The Environment, Society, and Technology in Capturing and Storing Carbon in Brazil was the theme of a minicourse organized and taught during the event by seven RCGI scientists
Researchers from the FAPESP Shell Research Centre for Gas Innovation (RCGI) taught a minicourse on September 17, on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) during the I Environmental Engineering Week of the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (SemEA/Poli-USP). The event was organized by the Environmental Engineering Academic Center (CAEA) and focused on promoting the culture and visibility of environmental engineering and its intersections with other areas, as well as involving students with professionals and with the routine of environmental engineers.
“We were called upon by the SemEA organizers, who showed an interest in taking RCGI staff to the event for a lecture. We chose the CCS subject, which is one of the technologies used to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases (GHG)”, explains Drielli Peyerl, one of the members of the team of the RCGI’s Project 42, which was responsible for the minicourse. The title of Project 42 is Assessing the Environmental Impact and Legal Aspects of CCS Activities in Brazil.
The minicourse was organized and taught by researchers Professor Evandro Mateus Moretto (one of the Coordinators of Project 42), Drielli Peyerl, Fernanda Machado, Karen Louise Mascarenhas, Nathália Weber, and Stephanie San Martin Cañas, and it was preceded by a presentation of the RCGI by the Centre’s Director of Communication and Dissemination of Knowledge, Professor Gustavo Assi.
We addressed issues involving energy transition, geological, environmental, sustainable development, and public perception aspects of CCS, in order to demonstrate how new technologies are transforming our field of work, and how to align them with issues involving the environment and society,” Drielli said.
CCS involves capturing CO2 from emission sources (thermoelectric plants, cement factories, and steel mills, for example), transporting CO2 via pipelines, trucks, or ships, and storing the gas in onshore and offshore geological structures. The RCGI has a program dedicated to the subject of Carbon abatement, with 16 Projects that investigate, among other things, how and where to store carbon, how to monitor leakage, and how to handle technological, regulatory, and environmental issues that are necessary for making CCS projects viables.