The Emissions of CO₂ as the Chance for the Sustainable Management With Natural Sources

Natalija Špeh, Klara Orešnik, Janez Kozinc

ERICo Velenje, Institute for Ecological Research, Koroška 58, 3320-SI Velenje, Slovenia

Abstract
According to the regional and wider national strategic goals concerning the use of natural resources and electricity production in the future, the sustainable aspect of the exploitation of the nonrenewable lignite stock is emphasized. We also discussed (quantitativly evaluated) the potentially produced electricity and the potentially emitted CO₂ as one of the main environmental issues regarding the Kyoto document when the researched lignite deposit would be used in the nearest Thermal power plant (TPP) Šoštanj. In 2004 an experiment was performed on sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the coal seam. The aim of the experiment was to estimate the suitability of the coal bed for storage of CO₂ released during combustion of coal and the usage of subsequently released CH₄. The wells were 3000 m far from the mine entrance. The first three wells were 6 m apart from each other, the other three 3 m. In the wells the amounts of CH₄, CO₂, dimethylsulfide, oxygen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen, as well as flow, humidity and temperature of desorbed gases were measured. CO₂ was sequestered in the second and fifth well for four hours. In the remaining wells desorbed gases were sampled in 2 l tedlar bags. During sequestration of CO₂ gases were sampled from the wells every half hour. Eight weeks after the experiment was performed, the composition of gases was remeasured.