Carbon Capture And Storage Activities Research Articles

Transparent carbon capture and storage using blockchain technology

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of the important initiatives widely used across different industries in reducing atmospheric carbon emissions, which is an essential environmental goal outlined in Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) in 2015. In an effort to mitigate carbon-emission problem, CCS extracts (i.e., captures and compresses) and stores CO2 from industrial by-products as an alternative to releasing it directly into the atmosphere. CCS presents opportunities for the captured CO2 to immediate utilization or to be stored at adjacent facilities for future utilization in different industrial productions. Despite its potential in reducing carbon emissions, its effectiveness and possible economic incentivization are unknown due to a lack of transparency in tracking the quantitative output concerning carbon reduction at different stages of CCS activities (capture, transportation, and storage) currently deployed in different industrial plants. In this paper, we propose an enhanced CCS for recording and tracking the quantitative output of CCS activities using blockchain (i.e., a distributed-ledger) technology that promotes transparency among stakeholders, e.g., government, regulatory body, technical experts, and general public, and facilitates rewards toward effective carbon-emission reductions. Although blockchain is a promising technology that can increase the efficiency of CCS, we also identify a few future challenges, such as data privacy and scalability, that have to be taken into account toward implementing the proposed architecture.

Evaluation of CCS Networks Based on Pinch Design Method in the Central Part of Indonesia

At least for two decades, various techniques have been developed to solve the greenhouse gas emissions problem. The carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is the main solution to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the industrial sector and power plant. CCS involves the capture of CO2 emissions from an exhaust gas, transporting and storing in geological storage. All of these CCS activities give several planning problems related to geographical conditions that may be an archipelago country, a considerable distance between the CO2 sources and sinks, and the difference in time of CO2 capturing and injecting to storage. The process integration technique by pinch design method can be used for CCS networks. This paper presents an application of pinch design method for CCS networks in central parts of Indonesia. The integration of carbon incentive and carbon tax is proposed to evaluate the value of CCS networks. The effect of time difference between sources and sinks on the amount of CO2 uncaptured was considered to assess the sensitivity of CCS project’s value. The results showed that the combination of pinch design method with the carbon trading and carbon tax provided a potential method to assess the effectiveness of CCS networks.

Environmental License for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Projects in Brazil

This article presents the environmental licensing system in Brazil and its instrument, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and its discussion on CCS activities. Globally, extractive industry development projects are well known to have environmental impacts, and Brazil is no exception. Since the adoption of the main Brazilian environmental laws, there has been a general perception that environmental licensing system and EIAs protects its environment. Besides the legal requirement for those tools, this article describes the specific rules on oil and gas projects (onshore and offshore). This research contributes as a review of Brazil’s environmental legislation, including the specific oil and gas legislation, presented along with a comprehensive discussion of those tools. Finally, this paper essays a general contribution for an understanding environmental licensing for CCS activities. The research was done using the inductive method, based on the methodology of legal science and with bibliographic and normative research techniques, including institutional analysis.

Understanding the challenges of industrial carbon capture and storage: an example in a U.S. petrochemical corridor

ABSTRACTIndustrial carbon capture and storage (CCS) is carbon capture from non-power, stationary emissions sources, typically involving high-purity emissions from a non-combustion exhaust stream. Industrial CCS activities represent a significant opportunity for reducing carbon emissions in concentrated geographic locations and a potential ‘bridge’ to more widespread CCS. This paper provides a summary of the opportunities for industrial CCS and market-based revenue streams, like those associated with enhanced crude oil recovery (EOR). The use of EOR changes the nature of carbon from being a pollutant to a valuable commercial input, which requires a judicious understanding of the technical industrial sequestration process, historic oil and gas operations, and the specific location and types of industrial carbon sources that can facilitate this type of carbon emissions mitigation strategy. We review literature on costs and summarise geospatial data to provide an overview of the potential for an integrated industrial CCS-EOR system in a petrochemical corridor.

Legal challenges of carbon capture and storage in the South China Sea region

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one method to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. As CCS has the greatest potential for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, it gains a wide currency in the developed countries. However, the technology for CCS does not spread at the international level especially to the developing countries like South China Sea states. As the CO2 storage period is quite long and potential environmental risks involved, fully deployed CCS projects need not only the technological support but the appropriate legal and regulatory regime to safeguard CCS operations. This article offers a survey of CCS projects in the South China Sea region and discusses the legal challenges associated with CCS activities in state practice.

