Carbon capture and storage

CO2 capture				million tons[vague] per year, for up to 1.5 years, into
Main articles: Carbon dioxide scrubber and carbon				brine up to 10,000 feet (3,000 m) below the land
dioxide air capture				surface near the Cranfield oil field about 15 miles
Capturing CO2 might be applied to large point				(25 km) east of Natchez, Mississippi. Experimental
sources, such as large fossil fuel or biomass energy				equipment will measure the ability of the subsurface
facilities, industries with major CO2 emissions, natural				to accept and retain CO2.
gas processing, synthetic fuel plants and fossil				Currently, the United States government has
fuel-based hydrogen production plants. Air capture is				approved the construction of what is touted as the
also possible. But air away from the point source also				world's first CCS power plant, FutureGen. On January
contains oxygen, and so capturing air, scrubbing the				29, 2008, however, the Department of Energy
CO2 from the air, and then storing the CO2 could				announced it was recasting the FutureGen project
slow down the oxygen cycle in the biosphere.				and on June 24 2008, DoE published a funding
Concentrated CO2 from the combustion of coal in				opportunity announcement seeking proposals for an
oxygen is relatively pure, and could be directly				IGCC project, with integrated CCS, of at least
processed. In other instances, especially with air				250MW..
capture, a scrubbing process would be needed.				Examples of carbon sequestration at an existing US
Broadly, three different types of technologies exist:				coal plant can be found at utility company Luminant's
post-combustion, pre-combustion, and oxyfuel				pilot version at its Big Brown Steam Electric Station in
combustion.				Fairfield, Texas. This system is converting carbon
In ost combustion capture, the CO2 is removed after				from smokestacks into baking soda. Skyonic plans to
combustion of the fossil fuel - this is the scheme that				circumvent storage problems of liquid CO2 by storing
would be applied to fossil-fuel burning power plants.				baking soda in mines, landfills, or simply to be sold as
Here, carbon dioxide is captured from flue gases at				industrial or food grade baking soda. Green Fuel
power stations or other large point sources. The				Technologies Corp. is piloting and implementing algae
technology is well understood and is currently used in				based carbon capture, circumventing storage issues
other industrial applications, although not at the same				by then converting algae into fuel or feed.
scale as might be required in a commercial scale				In November 2008, the DOE awarded a $66.9 million,
power station.				eight-year grant to a research partnership headed by
The technology for pre-combustion is widely applied				Montana State University to demonstrate that
in fertilizer, chemical, gaseous fuel (H2, CH4), and				underground geologic formations an store huge
power production. In these cases, the fossil fuel is				volumes of carbon dioxide economically, safely and
partially oxidized, for instance in a gasifier. The				permanently. Researchers under the Big Sky Regional
resulting syngas (CO and H2) is shifted into CO2 and				Carbon Sequestration Project plan to inject up to one
more H2. The resulting CO2 can be captured from a				million tons of CO2 into sandstone beneath
relatively pure exhaust stream. The H2 can now be				southwestern Wyoming.
used as fuel; the carbon dioxide is removed before				In the United States, four different synthetic fuel
combustion takes place.				projects are moving forward which have publicly
There are several advantages and disadvantages				announced plans to incorporate carbon capture and
when compared to conventional post combustion				storage.
carbon dioxide capture.				American Clean Coal Fuels, in their Illinois Clean Fuels
In oxy-fuel combustion the fuel is burned in oxygen				project, is developing a 30,000 Barrel Per Day
instead of air. To limit the resulting flame				Biomass and Coal to Liquids project in Oakland Illinois,
temperatures to levels common during conventional				which will market the CO2 created at the plant for
combustion, cooled flue gas is recirculated and				Enhanced Oil Recovery applications. The project is
injected into the combustion chamber. The flue gas				expected to come online in mid-2013. By combining
consists of mainly carbon dioxide and water vapor,				sequestration and biomass feedstocks, the ICF
the latter of which is condensed through cooling. The				project will achieve dramatic reductions in the lifecycle
result is an almost pure carbon dioxide stream that				carbon footprint of the fuels they produce. If
can be transported to the sequestration site and				sufficient biomass is used, the plant should have the
stored. Power plant processes based on oxyfuel				capability to go life cycle carbon negative (meaning
combustion are sometimes referred to as "zero				that effectively, for each gallon of their fuel that is
emission" cycles, because the CO2 stored is not a				used, carbon is pulled out of the air, and put into the
fraction removed from the flue gas stream (as in the				ground.)
