Carbon capture and storage: New investment

Timon Singh

Carbon capture and storage is one of those ideas that sounds crazy at first, making one wonder why the money isn't simply put into alternative energy research and development, but if industrialised economies such as the US are to make a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, then carbon capture and storage is going to have to be used to curb emissions.

It is a subject that has been making headlines recently due to US Energy Secretary Steven Chu announcing that three projects have been selected to receive up to US$612 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, matched by US$368 million in private funding, in order to demonstrate large scale carbon capture and storage from industrial sources.

By its very meaning, carbon capture and storage revolves around 'harnessing' the CO2 emitted from large sources such as power plants and storing it so it cannot be released into the atmosphere. One system of doing this is bio-carbon capture and storage that utilises biological sequestration methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as algal synthesis methods that are utilised at Australian coal stations.

However, the traditional carbon capture and storage method is to take the CO2 and store it deep underground, but this is inherently expensive and the ability to safely trap gas in underground storage sites is uncertain - especially if the gas finds a way to escape, which gas has a habit of doing.

In the US though, the US energy secretary has deemed that carbon capture and storage be utilised at several large scale industrial centre, moving CCS technology toward eventual commercial deployment.

The Obama Administration has made a goal of developing cost effective deployment of CCS within 10 years, with an objective of bringing 5-10 commercial demonstration projects online by 2016.

"Capturing carbon emissions and storing them underground is a crucial technology as we build a clean energy future and address the threat of climate change," said Secretary Chu. "These investments will create jobs and help ensure that America can lead the world in the clean energy economy."

It is hoped that the sites selected for CCS will store an estimated 6.5 million tpy of CO2, the equivalent of removing nearly 1 million cars of the road. The CO2 is expected to be stored in a deep saline formation.

The CCS projects

The sites, that will be managed by the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory, will received a total investment of US$980 million. The sites that have been chosen are;

Leucadia Energy, LLC, Lake Charles, LA - It is hoped that the Leucadia and Denbury Onshore LLC will capture and sequester 4.5 million tpy of CO2 from a new methanol plant in Lake Chales, LA. The CO2 will be delivered via a 12 mile connector pipeline to an existing Denbury interstate CO2 pipeline and sequestered via use for enhanced oil recovery in the West Hastings oilfield, starting in April 2014.

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., Port Arthur, TX - Air Products will partner with Denbury Onshore LLC to capture and sequester 1 million tpy of CO2 from existing steam methane reformers in Port Arthur, Texas, starting in November 2012. The CO2 will be delivered via a 12 mile connector pipeline to an existing Denbury interstate CO2 pipeline and sequestered via use for enhanced oil recovery in the West Hastings oilfield.

Archer Daniels Midland Corporation, Cecatur, Ill - The project will capture and sequester 1 million tpy of CO2 from an exiting ethanol plant in Illinois starting in August 2012. The CO2 will be sequestered in the Mt. Simon Sandstone, a well characterised saline reservoir located about 1 mile from the plant.

Image from the UK Energy Research Centre

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