Thursday 9 September 2021

Orca: Unfortunately, Not a Whale of a Project?

Orca, in this case, is a name derived from the Icelandic (Orka) for energy. Orca is currently the world's largest operational carbon capture device (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/09/worlds-biggest-plant-to-turn-carbon-dioxide-into-rock-opens-in-iceland-orca). Orca is located in Iceland. It is the result of a $10-15m collaboration between a Swiss and an Icelandic engineering company. Its proud owners predict that Orca will annually suck 4000 tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The gas, after its heat-assisted removal from filters, is mixed with water, before the product is injected into underlaying volcanic rocks for long-term storage. The technology seems, thus far, to work. It has been pointed out, however, that the amount of 'greenhouse gas' removed annually, is roughly equivalent to the exhaust fumes of 870 cars, operating continuously over the same period. This is a not insignificant amount of the gas. The world would need, however, an awful lot of Orcas (at phenomenal expense), to produce a real change in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. The technology is clearly suited to dealing with the effluent of installations that must produce 'greenhouse gases'. It is difficult see giant Orcas being developed as stand alone 'cures' for climate change. That really is science fiction.

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