cases of pre- and post-combustion capture) but the				Baard Energy, in their Ohio River Clean Fuels project,
flue gas stream itself. It should be noted, however,				are developing a 53,000 BPD Coal and Biomass to
that a certain fraction of the CO2 generated during				Liquids project, which has announced plans to market
combustion will inevitably end up in the condensed				the plant CO2 for Enhanced Oil Recovery.
water. To warrant the label "zero emission" the				Rentech is developing a 29,600 barrel per day coal
water would thus have to be treated or disposed of				and biomass to liquids plant in Natchez Mississippi
appropriately. The technique is promising, but the initial				which will market the plant CO2 for enhanced oil
air separation step demands a lot of energy.				recovery. The first phase of the project is expected
Plants that produce ethanol by fermentation generate				in 2011.
cool, essentially pure CO2 that can be pumped				DKRW is developing a 15,000-20,000 Barrel Per Day
underground. Fermentation produces slightly less CO2				coal to liquids plant in Medicine Bow Wyoming, which
than ethanol by weight. World ethanol production in				will market it plant CO2 for enhanced oil recovery.
2008 is expected to be about 16 billion gallons or 48				The project is expected to begin operation in 2013.
million tonnes.				The Basin Electric Power Cooperative in North
An alternate method, which is under development, is				Dakota captures half of its CO2.
chemical looping combustion (CLC). Chemical looping				In October of 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy
uses a metal oxide as a solid oxygen carrier. Metal				awarded twelve Industrial Carbon Capture and
oxide particles react with a solid, liquid or gaseous fuel				Storage (ICCS) projects to conduct a Phase 1
in a fluidized bed combustor, producing solid metal				feasibility study. The DOE plans to select 3 to 4 of
particles and a mixture of carbon dioxide and water				those projects to proceed into Phase 2 design and
vapor. The water vapor is condensed, leaving pure				construction with operational startup to occur by
carbon dioxide which can be sequestered. The solid				2015. Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest
metal particles are circulated to another fluidized bed				Division, Boise, Inc., and Fluor Corporation are
where they react with air, producing heat and				studying a CCS system for capture and storage of
regenerating metal oxide particles that are				CO2 emissions associated with the pulp and paper
recirculated to the fluidized bed combustor. A variant				production industry. The site of the study is the
of chemical looping is calcium looping, which uses the				Boise White Paper L.L.C. paper mill located near the
alternate carbonation and then calcination of a CaO				township of Wallula in Southeastern Washington
based carrier as a means of capturing CO2.				State. The plant generates approximately 1.2 MMT of
A few engineering proposals have been made for the				CO2 annually from a set of three recovery boilers
more difficult task of capturing CO2 directly from the				that are mainly fired with black liquor, a recycled
air, but work in this area is still in its infancy. Global				byproduct formed during the pulping of wood for
Research Technologies demonstrated a				papermaking. Fluor Corporation will design a
pre-prototype in 2007. Capture costs are estimated				customized version of their Econamine Plus carbon
to be higher than from point sources, but may be				capture technology. The Fluor system also will be
feasible for dealing with emissions from diffuse				designed to remove residual quantities of remnant air
sources like automobiles and aircraft. The theoretically				pollutants from stack gases as part of the CO2
required energy for air capture is only slightly more				capture process. Battelle is leading preparation of an
than for capture from point sources. The additional				Environmental Information Volume (EIV) for the
costs come from the devices that use the natural air				entire project including geologic storage of the
flow.				captured CO2 in deep flood basalt formations that
Removing CO2 from the atmosphere is a form of				exist in the greater region. The EIV will describe the
geoengineering by greenhouse gas remediation.				necessary site characterization work, sequestration
Techniques of this type have received widespread				system infrastructure, and monitoring program to
media coverage as they offer the promise of a				support permanent sequestration of the CO2
comprehensive solution to global warming if they can				captured at the plant.
be coupled with effective carbon sequestration				In addition to individual carbon capture and
technologies.				sequestration projects, there are a number of U.S.
