Sydney, June 8 (IANS) A project to store carbon emissions in rock was Tuesday granted more than 3 million Australian dollars ($2.5 million) by the New South Wales (NSW) government.
Researchers from The University of Newcastle were awarded the grant by the NSW Clean Coal Council, which includes representatives from industry, research institutions and the government, Xinhua reported.
The new technology captures carbon dioxide from coal-fired power stations and reacts it with common rocks, producing magnesium carbonates which can be used as soil additives and fertilisers, or pressed into bricks and pavers.
Professor Eric Kennedy from the University’s Priority Research Centre for Energy said this is a positive step towards cutting back the emissions from the state’s coal industry.
‘This technology would allow the NSW coal industry to be an economical and clean source of energy for Australia,’ he said in a statement.
A demonstration plant will now be built at Newcastle University’s Callaghan campus, 12 km west of the city, to prove the technology on a larger scale.
