Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
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ZEP Unveils Proposal for EU Demonstration Program to Accelerate Deployment and Availability of CCS
November 13, 2008
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| The demonstration phase will require funding to close the gap between the cost of CCS and the price of carbon. Click to enlarge. |
The European Technology Platform for Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants (ZEP) unveiled a report outlining the rapid deployment of an EU-wide CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) Demonstration Program—integrating all aspects of CO2 capture, transport and storage—which would speed up the deployment of CCS in the EU by 10 years and contribute to the commercial availability of CCS by 2020.
An wide range of experts and stakeholders participated in the creation of the report, which outlines every aspect of CCS demonstration to establish the optimal portfolio of projects across Europe necessary to cover a full range of CCS technologies and fuel sources, geographies and geologies.
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In-Situ Carbonation of Peridotite Offers Large Scale Capacity for Permanent Storage of CO2
November 07, 2008
Researchers at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have concluded that the in situ carbonation of peridotite, a type of rock found at or near the surface in Oman and other areas around the world, could consume more than 1 billion tons of CO2 per year in Oman alone, affording a low-cost, safe, and permanent method to capture and store atmospheric CO2.
Their studies show that the rock reacts naturally at surprisingly high rates with CO2 to form solid minerals, and that the process could be speeded by multiple orders of magnitude with simple drilling and injection methods. The study appears in this week’s early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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RAND Study Concludes Oil Sands Synthetic Crude Can Be Cost-Competitive with Conventional Petroleum Even Over a Wide Range of CO2 Prices
October 12, 2008
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| Estimated unit costs of SCO from steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) with upgrading, with and without CCS, and of conventional crude oil in 2025, versus different costs of CO2 emissions. Click to enlarge. Source: RAND |
A new report from RAND concludes that in 2025, synthetic crude oil (SCO) produced from oil sands can have a cost advantage over conventional petroleum at a wide range of CO2 prices, even though it is more CO2-intensive (15-20% on a life-cycle basis). Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) transportation fuels can also be cost-competitive with conventional petroleum, although the degree of cost-competitiveness is more sensitive to the price of oil and the CO2 emission cost, the report says. CTL fuels can be approximately twice as CO2-intensive on a full life-cycle basis as conventional petroleum fuels.
Current methods for oil sands production require large quantities of water and can harm local water quality, the report notes. Development of oil sands can also cause large-scale disturbances of land and habitat. Both resources also represent potentially significant sources of carbon dioxide emissions. The study was funded by the National Commission on Energy Policy.
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McKinsey Report Concludes CCS Could Be Economic at New Power Plants by 2030
September 29, 2008
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| While many CCS component technologies are relatively mature, to date there are no fully integrated, commercial-scale CCS projects in operation. Click to enlarge. Source: McKinsey |
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) at new power plants could become economic by 2030, according to a new report by management consultancy McKinsey & Co. The report, which focuses on the European power generation market, projects CCS costs in the reference case scenario down to around €30-45 (US$43-65) per tonne of CO2 abated by then—costs which are in line with expected carbon prices in that period.
Early CCS demonstration projects will have a significantly higher cost of €60-90 per tonne, according to the report. Early full commercial-scale CCS projects—potentially to be built soon after 2020—are estimated to cost €35-50/tonne CO2 abated.
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DOE to Provide $36 Million to Advance Carbon Dioxide Capture from Coal-Fired Power Plants
July 31, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $36 million for 15 projects aimed at furthering the development of new and cost-effective technologies for the capture of carbon dioxide from the existing fleet of coal-fired power plants. Research areas supported in the award include membrane technology; solvents; solid sorbents; oxycombustion, flue gas purification; oxycombustion boiler development; and chemical looping combustion.
Membranes. Membrane-based CO2 capture uses permeable or semi-permeable materials that allow for the selective transport and separation of CO2 from flue gas. Research projects in this area will address key technical challenges to the use of membrane-based systems such as large flue gas volume, relatively low CO2 concentration, low flue gas pressure, flue gas contaminants, and the need for high membrane surface area.
