空气净化新技术有望还中国蓝天

    尽管对中国空气污染危机的报道连篇累牍，但不为人注意的是，中国国内同时还在建设更多的煤电厂——最新统计显示，目前在建的煤电厂多达363家。不能因此就指责中国，因为这个国家需要竭尽所能获取能源。中国一直在以最快的速度建设风力发电站和太阳能发电站，但这些电站所提供的电力不足国内能源需求的1%。中国还有建设核电站的宏伟规划，但这仍然无法解决问题。如果按照现在的路线前进，到2030年，中国能源约三分之二仍将来自以煤炭为主的化石燃料。

    储量丰富的煤炭是空气污染和气候变化的主因。减轻煤炭对全球变暖进程的负面影响只有一种方法，就是所谓的CCUS——碳捕捉可用储存技术（carbon capture useable storage）。这种技术能在源头捕捉碳及其他污染物，把它们回输到地下永久储存。所谓“可用”的意思是，将二氧化碳注入油井，以便重新开采那些用别的办法难以提取的储量。这套系统还能被设计用于清除硫磺、炭黑及其他空气污染物。

    我们早已知道如何储存碳——多年来石油公司一直在用这项技术在几乎开采殆尽的油田中开采最后几桶油。但大家不知道，哪种技术在捕捉煤电站排放的二氧化碳时最有效、最经济。

    因此，现在的问题是：谁会花几十亿美元来大规模研发、测试这项技术？一群能源专家在上周于华盛顿特区威尔森中心（The Wilson Center）举行的会议上称，多年进展缓慢、不断遭遇失败之后，碳捕捉技术终于在世界上某些地方开始取得进展。

    美国能源部（he Department of Energy）化石能源办公室清洁燃煤助理副部长胡里奥•弗里德曼表示，全球在开发CCUS技术上共投入45亿美元，其中美国能源部就投入了4亿美元的研发费用。中国现在开始加快了行动。弗里德曼称，中国之所以想采用CCUS，主要是因为中国现任领导人很多都是工程师出身，对气候变化相关科学十分关注，现在也开始意识到这项技术的重要性。他说：“关于是否要采纳CCUS的争论已告一段落，现在争议的焦点是成本问题和推行的时机。”

    据全球碳捕捉和储存研究院（CCS Institute）称，中国拥有全球规模最大的碳捕捉项目（美国是这个领域的另外一个大国）。这个研究院发现，截至2014年2月，中国已有12个此类大型项目，数量比2011年翻了一番。

    在这些项目中，中国国有巨型发电、燃煤和石油公司占据主导地位，其中很多还与国际巨头开展了合作。亚太区清洁空气任务组织（Clean Air Task Force）首席代表宋明（音译）称：“CCUS要取得成功，美国和中国必须在清洁燃煤技术上共享更多技术信息。”宋明在促成中国和西方能源巨头实现合作、加快发展更清洁燃煤的进程中始终奋战在一线。他说：“美国更有创新能力，管理体系也更完善，而中国则在低成本快速运作上有一定优势。”

    希望事实和他说的一样，因为气候变化的警钟一直在滴答作响。（财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    Lost in all the coverage of China's air pollution crisis is that the country continues to build more coal-fired power plants -- with 363 new ones under construction at last count. You can't blame the Chinese; they need all the energy they can get. They've been building out wind and solar power as fast as they can, but those sources still account for less than 1% of China's power needs. The country has an ambitious nuclear program, but even that won't solve the problem. If China keeps on its current course, by 2030 roughly two-thirds of its power will still come from fossil fuels, mainly coal.

    This abundant fuel contributes heavily to both air pollution and climate change. Only one way exists to mitigate the negative impact of coal on global warming -- a technology called CCUS for carbon capture useable storage. This process involves capturing the carbon and other pollutants at the source and piping them underground where they will be stored permanently. The "useable" part means injecting CO2 into oil wells where it will help recover reserves otherwise difficult to extract. These systems can also be designed with technology to clean up sulfur, soot, and other forms of air pollution.

    We already know how to store carbon -- oil companies have been using the technology for years to suck the last few barrels out of nearly tapped fields. What's not known is which technology will work best -- and most economically -- to capture the CO2 as it's being generated by the coal plant.

    So the question becomes, Who is going to spend the billions needed to build and test the technology on a large scale? At a conference at The Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., last week, a panel of energy experts argued that after years of slow progress and false starts, carbon capture technology is finally gaining traction in some parts of the world.

    Julio Friedmann, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Clean Coal, Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy, says worldwide some $4.5 billion is being invested in CCUS with the U.S. DOE spending $400 million on R&D for the technology. China especially is now stepping up to the plate. Friedmann says the country wants to employ CCUS technology because its leaders, many of whom are engineers and are aware of the science of climate change, now recognize its importance. "The debate over whether to do CCUS is done," he says. "The debate now is about costs and timing."

    According to the global CCS Institute, China has one of the biggest carbon capture pilot programs in the world. (The U.S. is another big player.) As of February 2014, the Institute recorded 12 large-scale projects in China, double the number of projects in 2011.

    China's giant state-owned power-generation, coal, and oil companies are taking the lead on these projects, and many also involve major international partners. "If CCUS is to succeed, the U.S. and China must share more technical information on clean-coal technology," says Ming Sung, the Clean Air Task Force's Chief Representative for the Asia Pacific. Ming has been at the forefront of efforts to accelerate cleaner coal efforts by helping to forge partnerships between leading energy firms from China and the West. "The U.S.," he says, "is more innovative and has better management systems, but China can do things cheaper and quicker."

    Let's hope he's right, because the climate clock is ticking.