It is more usual to see such techniques proposed for				programs designed to research, develop and deploy
air capture, than for flue gas treatment. Carbon				CCS technologies on a broad scale. These include the
dioxide capture and storage is more commonly				National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
proposed on plants burning coal in oxygen extracted				Carbon Sequestration Program, regional carbon
from the air, which means the CO2 is highly				sequestration partnerships and the Carbon
concentrated and no scrubbing process is necessary.				Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF).
According to the Wallula Energy Resource Center in				United Kingdom
Washington state, by gasifying the coal, it is possible				The United Kingdom Government has launched a
to capture approximately 65% of carbon dioxide				tender process for a CCS demonstration project.
embedded in coal and sequester them into the solid				The project will use post-combustion technology on
form.				coal fired power generation at 300-400 MW or
Through Cement				equivalent. The project aims to be operational by
Captures the CO2 from industrial smokestacks to be				2014 . The Government announced in June 2008 that
stored in cement during production. Five percent of				four companies had prequalified for the following
the CO2 emissions are produced by manufacturing				stages of the competition, BP Alternative Energy
cement globally.				International Limited, EON UK Plc, Peel Power Limited
Process of turning carbon into cement: Seawater is				and Scottish Power Generation Limited . BP have
the main resource for this process. Extract the NaCl				subsequently withdrawn from the competition
from the other minerals to make salt water.				claiming it could not find a power generator partner
Electrolyze and split the water and salt to make				and RWE npower is seeking a judicial review of the
sodium hydroxide (lye) and hydrochloric acid.				process after it did not qualify .
Neutralize the acid in a reaction with silicate rocks,				Doosan Babcock will modify a Test Rig at Renfrew in
producing sand and magnesium chloride, which can be				Scotland to accommodate Oxyfuel firing on
used together or separately to melt ice on roads.				pulverised coal with recycled flue gas and
Combining the highly alkaline sodium hydroxide				demonstrate the operation of a full scale 40 MW
solution with carbon dioxide streaming from a				burner for use in coal-fired boilers. Sponsors of the
smokestack, trapping the carbon dioxide in the form				project include the UK Department for Business
of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Add the baking				Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and a
soda to seawater, which contains magnesium and				group of industrial sponsors and university partners
calcium. The soda triggers a series of reactions,				comprising Scottish and Southern Energy (Prime
precipitating a magnesium and calcium carbonate that				Sponsor), E.ON UK PLC, Drax Power Limited,
can be used as cement.				ScottishPower, EDF Energy, Dong Energy Generation,
Some of the regulations made to greenhouse-gas				Air Products Plc (Sponsors), and Imperial College and
emissions, such as carbon tax could eventually make				University of Nottingham (University Partners).
this process profitable as well as environment friendly.				China
CO2 transport				In Beijing, as of 2009, one major power plant is
After capture, the CO2 would have to be				capturing and re-selling a small fraction of its CO2
transported to suitable storage sites. This is done by				emissions.