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Deep-Sea Basalt Rocks May Offer Vast Repository for CO2
July 19, 2008
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| Deep-sea basalt region for CO2 burial. Red outline shows where water depth exceeds 2,700 meters and sediment thickness exceeds 200 meters; hatched areas show where sediment thickness exceeds 300 meters. Seamounts and areas near plate boundaries or continental shelf are excluded. Click to enlarge. Credit: Goldberg et al. |
Deep-sea basalt rocks off the West Coast and elsewhere might be used to securely sequester large amounts of anthropogenic CO2, according to researchers at the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. In particular, they concluded, an area of 78,000 km2 (30,000 mi2) of ocean floor off California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia could lock in the equivalent of around 150 years of US CO2 production. An open-access paper on their work, Carbon dioxide sequestration in deep-sea basalt, appeared in the 14 July edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Injection of CO2 into deep-sea basalt formations provides “unique and significant advantages over other potential geological storage options,” according to lead author David Goldberg and his colleagues Taro Takahashi and Angela Slagle. These include:
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DOE to Invest Approximately $1.3B to Commercialize CCS Technology in Revamped FutureGen Program
June 25, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to invest in multiple commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) or other advanced coal power plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology under the Department’s restructured FutureGen program. (Earlier post.)
The solicitation is seeking multiple cost-shared projects to advance coal-based power generation technologies that capture and store the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). The Department anticipates $290 million will be available for funding of selected projects through fiscal year (FY) 2009 and an additional $1.01 billion is expected to be available in subsequent years, subject to appropriations by Congress.
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UK Regional Development Agency, Industry Partners Propose US$3.9B Pipeline Network for CO2
June 08, 2008
Yorkshire Forward, the development agency for the Yorkshire and Humber region in the UK, along with some of the UK’s largest energy and industrial companies, released a study concluding that a carbon capture and storage (CCS) network into which emitters link would be the most cost effective CO2 transportation option for the region.
The study proposes that a regional pipeline network be built now—a £2 billion (US$3.9 billion), 20-year effort if begun in 2008—rather than develop as a matter of course from discrete CCS projects, to help accelerate the development and application of CCS, and to serve as an economic lure for companies seeking a system for safe and cost-effective CO2 transport and storage. The £2 billion investment does not include costs at the capture or storage sites.
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DOE Awards $126.6M for Two More Large-Scale Carbon Sequestration Projects
May 07, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded more than $126.6 million to the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB) and the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) for the DOE's fifth and sixth large-scale carbon sequestration projects.
These industry partnerships, which are part of DOE’s Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, will conduct large volume tests in California and Ohio to demonstrate the ability of a geologic formation to safely, permanently, and economically store more than one million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Subject to annual appropriations from Congress, this project, including the partnership’s cost share, is estimated to cost more than $183 million.
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Research to Explore Polymer Catalytic Membrane Systems for the Capture and Recovery of CO2
May 06, 2008
A materials chemist working in the Organic Materials Innovation Centre (OMIC) at The University of Manchester (UK), has won £150,000 (US$296,000) of new funding to explore the use of a special polymer in a catalytic membrane system to capture and recover CO2 from power plants.
Dr. Peter Budd’s project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will explore the potential of composite membranes made from a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM), and a synthetic catalyst.
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University of Calgary Launches Gigatonne Carbon Storage Study
March 28, 2008
The University of Calgary (U of C) is launching a Gigatonne carbon storage study. The Wabamun Area CO2 Sequestration Project will assess the geological and technical requirements, economic feasibility and technical and regulatory issues related to the potential to safely store up to 1,000 megatonnes of CO2. The 16-month assessment is being coordinated by the U of C’s Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE).
The C$850,000-study is scheduled to be complete by mid-2009. Government funding is provided through the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI) and by the federal government’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Funding is also being supplied by energy-sector partners TransAlta, TransCanada Corporation, ARC Energy Trust and Penn West Energy Trust. Additional industry partners are being considered for the project.
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King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Announces Inaugural Global Research Partnership Investigator Winners
March 15, 2008
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia has named the winners of its Global Research Partnership (GRP) Investigator competition. Twelve international scientists—among them Dr. Yi Cui at Stanford (silicon nanowires for li-ion batteries) and Dr. Bruce Logan at Penn State (microbial fuel cells)—were selected as KAUST GRP investigators for the 2007 round of nominations, which featured more than 60 submissions from 38 of the world’s leading research universities.