A Collaborative Approach to School Community Engagement with a Local CCS Project

The future of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) deployment requires research on geological, technical, economic, community and educational fronts. A program that has been running since 2009, CSIRO's Sustainable Futures – CarbonKids, is an education program that combines the latest in climate science with education for sustainability, with a strong focus on carbon.In 2012 the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI) funded the CSIRO to develop and deliver ‘carbon capture and storage’ educational materials to be embedded into wider sustainability educational resources under the banner of CarbonKids, now Sustainable Futures - CarbonKids. Resources include a wealth of cross-curricular activities to support the teaching of sustainability and the environment in the classroom, school and community.The Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum (WA DMP) is conducting the pre-feasibility phase of the South West Hub CCS Project (SW Hub) in the South West region of Western Australia. CSIRO Sustainable Futures – CarbonKids program partnered with WA DMP in 2013 to implement an innovative and unique approach to educating teachers, students and the community in the science and understanding of the carbon cycle and CCS. This partnership provides schools registered with Sustainable Futures – CarbonKids a suite of educational resources including carbon and CCS activities. Access to the program also provides opportunities for teachers and students to meet and learn from representatives of WA DMP, and research scientists from WA DMP's research partner the National Geosequestration Laboratory (NGL), who work collaboratively on the SW Hub. This brings real life science into the classroom; providing students and teachers with examples of local scientific knowledge being used to solve problems and enhancing their understanding of the effects of their personal actions relating to energy and carbon, which is an important learning requirement within school curricula. The aim of the collaboration with the SW Hub is to provide information and the opportunity for learning from a real world case (the SW Hub CCS project) which will increase awareness of carbon and the environment in schools, and improve students’ understanding of activities relating to carbon, energy and low carbon technology CCS research.

Local Acceptance and Communication as Crucial Elements for Realizing CCS in the Nordic Region

The purpose of this paper was to assess the Nordic situation with regard to carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment at the local level. This was done by identifying important factors found in the literature on community acceptance and communication and relating this to possible CCS deployment in the Skagerrak region. The analysis was complemented with findings from interviews made with municipalities in the three countries (Denmark, Sweden and Norway). The results show that the possibilities to store CO2 offshore may be a clear advantage for the Nordic region and that Porsgrunn municipality in Norway display very positive attitudes towards existing and potential CCS activities, which stands in contrast to the many public acceptance challenges experienced in Europe. Moreover, the municipalities display very different awareness about CCS, which is seen in relation to CCS experiences and national policies.

Using Vegetation near CO2 Mediated Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR) Activities for Monitoring Potential Emissions and Ecological Effects

CO2 mediated enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) may lead to methods of CO2 reduction in the atmosphere through carbon capture and storage (CCS); therefore, monitoring and verification methods are needed to ensure that CO2-EOR and CCS activities are environmentally safe and effective. This study explored vegetation growth rate to determine potential ecological effects of emissions from CO2-EOR activities. Plant relative growth rates (RGR) from plots within an oilfield and reference areas, before and after CO2 breakthrough were used to assess CO2-EOR activities impact surrounding vegetation. The trend for both areas was the decrease in RGR ratio during the study time; however, the decrease in RGR ratio was significantly less in the oilfield area compared to the reference area overall and by subcategories of pine, tree and shrub. Based on data from plant plots, RGR decreased in the reference and oilfield areas except one plot, which increased in RGR. Within the oilfield and reference areas, several species decreased significantly in RGR, but American olive increased in RGR. Vegetation monitoring could provide parameters related to the modeling potential effects of emissions on local ecosystems (species, groups and community) and serve as a necessary component to the monitoring and verification of CO2-EOR and CCS projects. The challenge and limitations of vegetation monitoring were also discussed.

Emerging Legislative Regimes for Regulating Carbon Capture and Storage Activities in Australia: To What Extent Do They Facilitate Access to Procedural Justice?