pipeline, which is generally the cheapest form of				Germany
transport. In 2008, there were approximately				The German industrial area of Schwarze Pumpe,
5,800 km of CO2 pipelines in the United States, used				about 4 km south of the city of Spremberg, is
to transport CO2 to oil production fields where the				home to the world's first CCS coal plant. The mini
CO2 is injected in older fields to extract oil. The				pilot plant is run by an Alstom-built oxy-fuel boiler and
injection of CO2 to produce oil is generally called				is also equipped with a flue gas cleaning facility to
"Enhanced Oil Recovery" or EOR. In addition, there				remove fly ash and sulphur dioxide. The Swedish
are several pilot programs in various stages to test				company Vattenfall AB invested some 70 million
the long-term storage of CO2 in non-oil producing				Euros in the two year project which began operation
geologic formations. These are discussed below.				September 9, 2008. The power plant, which is rated
COA conveyor belt system or ships could also be				at 30-megawatts, is a pilot project to serve as a
used. These methods are currently used for				prototype for future full-scale power plants. 240
transporting CO2 for other applications.				tonnes a day of CO2 are being trucked 350
According to the Congressional Research Service,				kilometers (210 miles) where it will be injected into an
"There are important unanswered questions about				empty gas field. Germany's BUND group called it a "fig
pipeline network requirements, economic regulation,				leaf". For each tonne of coal burned, 3.6 tonnes of
utility cost recovery, regulatory classification of CO2				carbon dioxide is produced.
itself, and pipeline safety. Furthermore, because CO2				German utility RWE operates a pilot-scale CO2
pipelines for enhanced oil recovery are already in use				scrubber at the lignite-fired Niederauem power station
today, policy decisions affecting CO2 pipelines take				built in cooperation with BASF (supplier of detergent)
on an urgency that is unrecognized by many. Federal				and Linde (engineering).
classification of CO2 as both a commodity (by the				Australia
Bureau of Land Management) and as a pollutant (by				Main article: Carbon capture and storage in Australia
the Environmental Protection Agency) could				The Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin
potentially create an immediate conflict which may				Ferguson opened the first geosequestration project
need to be addressed not only for the sake of				in the southern hemisphere in April 2008. The
future CCS implementation, but also to ensure				demonstration plant is near Nirranda South in South
consistency of future CCS with CO2 pipeline				Western Victoria. (3519 14908 / 35.31S 149.14E /
operations today.				-35.31; 149.14) The plant is owned by the
CO2 storage (sequestration)				Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas
It has been suggested that this section be split into a				Technologies (CO2CRC). It is funded jointly by
new article. (Discuss)				government and industry. It aims to store up to
Main article: CO2 sequestration				100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide extracted from a
Various forms have been conceived for permanent				gas well. Carbon dioxide-rich gas is extracted from a
storage of CO2. These forms include gaseous				reservoir via a well, compressed and piped 2.25 km
storage in various deep geological formations				to a new well. There the gas is injected into a
(including saline formations and exhausted gas fields),				depleted natural gas reservoir approximately two
liquid storage in the ocean, and solid storage by				kilometers below the surface. The Otway Project is
reaction of CO2 with metal oxides to produce stable				a research and demonstration project, focused on
carbonates.				comprehensive monitoring and verification .
Geological storage				This plant does not propose to capture CO2 from
Also known as geo-sequestration, this method				coal fired power generation. There is no project
involves injecting carbon dioxide, generally in				anywhere in the world storing CO2 stripped from the
supercritical form, directly into underground geological				products of combustion of coal burnt for electricity
formations. Oil fields, gas fields, saline formations,				generation at coal fired power stations although work
unminable coal seams, and saline-filled basalt				currently being carried out by the New South Wales
formations have been suggested as storage sites.				government and private industry intends to have a
Various physical (e.g., highly impermeable caprock) and				working pilot plant in operation by 2013.
geochemical trapping mechanisms would prevent the				Limitations of CCS for power stations
CO2 from escaping to the surface.				One limitation of CCS is its energy penalty. The
CO2 is sometimes injected into declining oil fields to				technology is expected to use between 10 and 40%
increase oil recovery. Approximately 30 to 50 million				of the energy produced by a power station. Wide
metric tonnes of CO2 are injected annually in the				scale adoption of CCS may erase efficiency gains of
United States into declining oil fields.. This option is				the last 50 years, and increase resource consumption
attractive because the geology of hydrocarbon				by one third. However even taking the fuel penalty
reservoirs are generally well understood and storage				into account overall levels of CO2 abatement remain
costs may be partly offset by the sale of additional				high, at approximately 80-90% compared to a plant
oil that is recovered. Disadvantages of old oil fields				without CCS. It is theoretically possible for CCS,
are their geographic distribution and their limited				when combined with combustion of biomass, to
capacity, as well as that the subsequent burning of				result in net negative emissions, but this is not
the additional oil so recovered will offset much or all				currently feasible given the lack of development of
of the reduction in CO2 emissions.				CCS technologies and the limitations of biomass
Unminable coal seams can be used to store CO2				production.
