Carbon Dioxide Capture And Storage Projects Research Articles

Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) in Saline Aquifers versus Depleted Gas Fields

Saline aquifers have been used for CO2 storage as a dedicated greenhouse gas mitigation strategy since 1996. Depleted gas fields are now being planned for large-scale CCS projects. Although basalt host reservoirs are also going to be used, saline aquifers and depleted gas fields will make up most of the global geological repositories for CO2. At present, depleted gas fields and saline aquifers seem to be treated as if they are a single entity, but they have distinct differences that are examined here. Depleted gas fields have far more pre-existing information about the reservoir, top-seal caprock, internal architecture of the site, and about fluid flow properties than saline aquifers due to the long history of hydrocarbon project development and fluid production. The fluid pressure evolution paths for saline aquifers and depleted gas fields are distinctly different because, unlike saline aquifers, depleted gas fields are likely to be below hydrostatic pressure before CO2 injection commences. Depressurised depleted gas fields may require an initial injection of gas-phase CO2 instead of dense-phase CO2 typical of saline aquifers, but the greater pressure difference may allow higher initial injection rates in depleted gas fields than saline aquifers. Depressurised depleted gas fields may lead to CO2-injection-related stress paths that are distinct from saline aquifers depending on the geomechanical properties of the reservoir. CO2 trapping in saline aquifers will be dominated by buoyancy processes with residual CO2 and dissolved CO2 developing over time whereas depleted gas fields will be dominated by a sinking body of CO2 that forms a cushion below the remaining methane. Saline aquifers tend to have a relatively limited ability to fill pores with CO2 (i.e., low storage efficiency factors between 2 and 20%) as the injected CO2 is controlled by buoyancy and viscosity differences with the saline brine. In contrast, depleted gas fields may have storage efficiency factors up to 80% as the reservoir will contain sub-hydrostatic pressure methane that is easy to displace. Saline aquifers have a greater risk of halite-scale and minor dissolution of reservoir minerals than depleted gas fields as the former contain vastly more of the aqueous medium needed for such processes compared to the latter. Depleted gas fields have some different leakage risks than saline aquifers mostly related to the different fluid pressure histories, depressurisation-related alteration of geomechanical properties, and the greater number of wells typical of depleted gas fields than saline aquifers. Depleted gas fields and saline aquifers also have some different monitoring opportunities. The high-density, electrically conductive brine replaced by CO2 in saline aquifers permits seismic and resistivity imaging, but these forms of imaging are less feasible in depleted gas fields. Monitoring boreholes are less likely to be used in saline aquifers than depleted gas fields as the latter typically have numerous pre-existing exploration and production well penetrations. The significance of this analysis is that saline aquifers and depleted gas fields must be treated differently although the ultimate objective is the same: to permanently store CO2 to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and minimise global heating.

Acorn: Developing full-chain industrial carbon capture and storage in a resource- and infrastructure-rich hydrocarbon province

Research to date has identified cost and lack of support from stakeholders as two key barriers to the development of a carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) industry that is capable of effectively mitigating climate change. This paper responds to these challenges through systematic evaluation of the research and development process for the Acorn CCS project, a project designed to develop a scalable, full-chain CCS project on the north-east coast of the UK. Through assessment of Acorn's publicly-available outputs, we identify strategies which may help to enhance the viability of early-stage CCS projects. Initial capital costs can be minimised by infrastructure re-use, particularly pipelines, and by re-use of data describing the subsurface acquired during oil and gas exploration activity. Also, development of the project in separate stages of activity (e.g. different phases of infrastructure re-use and investment into new infrastructure) enables cost reduction for future build-out phases. Additionally, engagement of regional-level policy makers may help to build stakeholder support by situating CCS within regional decarbonisation narratives. We argue that these insights may be translated to general objectives for any CCS project sharing similar characteristics such as legacy infrastructure, industrial clusters and an involved stakeholder-base that is engaged with the fossil fuel industry.