Anthropogenic climate change is a fundamental challenge. Of the various responses to this “super wicked problem”, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one that has been mooted in Australia during recent years. While many commentators continue to question the technological and economic feasibility of CCS, a number of Australian governments have adopted a proactive stance to CCS by amending or enacting legislation to regulate CCS activities in their respective jurisdictions. To date, there has been little critical examination of these legislative regimes and their implications for the future role of CCS in Australia. Accordingly, this article will focus upon one central area of CCS regulation that has not been comprehensively addressed by the existing literature – that is, the extent to which emerging legislative regimes for regulating CCS activities in Australia facilitate access to procedural justice. Access to procedural justice will generally be facilitated in circumstances where the law gives procedural rights to members of the community of justice to: have access to information, participate in decision-making processes, and have access to review procedures before a court or tribunal to challenge decision-making or impairment of substantive or procedural rights. This article undertakes a comparative analysis of the laws that have been enacted or amended to regulate CCS activities in Australian jurisdictions in order to identify standards of best practice for facilitating access to procedural justice. It finds that while many of the laws regulating CCS activities in Australia reflect clear attempts by government to facilitate access to procedural justice, some of these laws fall short of facilitating access to procedural justice in an adequate or sufficient manner. Recommendations for law reform are made with the aim of providing guidance as to how Australian CCS laws can better facilitate access to procedural justice in the future.

Simulation of the potential effects of CO2 leakage from carbon capture and storage activities on the mobilization and speciation of metals

One of the main risks associated with carbon capture and storage (CCS) activities is the leakage of the stored CO2, which can result in several effects on the ecosystem. Laboratory-scale experiments were performed to provide data on the possible effects of CO2 leakage from CCS on the mobility of metals previously trapped in sediments. Metal-contaminated sediments were collected and submitted to acidification by means of CO2 injection using different pH treatments. The test lasted 10days, and samples were collected at the beginning and at the end of the experiment for metal analysis. The results revealed increases in the mobility of metals such as Co, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn due to pH decreases. Geochemical modeling demonstrated that acidification influenced the speciation of the metals, increasing the concentrations of their free forms. These data suggest the possible sediment contamination consequences of accidental CO2 leakage during CCS activities.

The investigation of CO2 storage potential in the Algoa basin in South Africa

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is seen as one of the technical approaches that can be used to mitigate global climate change in fossil fuel dominated countries such as South Africa. Approximately 90% of primary energy in South Africa is derived from fossil fuels, with coal providing 92% of electricity production in the country. The South African Centre of Carbon Capture and Storage (SACCCS) was established in 2009 (by the South African government with the assistance from international governments and industry) to investigate the potential of CCS in the country. SACCCS is addressing its mandate in line with the South African CCS Roadmap, which has been endorsed by the South African government. SACCCS's role in the South African CCS Roadmap is as follows:2004Assessment of the potential for CCS in South Africa2010Development of a South African CO2 Geological Storage Atlas2017Commencement of a Pilot CO2 Storage Project (10,000 - 50,000t CO2 stored)2020Facilitate the commencement of a CCS demonstration plant (in the order of 100,000t CO2/year)2025+Inform the implementation of commercial CCS deployment (over 1,000,000t CO2/year)Ongoing:Provide support to other CCS activities in South Africa The results from the assessment of CCS potential in South Africa were summarised and documented in the Atlas (which was published in 2010) with the majority of storage potential occurring in Mesozoic basins of South Africa. There is 150 Gt of theoretical storage capacity is identified, of which 98% occurs offshore. After the completion of the Atlas the next stage on the Roadmap, the Pilot CO2 Storage Project (PCSP), has become the focus of SACCCS activities. The scope and available funding of the PCSP led to the decision to focus on the onshore portions of the Algoa and Zululand basins as possible sedimentary basins for the PCSP programme. This paper will discuss the progress associated with the ongoing investigation of CO2 storage potential in the Algoa basin which forms the onshore extension of the offshore Outeniqua basin. The middle Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) to lower Cretaceous (Hauterivian) Uitenhage Group constitutes the syn-rift basin-fill succession with stratigraphy dominated by the fluviatile Kirkwood Formation, and shallow marine Sundays River Formation. Due to limited and reasonably poor data availability, the need for new data and more tests on existing data to confirm any potential storage areas/sites was cited. SACCCS is now planning additional analysis of data to potentially allow for reinterpretation of the older data. The results from the analysis and reinterpretation will inform the next stage of the PCSP.

Future seagrass beds: Can increased productivity lead to increased carbon storage?