GRP investigators receive five-year individual grants to investigate a wide range of research topics. As an example, Dr. Logan’s grant is for $10 million.
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Government of Canada to Require New Oil Sands Operations to Implement Carbon Capture and Storage Starting in 2012
March 10, 2008
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| Projected reductions in the future growth of greenhouse gas emissions based on the Turning the Corner Plan. Click to enlarge. |
The Government of Canada has published details of its regulatory framework originally announced on 26 April 2007 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The newly published requirements include setting a target that will require oil sands starting operations in 2012 to implement carbon capture and storage.
Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions—to which the oil sands industry is a major and growing contributor—currently are more than 25% higher than they were in 1990, putting Canada more than 32% above its Kyoto target. Without immediate action, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are projected to grow a further 24% by 2020 to reach about 940 megatonnes—58% above 1990 levels.
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Los Alamos Developing Process for CO2 Capture and Stripping from Air for Synthetic Fuels Production
February 13, 2008
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| Process flow diagram for CO2 capture and recovery based on the Green Freedom electrolytic stripping process. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a process—called Green Freedom—for large-scale production of carbon-neutral, sulfur-free fuels and organic chemicals from air and water. The primary targets for the Green Freedom fuels are vehicles and aircraft.
Green Freedom consists of two major components: syngas (synthesis gas) production and syngas conversion. The innovation of the new process resides primarily in the method for the production of the syngas; Green Freedom relies on commercially available technology to convert the resulting syngas into product.
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Proposed Department of Energy Budget for 2009 Boosts Coal, Nuclear, Science and Biomass Programs; Reduces H2, Solar and Vehicle Technology Funding
February 04, 2008
The proposed budget for the US Department of Energy (DOE) in the President’s 2009 Budget outlines discretionary program spending of about $26 billion, up 3.2% from the estimated spending for FY 2008.
The proposed budget significantly boosts spending on coal and nuclear technologies and the DOE Science program, with a smaller increase for biomass and biorefinery R&D. However, funding within the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program is cut by 28%, down to $1.256 billion, with the reductions coming mainly from funding for hydrogen technology, solar energy, vehicle technologies, facilities and infrastructure, and the weatherization program.
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Canada-Alberta Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force Report Says CCS Vital for Canada’s Future, Calls for Allocation of C$2B in New Public Funding Among Other Actions
February 01, 2008
The Governments of Canada and Alberta have released the final report of the Canada-Alberta ecoENERGY Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force. The report, entitled Canada’s Fossil Energy Future: The Way Forward on Carbon Capture and Storage, calls Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) “vital to Canada’s future, and...a must-have for western Canada.”
The task force identified two main barriers facing CCS today: the financial gap associated with CCS projects today and current gaps in regulatory frameworks. The report outlines a set of recommendations to support the successful widespread deployment of CCS that include: incorporating carbon capture and storage into Canada’s clean air regulations; allocating C$2 billion in new funding to projects through a competitive process; and targeting research efforts to lower the cost of this technology.
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DOE Restructures Its Approach to FutureGen
January 30, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is restructuring its commitment and approach to the planned $1.5-billion FutureGen project, which would have resulted in the construction and operation of a prototype 275 MW plant that would co-produce electricity and hydrogen from coal with essentially zero emissions, including carbon dioxide emissions, which would be captured and sequestered. (Earlier post.)
The restructured approach will focus on separating carbon dioxide for CCS in multiple future IGCC plants. DOE will support industry in building IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) plants by providing funding for the addition of CCS technology to multiple plants. The new approach does not include support for hydrogen production.
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Aker Reorganizes CO2 Capture Business; Building Capture Unit at Kårstø with Biomass-Fueling Under Development
January 24, 2008
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| Just Catch is a post-combustion amine scrubbing technology. Click to enlarge. |
Aker Kvaerner is transferring its Just Catch amine absorption technology for post-combustion CO2 capture to the company Aker Clean Carbon, which will focus on developing CO2 capture projects. Aqueous amine solutions function as an absorbent that binds CO2 for removal from exhaust gasses.
Aker Kvaerner will own 30% of the shares in Aker Clean Carbon, while Aker ASA will own 70%. Aker Kvaerner will also be responsible for supplying engineering and construction for future CO2 capture facilities.