Outline of Korean Integrated CCS Act Draft and Its Implication

Worldwide interest is growing upon Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) as a realistic measure to mitigate the greenhouse gases. Korean government as well fully supports on advancement of CCS research and development. Yet technology is only one side of the pillar. To implement the technology in practice, nationwide policies are necessary, which should be grounded upon stable and systemic CCS legislation. On March of 2016, Integrated CCS Act has been drafted by the governmental task force. This paper delineates the outline of the draft and illustrates details on important issues to balance between the efficiency and safety of CCS projects in Korean environment.

Perspectives of Geological CO2 Storage in South Korea to Cope with Climate Change

Rapid industrialization and urbanization in the 20th century have led to increasing volumes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere[...]

U-tube based near-surface environmental monitoring in the Shenhua carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) project.

The CO2 injected into deep formations during implementation of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) technology may leak and migrate into shallow aquifers or ground surfaces through a variety of pathways over a long period. The leaked CO2 can threaten shallow environments as well as human health. Therefore, almost all monitoring programs for CCS projects around the world contain near-surface monitoring. This paper presents a U-tube based near-surface monitoring technology focusing on its first application in the Shenhua CCS demonstration project, located in the Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia, China. First, background information on the site monitoring program of the Shenhua CCS demonstration project was provided. Then, the principle of fluid sampling and the monitoring methods were summarized for the U-tube sampler system, and the monitoring data were analyzed in detail. The U-tube based monitoring results showed that the U-tube sampler system is accurate, flexible, and representative of the subsurface fluid sampling process. The monitoring indicators for the subsurface water and soil gas at the Shenhua CCS site indicate good stratification characteristics. The concentration level of each monitoring indicator decreases with increasing depth. Finally, the significance of this near-surface environmental monitoring technology for CO2 leakage assessments was preliminarily confirmed at the Shenhua CCS site. The application potential of the U-tube based monitoring technology was also demonstrated during the subsurface environmental monitoring of other CCS projects.

Effect of Large Flow CO2 on Indexes of Water Quality and LD50 of Crucian Carp

CCS (Carbon dioxide capture and storage) is an effective way to reduce carbon dioxide levels of atmosphere in the near future. However, due to the geological problems in storage areas and the technical problems of CO2 injection, there is still a risk of CO2 leakage during the implementation of CCS projects. Once the stored CO2 leaks through water body, the water quality, aquatic ecosystem and fisheries in the leakage areas will be affected. Therefore, the research on impacts of CO2 on water quality and aquatic ecosystem is significant for the promotion of CCS project. The effects of different CO2 flow rates on indexes of water quality and crucian carp mortality were investigated by injecting CO2 into aquarium. In the impact experiment of CO2 to water quality, three indicators which included pH, DO (dissolved oxygen) and DCO2 (dissolved carbon dioxide) were chosen, and four types of experiments were designed in the research which included blank water, fish-farming water, water with injecting CO2 and fish-farming water with injecting CO2. The acute toxicity test included preliminary experiment and formal experiment. The 24-hour all-dead flow rate (LD100) and the 96-hour non-dead flow rate of CO2 (LD0) were determined by preliminary experiment. The equal logarithmic interval method was used to set the groups of CO2 flow rates based on the above flow rates. The survival number and mortality of experimental fish in each group were recorded and calculated at 24h, 48h, 72h and 96h. At last, the LD50 of CO2 flow rate at each node of time was calculated according to the improved Karber method. The main conclusions were obtained as follows: (1) The average background values of pH, DO and DCO2 in blank water were 7.69, 8.58mg/L and 10.05mg/L respectively. The average values of pH, DO and DCO2 in fish-farming water were 7.26, 7.31mg/L and 43.78mg/L respectively. Comparing the above conclusion, pH and DO in blank water were slightly higher than that in fish-farming water, while the DCO2 was lower obviously. (2) When CO2 was injected into the non-fish farming water, pH and DO decreased and DCO2 increased with time, and all indexes balanced quickly. The larger the CO2 flow rate, the shorter the equilibrium time. The equilibrium values of pH and DO decreased with CO2 flow rate, whereas the equilibrium concentration of DCO2 increased with CO2 flow rate. When CO2 was injected into the fish farming water, all indexes in water had the similar rule with the non-fish farming water. Comparing with the indexes of water quality in non-fish-farming water with injected CO2, pH and DCO2 in fish-farming water with injecting CO2 were higher, while the DO was lower. The reason may be the dissolution of CO2, fish's respiratory consumption, and neutralization of ammonium ions formed by manure decomposition. (3) According to preliminary experiment of acute toxicity, the 24-hour all-dead flow rate of CO2 (LD100) was 800 mL/min, and the 96-hour non-dead flow rate of CO2 (LD0) was 100 mL/min. The acute toxicity test showed that the mortality of crucian carp increased with time and CO2 flow rates. According to the semi-lethal experiment of the modified Karber method, the LD50 of CO2 to crucian carp at 24h, 48h, 72h and 96h was 1490±326 mL/m3﹒min, 799±181 mL/m3﹒min, 503±66 mL/m3﹒min, 427±0 mL/m3﹒min, respectively. (4) According to above results, the CO2 leakage of the CCS project can be evaluated by monitoring of surface water quality and crucian carp's mortality rate in the future.

