Development
Rwanda Taps into Deadly Lake Kivu RWANDA HAS COME UP with an invention of its kind, The KivuWatt power station. The energy producer lies somewhere between a renewable and non-renewable source of energy. For thousands of years, volcanic activity in Lake Kivu has caused a massive accumulation of carbon dioxide and methane to dissolve in the depths of the water. The Engineers of the KivuWatt company have discovered a way to generate electricity from the lake. There are only three such lakes: Lake Kivu, Lake Nyos, and Lake Monoun, both in northwest Cameroon. The accumulated methane and carbon dioxide prove to be direly destructive in the rare event they were released. “If the lake is triggered, there would be a limnic eruption that would cause a huge explosion of gas from deep waters to the surface, resulting in large waves and a cloud of poisonous gas. The explosion would put millions of lives at risk,” said Francois Darchambeau, an environmental manager at KivuWatts. Due to the potential of the limnic eruption, the three lakes are referred to as killer lakes. In the 1980s, Lake Nyos and Monoun experienced limnic eruptions suffocating more than 1,700 people in a gas cloud of toxic carbon dioxide released. Darchambeau says that a similar explosion at Lake Kivu would risk over two million people in both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. People living around fear the destructive potential of the Lake, with stories going around that several swimmers have disappeared into the depths of the waters. However, the engineers of ContourGlobal, an American company that owns KivuWatt, have discovered a way of turning the life-threatening feature into a bright future for the Rwandese government and people specifically. KivuWatt venture started in 2015 and has been producing about 30 per cent of Rwanda’s annual electricity. This is the first large-scale methane to 32
March-April 2022
Rwanda Extracts methane gas from Lake Kivu
power project in the world. How is the methane gas extracted? The facility pumps water saturated with methane and carbon dioxide from about 350 meters below the surface. As the water rises, pressure changes separate the water and the gas. The process produces a deafening roar. Membranes are then used to extract methane from carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is pumped back into the lake to ensure the ecosystem balance is not upset. The extracted methane is sent through a pipeline to a second facility onshore, where the gas turns turbines to generate electric power. KivuWatts company faces a possible shutdown Last year, Mount Nyiragongo, an active volcano, DAWN
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