The research will also tackle what lessons and learning the two storage options can garner from one another.
"We are encouraging participants to produce peer-reviewed publications based on their work in the CRP as well. If they come up with interesting results, it increases the value of their research and also raises the profile of our programme," said Toth.
IAEA discussions with member states have confirmed that the CCS/Nuclear Waste CRP is of interest to many of them, and the CRP is open to all IAEA member states for participation. Any state who wishes to work within the CRP can develop its own research programme for the two- to three-year lifetime of the project.
Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).