Curtin will help the Cooperative Research Centre
for Greenhouse Gas Technologies find ways to
minimise the impact of high emitting industries.
Image: iStockphoto 

Curtin University will be involved in the carbon capture and storage of some of the nation’s most critical industries and projects as part of its involvement in a nationwide research initiative.

Curtin University’s involvement in the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies was announced recently as part of four national Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) by Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Senator Kim Carr.

Curtin University Resource & Chemistry Precinct Executive Director Mark Woffenden says the centre will undertake cutting edge research to offset the carbon emissions of some of Australia’s most notorious emitters.

“Whilst there is a broader vision for the long term use of our research, the initial targets are points of stationary and highly concentrated carbon emitters, for example stationary coal fired power stations.

“We will also provide the research needed to ensure developers meet their carbon emissions requirements, in projects such as the Gorgon gas mine where in the extraction of the LNG, there is significant CO2 production.

“In fact part of the Gorgon deal is that the carbon is separated and stored in the underground storage facility.”

Mr Woffenden says while the CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies will be involved in several areas of research, the understanding of underground carbon storage resources will be the primary focus.

“We need to understand what capacity those underground storage resources have, which includes assessing the geological storages to assessing the containment of those storage systems as well as being able to validate the geological and engineering models of field experiments.

“There is also the issue of making the capture and storage of carbon cost-effective. There are various carbon dioxide separation technologies that need to be further developed as well as reducing the energy requirements for carbon capture. For example, current technologies use about 30 percent of the output of a power station.”

The CRC for Green House Gas Technologies is a collaboration between Curtin University, CSIRO, Monash University and the University of Melbourne and will build on existing research into carbon capture.

“It is a continuing CRC, as the importance of carbon sequestration is only increasing (our objective) is to extend the previous focus for that research centre,” says Mr Woffenden.

Curtin University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Development Professor Linda Kristjanson, says participation in these CRCs means Curtin increases its cutting-edge research and collaboration in a number of key areas.

“The government and industry funding will provide Curtin’s students and researchers with the resources they need to perform world leading research in a number of areas vital to WA’s economy.

“In the long term this will provide a number of advantages for local businesses, and new employment opportunities for young people in Western Australia.”

The Cooperative Research Centres Program is a Federal Government initiative in which government, industry and research organisations co-invest in innovative research to benefit Australia.

In addition to the CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, Curtin University is a partner in the new CRC Mining, as well as the CRC for Deep Exploration Technologies and the CRC for Spatial Information.