THE USE OF CCS TECHNOLOGIES IN LARGE SCALE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE BRAZILIAN LEGAL FRAMEWORK

In the combat of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions, technologies using Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies have shown great results. The structuring of a regulatory framework for the use of CCS technologies is essential to create a trusted environment to civil society and private initiative. International experience points to the development of the regulatory framework for CCS technologies, in particular geological storage of CO2, by means of the regulatory experience of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technologies. This work has the main objective of identifying the existing legal and infra-legal regulatory documents in force in Brazil which may have some correlation with the CCS technology and its widespread use, in order to identify regulatory gaps and weaknesses for deploying CCS projects in Brazil.

A Social Licence for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage: How Engineers and Managers Describe Community Relations

Although extensive research has been devoted to public perceptions and acceptance of controversial energy innovations, the perspectives of people developing and implementing such technologies are relatively under-examined. Other industries, such as mining, and social researchers have adopted the term “social licence to operate” (SLO) to conceptualise community–industry relationships. Despite its potential applicability to carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology, SLO has received very little attention in this context, specifically from an engineering and managerial perspective. The internationally contested nature of CCS highlights the importance of examining how engineers and managers discuss and understand the term SLO. Given the central role of engineers and managers in developing CCS technology and contributing to the creation of the contexts in which people relate to it, knowledge of how they understand their connection to communities impacted by the technology is a key area requiring development. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with engineers and managers from Australian CCS projects, this research considers their opinions of the relationship between CCS projects and the local or national community, and their understandings of the SLO concept. Results suggest that the emerging energy technology of CCS exposes some of SLO’s limitations for conceptualising and analysing the community–industry relationship.

