FAQ

Click on a question below to reveal the answer. 

• What is a significance of CO₂ emissions to our world?
  

  There is a great concern that increased levels of CO₂ and other GHG's in the atmosphere will affect the climate.  Climate change is a natural process on Earth, but human emissions could potentially alter the natural cycle. Some of the main threats are rising sea levels, more severe weather patterns, and prolonged periods of drought.

   

• What are greenhouse gases?
  

  There are certain gases in the atmosphere that trap energy (heat) from the sun.  These are known as greenhouse gases (GHG's).  The most common and naturally occurring GHG's are water vapour, ozone, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).  Without these gases in our atmosphere, Earth would be too cold to support life!  We actually need GHG's to survive but the concern is that human activities may be putting too many GHG's into the atmosphere.
   

• Why do we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
  

  Increased levels of GHG's in the atmosphere may lead to a warmer planet.  Data shows that the earth's average air temperature is increasing and scientists are worried about climate change.  Severe storms, rising sea levels, and regional droughts are possible consequences of a changing climate.
   

• What are the Greenhouse Gas Effect, Global Warming, and Climate Change?
  

  The Greenhouse Gas Effect refers to the warming of the earth's temperature due to the accumulation of certain gases in the atmosphere.  Global Warming refers to the increase in the earth's temperature that is believed to be caused by the anthropogenic (man-made) Greenhouse Gas Effect.  Climate Change refers the effects on the earth's climate of the increase in the earth's temperature due to Global Warming. For more information, see our Public Interest page.
   

• What are the consequences of Global Warming and Climate Change?
  

  Data shows that the earth's average air temperature is increasing.  Some of the potential consequences of an increase in global temperature are severe storms (caused by changes to the normal balance of the temperature and moisture in the atmosphere above affected geographical locations), rising sea levels (caused by the melting of the polar icecaps due to increased overall temperature), and regional droughts (reduced precipitation).
   

• Which gases are Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) and how abundant and potent are they?
  

  The most common and naturally occurring GHG's are water vapour, ozone, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).   CO₂ is not the most potent GHG, but it is by far the most abundantly produced (it is produced in large quantities from the burning of fossil fuels, which occurs in many of our most common and frequent activities, such as transportation, heating, and electricity production).  Therefore, it is most urgent to find ways of reducing CO₂.  For more information, see our Public Interest page.
   

• What are the sources of CO₂ emissions?
  

  CO₂ is emitted from many anthropogenic (man-made) sources but are most particularly produced from the combustion of fossil fuels. The most abundant sources of CO₂ are electric power generation and the oil and gas industry.  CO₂ capture and storage technologies are being developed to aid these industries in drastically reducing their GHG emissions. For more information, see our Public Interest page.
   

• What emissions are associated with Electric Power Generation in Canada?
  

  The electricity generation sector is comprised of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion, whether from a utility or from industry. Only a portion of Canada's generation is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. In 1999, about 26% of the total electricity generated was from greenhouse gas emitting thermal generation sources (coal, oil, natural gas and petroleum coke).
   

• What can be done about Climate Change and Global Warming?
  

  The largest contributor to Global Warming is the Greenhouse Gas Effect. To reduce Global Warming, we must reduce the amount of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) in the atmosphere. Some Greenhouse Gas is natural and essential to maintaining the earth's ideal temperature. It is the anthropogenic (man-made) GHGs that must be reduced.

  There are two types of anthropogenic sources of GHGs, large-point sources such as industrial facilities and operations, and small-point sources such as homes and automobiles. Scientists throughout the world are working on technologies to reduce and even eliminate the production of GHGs from all types of sources. One of the most significant technologies is GHG capture technology.

• What does Greenhouse Gas capture mean?
  
  Greenhouse gas capture is any technology that is used to divert and collect a greenhouse gas before it is released to the atmosphere.  This technology is usually applied to capturing CO₂ since CO₂ is by far the most abundant man-made Greenhouse Gas.
• What happens to the CO₂ after it is captured?
  

  After CO₂ is captured it has to be stored or used in a secondary process.
   

• How and where can captured CO₂ be stored?
  

  Since the quantities of CO₂ that need to be captured and stored to make any sort of impact on Greenhouse Gas reductions are vast, there are really only two options large enough to contain the CO₂ - the ocean and underground geological formations.

  Storage in the ocean involves either dropping the CO₂ into the ocean as solid blocks of dry ice that sink and are slowly dissolved or injecting the CO₂ into pockets or 'lakes' near the ocean floor or into deep waters. The CO₂ deposited in the ocean will eventually disperse throughout the water.

  Storage in underground geological formations involves injecting the CO₂ directly into formations that are first screened to identify necessary characteristics that will allow them to securely contain the CO₂. Once of the most promising options for geological storage is to combine it with Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). This is proving to be the most viable option for major CO₂ reductions in Saskatchewan. The process is currently being used and demonstrated on an oil field near Weyburn, Saskatchewan in the IEA GHG Weyburn CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project. For more information, see our Public Interest page.

• How can captured CO₂ be used in secondary processes?
  

  CO₂ can be used for a tremendous range of industrial and consumer purposes. It is used as an explosive, a compressed gas, a flame retardant, and a refrigerant. It is used in products from lasers and life preservers to dry ice. It is even used in foods such as carbonated beverages. (For more detailed information on its possible uses, see our Public Interest page).

  The purity of the CO₂ is what determines the use to which it can be put. Used in foods and medicines, the CO₂ is captured and then purified to acceptable levels of purity for consumption. One aspect of capture technology is controlling the purity of the captured CO₂. Other technologies are being developed to further purify the CO₂ after it has been captured.

• What technologies are the ITC developing for carbon capture?
  

  ITC is developing technologies specifically targeted to the energy industry, with a focus on industries using gas processing and producing flue gas streams, such as gas- and coal-fired power plants. See CO₂ Research Activities.

• How big is the CO₂ capture plant at the ITC?
  

  The CO₂ capture plant at the ITC can capture one tonne of CO₂ each day. This is small compared to the size of capture plants that would be needed in industry, however it provides us with an excellent test facility to screen and evaluate developing technologies.

  The CO₂ capture pilot plant at Boundary Dam produces 4 tonnes of CO₂/day.

  For more information, see Pilot Plant Facilities.

• What is the mission of ITC?
  

  The ITC is working on technologies that can capture CO₂ from industrial flue gases in an affordable manner.  Current technologies work but the are expensive.  By improving the process the cost of capture can be reduced, which benefits the environment, industry, and the general public.
   

• What happens to the CO₂ after it is captured?
  

  After CO₂ is captured it has to be stored or used in a secondary process. The best option for Saskatchewan is to inject the CO₂ into an existing oil reservoir in an effort to produce more oil. This is actually being done near Weyburn, however the CO₂ is coming from a plant in North Dakota. Visit the Weyburn Project page on the PTRC site for more information.