because CO2 adsorbs to the surface of coal.				A second concern regards the permanence of
However, the technical feasibility depends on the				storage schemes. It is claimed that safe and
permeability of the coal bed. In the process of				permanent storage of CO2 cannot be guaranteed
absorption the coal releases previously absorbed				and that even very low leakage rates could
methane, and the methane can be recovered				undermine any climate mitigation effect. However,
(enhanced coal bed methane recovery). The sale of				the IPCC conclude that the proportion of CO2
the methane can be used to offset a portion of the				retained in appropriately selected and managed
cost of the CO2 storage. However, burning the				geological reservoirs is very likely to exceed 99%
resultant methane would produce CO2, which would				over 100 years and is likely to exceed 99% over
negate some of the benefit of sequestering the				1,000 years.
original CO2.				Finally there is the issue of cost. Greenpeace claim
Saline formations contain highly mineralized brines, and				that CCS could lead to a doubling of plant costs.
have so far been considered of no benefit to				However CCS may still be economically attractive in
humans. Saline aquifers have been used for storage				comparison to other forms of low carbon electricity
of chemical waste in a few cases. The main				generation. It is also claimed by opponents to CCS
advantage of saline aquifers is their large potential				that money spent on CCS will divert investments
storage volume and their common occurrence. The				away from other solutions to climate change.
major disadvantage of saline aquifers is that relatively				Cost of CCS
little is known about them, compared to oil fields. To				Although the processes involved in CCS have been
keep the cost of storage acceptable the geophysical				demonstrated in other industrial applications, no
exploration may be limited, resulting in larger				commercial scale projects which integrate these
uncertainty about the aquifer structure. Unlike				processes exist, the costs therefore are somewhat
storage in oil fields or coal beds no side product will				uncertain. However, some recent credible estimates
offset the storage cost. Leakage of CO2 back into				indicate that a carbon price of US$60 per US-ton is
the atmosphere may be a problem in saline aquifer				required to make capture and storage competitive,
storage. However, current research shows that				corresponding to an increase in electricity prices of
several trapping mechanisms immobilize the CO2				about US 6c per kWh (based on typical coal fired
underground, reducing the risk of leakage.				power plant emissions of 2.13 pounds CO2 per kWh).
For well-selected, designed and managed geological				This would double the typical US industrial electricity
storage sites, the IPCC estimates that CO2 could be				price (now at around 6c per kWh) and increase the
trapped for millions of years, and the sites are likely				typical retail residential electricity price by about 50%
to retain over 99% of the injected CO2 over 1,000				(assuming 100% of power is from coal, which may
years.				not necessarily be the case, as this varies from state
In 2009 it was reported that scientists had mapped				to state). However similar (approximate) price
6,000 square miles of rock formations in the U.S. that				increases would likely be expected in coal dependent
could be used to store 500 years' worth of U.S.				countries such as Australia, because the capture
carbon dioxide emissions.				technology and chemistry, transport and injection
Ocean storage				costs from such power plants would not, in an overall
Another proposed form of carbon storage is in the				sense, vary significantly from country to country.
