Comparative analysis of transport and storage options from a CO2 source perspective

Abstract

This study evaluated integrated CCS costs from the perspective of a CO2 source. A source will have captured CO2 requiring suitable storage and affordable transportation between source and storage. Capture, transport, and storage are the links of the CCS value chain. For this study, capture costs were modeled for six hypothetical sources (various industrial and power-generation facilities) with annual CO2 capture rates ranging from 0.65 to 3.90 million tonnes (Mt). Seven storage reservoirs located in the Appalachian, Illinois and Gulf Coast Basins—and of various quality with respect to CO2 storage—were modeled: two within the Rose Run Formation, three within the Mount (Mt.) Simon Formation, one in the Lower Tuscaloosa Formation, and one in the Frio Formation. Storage costs were calculated with the FE/NETL CO2 Saline Storage Cost Model for the seven selected storage reservoirs under dome and regional dip structural settings. For transportation, a dedicated pipeline system and a trunkline pipeline system were modeled. Transportation costs from source to storage reservoirs were evaluated using the FE/NETL CO2 Transport Cost Model. A source may not always be able to find suitable proximal storage. Low CCS costs reflect a source’s mass of captured CO2 finding suitable storage within an affordable transportation distance. Economies of scale are present in each link of the CCS value chain. These economies of scale are limited with respect to storage or the distance captured CO2 can be transported to storage.