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DOE Awards $66.7 Million for Large-Scale Carbon Sequestration Project; Ethanol Plant the CO2 Source
December 19, 2007
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) has awarded $66.7 million to the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) for the Department’s fourth large-scale carbon sequestration project.
The award to MGSC is the fourth of seven awards in the third phase of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships program. In October, the DOE awarded $197 million to the first three large-scale carbon sequestration projects: Plains Carbon Dioxide Reduction Partnership; Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership; and Southwest Regional Partnership for Carbon Sequestration. The first three projects have a total estimated value including partnership cost share of $318 million. (Earlier post.)
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Climos Receives First Methodology for Ocean Iron Fertilization from EcoSecurities, Signs with DNV for Validation
December 05, 2007
Climos, a company that is developing an ocean iron fertilization technology for the biogeochemical storage of carbon in the ocean, announced that EcoSecurities—one of the world’s leading companies in the business of originating, developing and trading carbon credits—has prepared a draft version of a methodology for Ocean Iron Fertilization (OIF), based on precedent established by the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism.
Under Kyoto, a methodology is used to prove the removal of a certain quantity of CO2 from the air. Any technology that is to generate certified emissions reductions (CERs) for sale in the carbon market requires such a methodology. The delivery of the methodology to Climos, then, is a necessary step toward the commercial viability of the technology.
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Leeds Study Indicates that Sequestered CO2 Can React Quickly with Underground Reservoir Rock for Safe Storage
November 26, 2007
Storing carbon dioxide deep below the earth’s surface could be a safe, long-term solution due to the reaction of the gas with the host pore waters and rocks on a human time scale, according to researchers at the University of Leeds (UK). The study found that sandstone reacts with injected fluids more quickly than had been predicted—such reactions are essential if the captured CO2 is not to leak back to the surface.
The study, published in the December edition of the journal Geology, looked at data from the Miller oilfield in the North Sea, where BP had been pumping seawater into the oil reservoir to enhance the flow of oil. As oil was extracted, the analysis of the water that was pumped out with showed that minerals had grown and dissolved as the water travelled through the field.
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EU Research Project on Pre-Combustion Carbon Capture for Coal- and Gas-Fired Plants
November 21, 2007
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| Simplified process diagram of pre-combustion concept. Click to enlarge. Source: ENCAP |
Norway’s SINTEF will lead a European research project on advanced pre-combustion CO2 capture for coal- and gas-fired power stations. The DECARBit project, which will be coordinated by SINTEF Energy Research, will last for four years, with a total budget of NOK 120 million (US$22 million) , of which NOK 45 million will go to research at SINTEF and NTNU.
Pre-combustion capture is one of the three primary approaches to decarbonizing power generation from fossil fuels, the other two being oxy-fuel combustion and post-combustion capture. Pre-combustion technology is based on the separation of CO2 from a high H2 content gas mixture resulting from either coal gasification or the steam reforming of natural gas under high pressure.
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Coal-to-Liquids Producer Forms JV for Algae Bioreactor for CO2 Conversion
Linc Energy Ltd, the Australian company developing the Chinchilla Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) to Gas to Liquids (GTL) facility (earlier post and earlier post), has formed a joint venture with BioCleanCoal Pty Ltd to develop an algae bioreactor for the conversion of process CO2 into oxygen and biomass.
The joint venture will be owned on a 60/40 basis with Linc Energy owning 60% and having the day to day management and BioCleanCoal owning the remaining 40%. The JV Company will develop a bioreactor which will convert CO2 through a photosynthesis process into oxygen and solid biomass, permanently and safely removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
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China and UK Launch Near Zero Emissions Coal Phase 1 Study
November 20, 2007
The governments of China and the UK formally launched the Near Zero Emissions Coal (NZEC) Phase 1 study in Beijing, China. The aim of the Phase 1 appraisal study is to look at the feasibility of building coal-fired power plants in China fitted with CO2 capture and storage (CCS). NZEC implements the vision of realizing a large scale Near Zero Emissions Coal demonstration in China as agreed at the EU-China Summit in September 2005.
Phase 2 of the NZEC project will define and design a demonstration project, and Phase 3 will build and operate that project. Outputs from Phase 1 will be important in determining further activities in Phases 2 and 3.
