Capturing and storing carbon, also referred to as CCS, is lauded globally for its capacity to reduce carbon emissions in countries where coal is the sole or dominant source of electricity generation.
Carbon is captured while coal is burning away, in power stations, it is then compressed and transported to storage.
The significance of stored carbon dioxide, is its ability to be converted to other useful products, such as chemicals for petroleum, and other types of fuels.
The Council for Geoscience (CGS) and Sasol have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate, explore and develop carbon capture and utilisation and storage (CCUS) potential in South Africa.
CCUS can capture more than 85% of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and industrial facilities such as the Sasol coal-to-liquids plant in Secunda.
Mosa Mabuza, CEO of the CGS, said “the government of South Africa has a long-shared history on matters of CCUS with Sasol and the timing for this collaboration is impeccable given the energy crisis confronting the country”.
The CCUS project is co-funded by the South African government and World Bank in South Africa.
The MoU further provides a framework for developing a deeper understanding of the geological potential for CO2 sequestration, both onshore and offshore as pointed out by the Atlas on the geological storage of carbon dioxide in South Africa and cost requirements for CO2 sequestration.
The CCUS programme is one of the suites of technologies implemented in line with South Africa’s climate change commitments to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 50% in 10 years’ time, aligned to the Paris Agreement.
Picture of Moses Mabuza and Dr Thembakazi Mali