While carbon capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly recognised as technologically possible, recent evidence from deep-sea CCS activities suggests that leakage from reservoirs may result in highly CO2 impacted biological communities. In contrast, shallow marine waters have higher primary productivity which may partially mitigate this leakage. We used natural CO2 seeps in shallow marine waters to assess if increased benthic primary productivity could capture and store CO2 leakage in areas targeted for CCS. We found that the productivity of seagrass communities (in situ, using natural CO2 seeps) and two individual species (ex situ, Cymodocea serrulata and Halophila ovalis) increased with CO2 concentration, but only species with dense belowground biomass increased in abundance (e.g. C. serrulata). Importantly, the ratio of below:above ground biomass of seagrass communities increased fivefold, making seagrass good candidates to partially mitigate CO2 leakage from sub-seabed reservoirs, since they form carbon sinks that can be buried for millennia.

The South African Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage Delivering CCS in the Developing World

South Africa will require a portfolio of technologies to meet its climate change goals. Within this portfolio, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is of particular importance as the only technology to mitigate CO2 emissions from large-scale fossil fuel usage in fuel transformation, industry and power generation.Since 2009, the South African Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage (SACCCS) has been investigating the technical feasibility of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in South Africa. The South African CCS Roadmap, which was endorsed by the Cabinet of South Africa on the 4th May 2012, provides the overarching direction for the work of SACCCS. The key milestones of the South African CCS Roadmap are as follows:2004Assessment of the potential for CCS in South Africa2010Development of a South African CO2 geological storage atlas2017Commencement of a CO2 Test Injection Project (10,000 - 50,000tCO2 stored)2020Facilitate the commencement of a CCS demonstration plant (in the order of 100,000tCO2/year)2025+Inform the implementation of commercial CCS deployment (over 1,000,000tCO2/year)OngoingProvide support to other CCS activities in South AfricaThe 2010 Atlas on geological storage of CO2 in South Africa identified Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape as the regions with the most potential for safe and secure CO2 storage. SACCCS is now planning further exploration of this potential. Exploration will involve establishing the geological suitability of the regions and will be supported by environmental assessments and engagement with all relevant stakeholders. Only if this exploration is successful and an appropriate site is identified, SACCCS will develop a CO2 Test Injection Project to further evaluate and build experience around the technology in a South African context. The Test Injection Project will enable South Africa to better understand the role of CCS in reducing CO2 emissions and meeting the challenges of climate change.

E.ON’S current CCS activities

Abstract In May 2007, E.ON Group (E.ON) set an ambitious target for reducing the specific CO2 emissions of the overall group’s electricity generation. By 2030, E.ON will reduce the specific CO2 emissions to 360 grams per kilowatt hour, half the 1990 figure. Thus, besides increasing the share of renewables and maintaining the nuclear share, E.ON identified the need to advance the technology of fossil fuel fired power plants. E.ON pursues a strategy of replacing power stations at the end of their life cycle with new, state-of-the-art power stations which are ready to be equipped with CCS (carbon capture and storage) and therefore “capture ready”. Moreover, E.ON is developing CO2 capture and storage as this technology has the potential to drastically reduce emissions from coal-fired plants. Beginning in 2020, E.ON intends to have large scale CCS technology available. E.ON’s coordinated strategy encompasses research, development and demonstration (RD&D) and is directed towards pre combustion capture, oxyfuel and post combustion capture with a focus on the latter. E.ON is working together with international partners to further develop the existing technologies for capturing of CO2 by testing advanced technologies in several pilot plants at our sites. The goal of the pilot projects is to optimise the downstream capture of CO2 from flue gas (post combustion capture) hence reducing the auxiliary power consumption of the capture process. An update on the pilot projects, suppliers and achievement made will be given. Besides improving the capture process itself the technology needs a significant increase of the treatable flue gas capacity compared to today’s limits known from chemical industry. Therefore E.ON is also involved in the development of demo scale projects proving the feasibility of the full CCS chain (including transport and storage). E.g. our Kingsnorth power station in the UK has entered the next stage of the UK Government’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) competition after developers. We submitted an Outline Solution Bid competition on 9 November 2009. The competition is aiming to deliver the UK’s first fullscale CCS demonstration project. We have come to an agreement with both the European Commission and the Dutch Government on the funding of our ROAD-project. This is our joint project with Electrabel (part of GDF SUEZ) at RotterdamMaasvlakte (NL). The Dutch part of the funding is now before the European Commission for State Aid approval. We will report about the projects and the progress made in our market units. In addition E.ON is engaged in the development of storage sites and transport routes for CO2. Our business unit E.ON Gas Storage is involved in several research and development activities. The paper will highlight E.ON’s main CCS activities. An overview will be given as well as an update on the status of the current projects and available results.