Resolving the Tension between CCS Deployment and Chinese Energy Security

T energy penalty associated with carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technologies is a key barrier to largescale deployment in China, because consuming extra fossil fuels to capture CO2 could be considered as conflicting with domestic priorities favoring energy conservation, diversity, and self-sufficiency. Flexible CO2 capture designs could, however, allow CCS power plants to temporarily reduce the level of CO2 capture, thus, in the short term, the energy penalty could potentially act as a “strategic virtual reserve” that could reduce the risk of fossil fuel supply interruptions and provide extra reserve capacity margin. Furthermore, an upgradable futureproof design for CO2 capture could help avoid “energy penalty lock-in” during a plant’s lifetime as technology learning takes place. In 2011, global emissions of carbon dioxide increased by 1 Gt, of which 720 Mt of the increase was attributable to China. China’s share of global emissions increased to 24%, now far ahead of the United States, the next largest emitter, at 15%. Overall, 45% of global CO2 emissions are produced from coal and fully half of those emissions are from China, the vast majority of which is used in the power sector. Therefore, CCS, as the only technology that can decarbonize fossil fuels, should logically be central to any plausible strategy for significant cuts in emissions. On the other hand, China is the second largest importer of crude oil in the world in 2012. Even more dramatically, China shifted from being a net exporter to a net importer of coal in 2009 and by 2011 became the largest net importer of coal in the world, though there is still debate on whether China will need to increase coal imports in the future. Energy conservation is a top Chinese national development target, but energy demand will inevitably grow substantially in the next two decades given that Chinese per capita energy consumption remains much lower than the OECD average level even though its per capita CO2 emissions are reaching European levels. Despite these pressures, security of primary energy supply has become a major national priority. In 2011, the Chinese government (National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance) launched the emergency coal reserve program that encourages large coal-mining companies, large power generation companies, and major coal transportation terminals to develop a strategic coal reserve. Deploying state-of-the-art CCS technologies in the power generation sector would avoid roughly 85% of CO2 emissions with an energy penalty of 20−30%. An aggressive strategy to capture CO2 at, say, 40% of Chinese coal-fired power plants would then lead to a rise of approximately 10% in national coal consumption, equivalent to 1.5 times net coal imports in 2010. In other words, significant extra fossil fuel consumption and power plant infrastructure would be required if CCS technologies were widely deployed. This explains why even though CCS is widely recognized as a key technology to decarbonize the Chinese fossil fuel dominated energy system, there is very limited financial support for demonstrating and deploying CCS projects at large-scale. CCS is therefore not currently a high priority on the list of possible climate technology options also compatible with energy supply security and energy efficiency priorities. The extra energy infrastructure requirement for CCS to meet peak electricity demand could be minimized through flexibility in operating CCS systems (e.g., by shutting down CO2 capture during supply shocks) while the experience curve could reduce the energy penalty in the long term. To do so will require investing in flexible, future-proof designs for CO2 capture power plants. With a flexible CO2 capture design, CCS power plants could temporarily reduce the level of CO2 capture in order to generate more power to complement intermittent and inflexible technologies in the energy system. Notably, the

Co-benefits of including CCS projects in the CDM in India's power sector

Abstract This study examines the effects of the inclusion of the co-benefits on the potential installed capacity of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) projects with a linear programming model by the clean development mechanism (CDM) in India's power sector. It is investigated how different marginal damage costs of air pollutants affect the potential installed capacity of CCS projects in the CDM with a scenario analysis. Three results are found from this analysis. First, large quantity of IGCC with CCS becomes realizable when the certified emission reduction (CER) prices are above US$56/tCO 2 in the integrated Northern, Eastern, Western, and North-Eastern regional grids (NEWNE) and above US $49/tCO 2 in the Southern grid. Second, including co-benefits contributes to decrease CO 2 emissions and air pollutants with introduction of IGCC with CCS in the CDM at lower CER prices. Third, the effects of the co-benefits are limited in the case of CCS because CCS reduces larger amount of CO 2 emissions than that of air pollutants. Total marginal damage costs of air pollutants of US$250/t and US$200/t lead to CER prices of US$1/tCO 2 reduction in the NEWNE grid and the Southern grid.

What's in store: Lessons from implementing CCS

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) has been identified as a key technology for mitigating carbon emissions. However, CCS is still very much at a developmental stage and the full-scale projects required to test the technology have proven difficult to implement, with lack of societal acceptance considered a key contributing factor to this delay. This paper reports on a study that explored practices for effective communication, engagement strategies and activities in the context of five detailed CCS project case studies. The cases studied included Barendrecht, The Netherlands; Carson, USA; FutureGen, USA; ZeroGen, Australia; and the CO2CRC Otway project, Australia. Comparative analysis of these cases identified a series of factors including: the extent to which key government and project team members are aligned; deployment of communications experts as part of the project team from the outset; consideration of the social context; the degree of flexibility in the project; and competition involving community self-selection. The research team designated these “critical success factors” that, when present, seemed to enhance the effectiveness of best practices in engagement and contribute to successful project deployment in some cases. The paper proposes that project developers need to consider ways to maximise these critical factors as part of their project planning and implementation process. It also discusses best practices in stakeholder communication and engagement activities applicable to CCS projects.