oceans. Several concepts have been proposed:				The reasons that CCS is expected to cause such
'dissolution' injects CO2 by ship or pipeline into the				power price increases are several. Firstly, the
water column at depths of 1000 m or more, and the				increased energy requirements of capturing and
CO2 subsequently dissolves.				compressing CO2 significantly raise the operating
'lake' deposits CO2 directly onto the sea floor at				costs of CCS-equipped power plants. In addition
depths greater than 3000 m, where CO2 is denser				there is added investment or capital costs. The
than water and is expected to form a 'lake' that				process would increase the fuel requirement of a
would delay dissolution of CO2 into the				plant with CCS by about 25% for a coal-fired plant
environment.convert the CO2 to bicarbonates (using				and about 15% for a gas-fired plant. The cost of this
limestone)				extra fuel, as well as storage and other system
Store the CO2 in solid clathrate hydrates already				costs are estimated to increase the costs of energy
existing on the ocean floor, or growing more solid				from a power plant with CCS by 30-60%, depending
clathrate.				on the specific circumstances. Pre-commercial CCS
The environmental effects of oceanic storage are				demonstration projects are likely to be more
generally negative, and poorly understood. Large				expensive than mature CCS technology, the total
concentrations of CO2 kills ocean organisms, but				additional costs of an early large scale CCS
another problem is that dissolved CO2 would				demonstration project are estimated to be 0.5-1.1bn
eventually equilibrate with the atmosphere, so the				per project over the project lifetime.
storage would not be permanent. Also, as part of				An estimate of costs of energy with and without
the CO2 reacts with the water to form carbonic acid,				CCS (2002 US$ per kWh)
H2CO3, the acidity of the ocean water increases.				Natural gas combined cycle
The resulting environmental effects on benthic life				Pulverized coal
forms of the bathypelagic, abyssopelagic and				Integrated gasification combined cycle
hadopelagic zones are poorly understood. Even				Without capture (reference plant)
though life appears to be rather sparse in the deep				0.03 - 0.05
ocean basins, energy and chemical effects in these				0.04 - 0.05
deep basins could have far reaching implications. Much				0.04 - 0.06
more work is needed here to define the extent of				With capture and geological storage
the potential problems.				0.04 - 0.08
The time it takes water in the deeper oceans to				0.06 - 0.10
circulate to the surface has been estimated to be in				0.06 - 0.09
the order of 1600 years, varying upon currents and				(Cost of capture and geological storage)
other changing conditions. Costs for deep ocean				0.01 - 0.03
disposal of liquid CO2 are estimated at US$4080				0.02 - 0.05
ton[vague]. (2002 USD) This figure covers the cost				0.02 - 0.03
of sequestration at the power plant and naval				With capture and Enhanced oil recovery
transport to the disposal site.				0.04 - 0.07
The bicarbonate approach would reduce the pH				0.05 - 0.08
effects and enhance the retention of CO2 in the				0.04 - 0.08
ocean, but this would also increase the costs and				All costs refer to costs for energy from newly built,
other environmental effects.				large-scale plants. Natural gas combined cycle costs
An additional method of long term ocean based				are based on natural gas prices of US$2.804.40 per
sequestration is to gather crop residue such as corn				GJ (LHV based). Energy costs for PC and IGCC are
stalks or excess hay into large weighted bales of				based on bituminous coal costs of US$1.001.50 per GJ
biomass and deposit it in the alluvial fan areas of the				LHV. Note that the costs are very dependent on fuel
deep ocean basin. Dropping these residues in alluvial				prices (which change continuously), in addition to
fans would cause the residues to be quickly buried in				other factors such as capital costs. Also note that for
silt on the sea floor, sequestering the biomass for				EOR, the savings are greater for higher oil prices.
very long time spans. Alluvial fans exist in all of the				Current gas and oil prices are substantially higher than
world's oceans and seas where river deltas fall off				the figures used here. All figures in the table are from
the edge of the continental shelf such as the				Table 8.3a in [IPCC, 2005].
Mississippi alluvial fan in the Gulf of Mexico and the				The cost of CCS depends on the cost of capture
Nile alluvial fan in the Mediterranean Sea.				and storage which vary according to the method
Unfortunately, biomass and crop residues form an				used. Geological storage in saline formations or
extremely important and valuable component of				depleted oil or gas fields typically cost US$0.508.00
topsoil and sustainable agriculture. Removing them				per tonne of CO2 injected, plus an additional
from the terrestrial equation is fraught with problems				US$0.100.30 for monitoring costs. However, when
and would exacerbate nutrient depletion and increase				storage is combined with enhanced oil recovery to
dependence on chemical fertilizers and, therefore,				extract extra oil from an oil field, the storage could
petrochemicals, thus defeating the original intentions -				yield net benefits of US$1016 per tonne of CO2
to reduce Co2 in the atmosphere.				injected (based on 2003 oil prices). This would likely
Mineral storage				negate some of the effect of the carbon capture
Carbon sequestration by reacting naturally occurring				when the oil was burnt as fuel. However, as the table
Mg and Ca containing minerals with CO2 to form				above shows, the benefits do not outweigh the
carbonates has many unique advantages. Most				extra costs of capture.