Valuation of consequences arising from CO2 migration at candidate CCS sites in the US

Abstract Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) represents a potentially effective means of addressing climate change. However, CCS processes create a suite of risks, including possibly injury to private and public sector interests, which will continue beyond the operational life of the project. Concerns regarding potential damages and attendant financial liability remain a barrier to commercial-scale deployment of CCS. The public dialogue on ‘liability’ as it relates to CCS has been clouded by a failure to clearly define what is at risk, and whether the consequences of such risks are material from a financial perspective. Focus on anecdotal references has contributed to unreasonable expectations and misunderstanding with respect to the amount and timing of funds necessary for the responsible deployment of CCS. Analytic evaluation of the range of potential impacts and calculation of financial consequences can illuminate: (1) the dollar amounts that need to be managed; (2) the set of circumstances under which amounts will present; and (3) the time frame over which these dollars will be needed. This paper applies an analytic framework drawn from damages estimation methodologies used in comparable contexts and incorporates risk-based probabilistic modeling to assist stakeholders in evaluating the potential consequences of CO 2 migration at three candidate CCS sites. Specifically, it presents preliminary, order-of-magnitude estimates for potential public human health impacts associated with the operational phase of CCS activities at three proposed, non-selected USDOE FutureGen sites: (1) Tuscola, Illinois; (2) Jewett, Texas; and (3) Odessa, Texas. Attendant analyses applying the same methodology currently are underway to value damages associated with environmental resources, e.g., ground water, and atmospheric releases of CO 2 , as well as damages associated with the post-operational period.

Driving Carbon Capture and Storage forward in China

Abstract China’s economy has been on a solid fast growth track since 1978. The economy expanded by an average annual rate of about 10% during the last thirty years. That is more than triple the average growth rate of the world economy during the same period. The rapid economic development has been associated with growing energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission. Although the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol exempts China from reducing its own CO 2 output, China, as the first or second largest CO 2 emission country, is facing growing international political pressure. As a responsible big country, China will almost certainly have to respond to climate change in the future. China is entering unexpected fast development period of the industrialization, urbanization and motorization, in which large-scale new infrastructures will be built. This provides great opportunity to plan for longer-term CO 2 mitigation—the infrastructures built today have a long life time and are not easy to upgrade the technologies involved, and decisions made now will have a major impact on energy utilization mode and CO 2 mitigation technology option in coming years. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), as an option in the portfolio of mitigation actions to combat climate change, is expected to have far-reaching implications for China. This paper (1) explores the strategic significance of CCS for China by making an extreme scenario analysis of Chinese power sector in 2030; (2) provides an overview of the recent CCS activities in China; and (3) identifies the major challenges with respect to CCS development in China and put forwards immediate strategies.

The screening and scoping of Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment of Carbon Capture and Storage in the Netherlands

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) are procedural tools which have as goal to assess and evaluate possible environmental effects of, respectively, a proposed project or policy plan. The goal of this article is to explore possible bottlenecks in applying both the EIA and SEA procedures on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) activities in the Netherlands, as experience is currently minimal or lacking. In this study we focus mainly on the institutional and procedural aspects of the screening and scoping phases of both procedures. This is achieved by reviewing EIA and SEA procedures for analogue projects for the three distinctive process steps of a CCS project, namely the power plant with capture, the transport and finally the underground storage of the CO 2. Additionally, EIA and SEA or similar procedures on CCS in other countries are reviewed and the legal framework for the Dutch EIA and SEA is studied. This article shows a concise overview of the EIA and SEA procedure in the Netherlands and the relation between both procedures. Based on our findings we have constructed a conceptual taxonomy for the scope of both procedures for CCS in the Netherlands. This taxonomy conceptualizes the possible integration of assessing the environmental impacts for tiered levels of decision making. This integration might be needed for first CCS projects as decisions on the strategic (spatial planning) level are currently absent for CCS in the Netherlands. Perpendicular to such integration is the integration of linked activities in the CCS chain and their alternatives, into one procedure. We argue that it would be beneficial to combine the separate EIA procedures for CCS activities into one procedure or at least provide close linkage between them. This issue should be carefully considered by regulators, competent authorities and project initiators in an early stage to avoid delaying legal procedures in the future. For the same reason also early involvement of public, interested parties and the Netherlands Commission for the Environmental Impact Assessment in the scoping phase of the procedures is desired.