Values, Places and Bodies: Opportunities for Forging a Deeper Understanding of Public Perceptions of Ccs?

This paper explores how theories and epistemological understandings from the disciplines of human geography and environmental ethics may be usefully deployed to further understanding of public perceptions of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). In particular, the themes of values, place and embodied experience are explored in turn. The aim of doing this is to consider how reflection on some of the ‘deeper’ issues underpinning CCS projects has the potential to shed new light on how people come to hold particular viewpoints. This paper argues that alongside the endeavour of producing very practical advice and guidelines on public engagement in CCS, there is room to reflect critically on the contexts in which people form their perceptions of CCS and perform these perceptions. Doing this has the potential to offer new insights into what exactly it is publics may find troubling – or, indeed, appealing - about CCS.

The extreme carbon dioxide outburst at the Menzengraben potash mine 7 July 1953

Carbon dioxide is an asphyxiant and an irritant gas. An extreme outburst of carbon dioxide took place 7 July 1953 in a potash mine in the former East Germany. During 25 min, a large amount of CO 2 was blown out of the mine shaft with great force. It was wind still and concentrated CO 2 accumulated in a valley leading to multiple asphyxiation casualties. Based on a review of concentration–response relationships, the location of victims, and other information, it is concluded that concentrations of 10–30% carbon dioxide may have occurred 450 m from the point of release for at least 45 min. It is concluded that 1100–3900 tonnes of CO 2 were blown out of the mine shaft, possibly with intensities around 4 tonnes/s. It is also concluded that the large majority of the gas escaped as a near-vertical high-velocity jet with only little loss of momentum due to impingement. The release was modelled using PHAST. Output from the model is inconsistent with the asphyxiation harm observed. The high-momentum release is predicted to disperse safely and never reach the ground. Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) schemes will involve handling and transportation of unprecedented quantities of CO 2. Case histories to date include sudden releases of CO 2 of up to 50 tonnes only, far too small to provide a suitable empirical perspective on predicted hazard distances for CCS projects. The 1953 outburst contributes to filling this gap.

Life cycle assessment performed on a CCS model case in Japan and evaluation of improvement facilitated by heat integration

Abstract Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technology for reducing the amount of CO 2 to be emitted into the air, by storing the CO 2 . However, a CCS project itself emits some CO 2 . Therefore, to estimate CCS’s net CO 2 reduction effect, it is effective to apply life cycle assessment (LCA) to CCS projects. In this paper, we assumed a number of CCS project models to be feasible in Japan, and estimated the amount of CO 2 emissions to store one ton of CO 2 by applying LCA to the CCS projects. As a result, depending on the model case, 50% or more of the CO 2 amount to be stored was emitted. The study also revealed that approximately 80% of the CO 2 emissions at CCS-applied facilities derived from the energy consumed to re-heat the liquid absorbent that absorbed CO 2 . The study also indicated that a substantial amount of CO 2 emissions can be reduced if heat integration is conducted between the production equipment and the CCS equipment for energy utilization, such as bleeding CO 2 from a power station and other production equipment.

A multi-disciplinary framework to monetize financial consequences arising from CCS projects and motivate effective financial responsibility

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) holds promise as a safe and effective approach for addressing climate change. However, concern about potential “liability” associated with CCS often is cited as a significant barrier to project deployment. The authors contend that, in this context, the term “liability” is poorly defined and conflates concerns about the uncertainty in the timing and magnitude of potential damages with the need for financial responsibility for long-term stewardship of certified closed sites. This paper offers 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 environmental, human health and financial consequences of CCS projects. Application of the proposed framework will achieve four distinct objectives. First, the outputs of the analyses – monetized damages estimates for adverse impact scenarios coupled with expected loss calculations that reflect scenario probabilities and identify the statistical range of possible outcomes, including “most likely” loss estimates – will help interested stakeholders consider the viability of various investment and financial risk management strategies. Second, the results can be used to develop or negotiate financial assurance instruments for analyzed projects. Third, the results will inform the public policy debate regarding the degree and magnitude of potential financial consequences resulting over the long-term, beyond an established post-closure period. And, fourth, while the detailed conceptual framework, resulting models, impact calculations and valuation analyses may be applied on a site-by-site basis, the site-specific results could be pooled to assess regional and national implications of various risk mitigation and financial risk management policies.

