A laboratory at the Australian National University is conducting pioneering research into carbon capture and storage with the aim of reducing global emissions from fossil fuels.
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The National Laboratory for X-ray Micro Computed Tomography, known as the CTLab, is playing a crucial role in the process where carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants and industries such as cement, steel and chemical production, are captured and stored deep underground.
Carbon capture and storage will provide 13 per cent of global emissions reductions by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.
The CTLab was officially opened on Monday following a $5 million upgrade. It now houses new state-of-the-art equipment including X-ray microscopes which scientists can use to observe carbon dioxide being trapped in aquifer rocks.
"Secure storage of the carbon dioxide depends on interactions between salty groundwater and the injected carbon dioxide within microscopic gaps in the underground rocks," said Dr Adrian Sheppard, who is the Head of the ANU Department of Applied Mathematics.
"Our 3D microscopes give us an unprecedented ability to observe these interactions directly."
Dr Sheppard said the main concern about carbon dioxide storage was one of safety.
"We want to know is the CO2 going to be secure, is it going to stay down there, these are the issues we're trying to understand."
The new facilities would enable ANU scientists to build accurate large-scale computer models explaining how complex layers of sedimentary rock influence the effectiveness of carbon dioxide storage, Dr Sheppard said.
CTLab is a national centre for X-ray microscopy that conducts research in a range of other fields including biomedical applications, advanced aerospace materials, anthropology and paleontology.
It is jointly funded by C02CRC Limited and the Australian Government's Education Investment Fund and is part of the $51.6 million Australian CCS Research Laboratories Network (CCSNET).
Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said the CTLab would be an important development for carbon storage research.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what CTLab can achieve as this research will play an important role in managing carbon dioxide emissions in industries such as cement, steel, chemical and fertiliser production, as well as fossil fuelled power generation," Minister Birmingham said.
Tania Constable, Chief Executive Officer of CO2CRC, said the CCSNET laboratories were part of an interconnected set of assets in Australia that will reduce the cost of carbon capture and storage, while ensuring long-term safety.
"The ANU assets, as well as others around Australia, will provide vital workflows, data and technologies that are relevant to flagship carbon capture and storage projects locally and internationally," she said.
"If we are to have any chance of achieving Australia's emissions reduction targets we'll need to implement a range of responses: renewable energy, greater energy efficiency, fuel switching, and the use of carbon capture and storage as the major technology to curb industrial emissions."
