Media Release: CCS Technology for a Cleaner Victoria

This media release, prepared by a student, addresses the implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology by the Petroleum Engineering Company in Victoria, Australia. The release highlights the company's commitment to reducing carbon emissions and its long-standing presence in the region. It explains the CCS process, including pre-combustion, post-combustion, and oxyfuel methods, and emphasizes the technology's potential to significantly decrease CO2 emissions. The release addresses community concerns, emphasizing the company's dedication to environmental sustainability and its efforts to inform the public about CCS benefits. It also discusses methods to ensure safe CO2 storage, such as dissolution and conversion into bicarbonates, and aims to foster support for CCS as a viable solution for climate change. The report also addresses the concerns regarding the impact of CCS on marine life. The company urges the Victorian people to continue supporting the company in its effort to make the environment clean.

Running head: MEDIA RELEASE
MEDIA RELEASE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Press release
26 April 2018
Carbon Capture and Storage to make Victoria clean
The Petroleum Engineering Company is a coal-fired power plant company situated in
Victoria, Australia that aims to build the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) facility. The
company has been operating in Victoria for over 50 years now and has been a major player in
making the region energy efficient. However, the decision to build the CCS facility has attracted
both appreciation and criticism for the community. It must be made clear that the company does
not intend to harm the interests of the people in any way. In order to understand the advantages
of CCS, people should be made aware about the new technology.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the latest technique developed by companies in
collaboration with scientists that captures carbon and stores it in order to mitigate global carbon
emissions. It is also considered as an imitative version of carbon sequestration, a process
performed by plants during photosynthesis. It is a non-biological means of capturing carbon
dioxide through combustion. It is pertinent to state that the long-term storage of CO2 by the
process of combustion is a relatively new concept. The technology assists in preventing the
emissions of CO2 into the environment by capturing the excessive amount of CO2 emission
from petroleum companies. The Australian Bureau of Statistics stated that in 2009, Victoria
accounted for 21% of total carbon emissions across Australia. In addition, the statistics also
revealed that Victoria registered more than 80% of carbon emissions in the same year.

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The CCS technology involves three methods of capturing the carbon including pre-
combustion, post-combustion and oxyfuel. Pre-combustion refers to the stage before burning the
fuel, post-combustion is after the fuel is burned and oxyfuel is burning the fuel in abundance of
oxygen and storing the byproduct. The CO2 thus produced is then stored under the surface of the
earth.
The notions regarding the use of CCS especially amongst the people who are reluctant to
welcome a new change is due to the absence of proper explanation and research into this area. As
some authors identify, there has been a marked lack in the arguments put forth by the proponents
of CCS in making people aware of its benefits.
The modern conventional power plants are the biggest contributors of CO2 into the
environment and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology helps reduce this emission by
80% to 90%. Further, CCS uses solvents to capture CO2 from gas fuels that excrete nitrogen and
sulphur oxides further contributing to the environment.
The supporters of renewable energy solutions argue that CCS is essentially a bad design
and that stopping the use of carbons is enough for resolving the global climate change problem.
It has been found that during the process of capturing and storing carbon, no emission occurs.
Therefore, the company assures the supporters of renewable energy that CCS is a valuable
technology that would provide long-term solution to the problem of carbon emission.
With the increase in the support for CCS technology, the existing coal-fired power plant
system supporters are starting to realize its potential. Researchers and companies around the
world have found that the “end-of-pipe” feature of post-combustion in CCS is the most viable
technique to capture and store carbon. The company thus wants to convey to the supporters of

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the existing system that conducting CCS would triple-fold the efficiency of the system in
addition to being environmental-friendly.
Many concerned citizens have also put forth the solution that instead of conducting CCS,
companies must appeal to the people to turn down air conditioner settings in order to save
energy. The company understands the concern of its citizens and acknowledges their suggestion.
It is important to make people aware of the adversities of overusing air-conditioners. It is
however evident from the rising demands of the people, fossil fuels will continue to be used for
generating energy. CCS is a technology that can be used to stop carbon emissions simultaneously
as people continue using fossils.
The larger population of Australia especially the residents of Victoria are concerned
about the company’s initiative to conduct CCS. In order to clear their doubts regarding the CCS,
the company plans to conduct an awareness meet with experts from the government and business
community t let people know the potential benefits of CCS.
To the citizens, the company desires to state that CCS is a comprehensible system
developed to make the goals of sustainable development a reality. With the use of methods like
dissolution in which CO2 is injected by a ship or a pipeline into the deep water of the oceans
where the CO2 dissolves, CCS guarantees least emission of pollutants.
The company assures the citizens that it is aware of all the risks associated with the
system and hence, proper care and attention has been given to the storage facilities. The
company wants to let its people know that the burning of biofuels, burying of CO2 emissions
underground or under water would reduce the levels of CO2 by 180 ppm, which is more than
what the traditional renewable system is doing.

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Companies that are against the use of CCS claim that the technology would put marine
life at risk by raising the Co2 level in the oceans. In an attempt to address these concerns, the
company states that there are ways to ensure that the stored carbon might never rise above the
disposition ground if it is converted into bicarbonates. In addition, other methods like storing the
CO2 in solid clathrate hydrates that are already present at the ocean floor would ensure that it
never rises.
The Petroleum Engineering Company has been instrumental in contributing to the
wellbeing of the people in Victoria and the entire country. The company aims to continue its
endeavor towards providing viable solutions to the betterment of the community and the
environment. It urges the Victorian people to keep supporting the company in its effort to make
the environment clean by making an extra effort on their behalf as well. The company is
committed towards its goal to sustain the environment for future and CCS technology would
largely assist in this.

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