ＣＯ２攻法による増進回収とＣＯ２地中貯留への展望―ＪＮＯＣ‐ＪＯＧＭＥＣの事例―

Carbon-dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) has been topical research since CO2 is required to reduce from atmosphere as one of greenhouse gas. CO2 geological sequestration can be learnt from the CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies applied to the oil industry since there are many projects and developments around the world. In this paper, the pilot tests and their related research conducted by Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC) and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) are reviewed in order to contribute to the CCS technologies. The pilot tests conducted in Kubiki, Ikiztepe and Sarukawa oil fields with the reservoir simulation studies, laboratory experiments and facility designs are mainly discussed. In addition, some feasibility studies for Kuwaiti, Abu Dhabi and Mexican oil fields are also reviewed. Most of the technologies reviewed in this paper are also useful to the CCS and give the shortcut to successful CCS projects.Carbon-dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) has been topical research since CO2 is required to reduce from atmosphere as one of greenhouse gas. CO2 geological sequestration can be learnt from the CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies applied to the oil industry since there are many projects and developments around the world. In this paper, the pilot tests and their related research conducted by Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC) and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) are reviewed in order to contribute to the CCS technologies. The pilot tests conducted in Kubiki, Ikiztepe and Sarukawa oil fields with the reservoir simulation studies, laboratory experiments and facility designs are mainly discussed. In addition, some feasibility studies for Kuwaiti, Abu Dhabi and Mexican oil fields are also reviewed. Most of the technologies reviewed in this paper are also useful to the CCS and give the shortcut to successful CCS projects.

An engineering-economic model of pipeline transport of CO 2 with application to carbon capture and storage

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) involves the capture of CO 2 at a large industrial facility, such as a power plant, and its transport to a geological (or other) storage site where CO 2 is sequestered. Previous work has identified pipeline transport of liquid CO 2 as the most economical method of transport for large volumes of CO 2. However, there is little published work on the economics of CO 2 pipeline transport. The objective of this paper is to estimate total cost and the cost per tonne of transporting varying amounts of CO 2 over a range of distances for different regions of the continental United States. An engineering-economic model of pipeline CO 2 transport is developed for this purpose. The model incorporates a probabilistic analysis capability that can be used to quantify the sensitivity of transport cost to variability and uncertainty in the model input parameters. The results of a case study show a pipeline cost of US$ 1.16 per tonne of CO 2 transported for a 100 km pipeline constructed in the Midwest handling 5 million tonnes of CO 2 per year (the approximate output of an 800 MW coal-fired power plant with carbon capture). For the same set of assumptions, the cost of transport is US$ 0.39 per tonne lower in the Central US and US$ 0.20 per tonne higher in the Northeast US. Costs are sensitive to the design capacity of the pipeline and the pipeline length. For example, decreasing the design capacity of the Midwest US pipeline to 2 million tonnes per year increases the cost to US$ 2.23 per tonne of CO 2 for a 100 km pipeline, and US$ 4.06 per tonne CO 2 for a 200 km pipeline. An illustrative probabilistic analysis assigns uncertainty distributions to the pipeline capacity factor, pipeline inlet pressure, capital recovery factor, annual O&M cost, and escalation factors for capital cost components. The result indicates a 90% probability that the cost per tonne of CO 2 is between US$ 1.03 and US$ 2.63 per tonne of CO 2 transported in the Midwest US. In this case, the transport cost is shown to be most sensitive to the pipeline capacity factor and the capital recovery factor. The analytical model elaborated in this paper can be used to estimate pipeline costs for a broad range of potential CCS projects. It can also be used in conjunction with models producing more detailed estimates for specific projects, which requires substantially more information on site-specific factors affecting pipeline routing.