Kansai Electric succeeds in injecting large amount of CO2 into coal beds

Jan 28, 2008 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Kyodo News International - Tokyo

Kansai Electric Power Co. said Monday it has succeeded in an experiment to inject a large amount of carbon dioxide into deep coal beds by using nitrogen for the first time in the world.

The technology is able to fix some 6.6 tons of CO2 in coal beds per day, the same amount as absorbed by 900,000 cedar trees a day, the company said.

Without the use of nitrogen, which prevents each coal bed from swelling and thus reducing the room for absorbing the greenhouse gas, the amount absorbed drops by half.

In addition, the technology enhances the recovery of coal-bed methane.

General Environmental Technos Co., a Kansai Electric subsidiary, has been testing the technology in Yubari, Hokkaido, since 2004 in a project promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The technology would be "promising" if it is put to practical use, Kansai Electric President Shosuke Mori said.