notabl[e] is the fact that carbonates have a lower				Comparisons of CCS with other energy sources can
energy state than CO2, which is why mineral				be found in wind energy, solar energy, and
carbonation is thermodynamically favorable and				Economics of new nuclear power plants.
occurs naturally (e.g., the weathering of rock over				Environmental effects
geologic time periods). Secondly, the raw materials				This section needs additional citations for verification.
such as magnesium based minerals are abundant.				Please help improve this article by adding reliable
Finally, the produced carbonates are unarguably stable				references. Unsourced material may be challenged
and thus re-release of CO2 into the atmosphere is				and removed. (January 2009)
not an issue. However, conventional carbonation				The theoretical merit of CCS systems is the
pathways are slow under ambient temperatures and				reduction of CO2 emissions by up to 90%, depending
pressures. The significant challenge being addressed				on plant type. Generally, environmental effects from
by this effort is to identify an industrially and				use of CCS arise during power production, CO2
environmentally viable carbonation route that will allow				capture, transport and storage. Issues relating to
mineral sequestration to be implemented with				storage are discussed in those sections.
acceptable economics.				Additional energy is required for CO2 capture, and
In this process, CO2 is exothermic ally reacted with				this means that substantially more fuel has to be
abundantly available metal oxides which produces				used, depending on the plant type. For new
stable carbonates. This process occurs naturally over				supercritical pulverized coal (PC) plants using current
many years and is responsible for much of the				technology, the extra energy requirements range
surface limestone. The reaction rate can be made				from 24-40%, while for natural gas combined cycle
faster, for example by reacting at higher				(NGCC) plants the range is 11-22% and for
temperatures and/or pressures, or by pre-treatment				coal-based gasification combined cycle (IGCC)
of the minerals, although this method can require				systems it is 14-25% [IPCC, 2005]. Obviously, fuel
additional energy. The IPCC estimates that a power				use and environmental problems arising from mining
plant equipped with CCS using mineral storage will				and extraction of coal or gas increase accordingly.
need 60-180% more energy than a power plant				Plants equipped with flue gas desulfurization (FGD)
without CCS. (ch.7, p. 321, p. 330)				systems for SO2 control require proportionally
The following table lists principal metal oxides of				greater amounts of limestone and systems equipped
Earth's Crust. Theoretically up to 22% of this mineral				with SCR systems for NOX require proportionally
mass is able to form carbonate s.				greater amounts of ammonia.
Earthen Oxide				IPCC has provided estimates of air emissions from
Percent of Crust				various CCS plant designs (see table below). While
Carbonate				CO2 is drastically reduced (though never completely
Enthalpy change				captured), emissions of air pollutants increase
(kJ/mol)				significantly, generally due to the energy penalty of
SiO2				capture. Hence, the use of CCS entails a reduction in
59.71				air quality.
Al2O3				Emissions to air from plants with CCS (kg/(MWh))
15.41				Natural gas combined cycle
CaO				Pulverized coal
4.90				Integrated gasification combined cycle
CaCO3				CO2
-179				43 (-89%)
MgO				107 (87%)
4.36				97 (88%)
MgCO3				NOX
-117				0.11 (+22%)
Na2O				0.77 (+31%)
3.55				0.1 (+11%)
Na2CO3				SOX
FeO				0.001 (99.7%)
3.52				0.33 (+17.9%)
FeCO3				Ammonia
K2O				0.002 (before: 0)
2.80				0.23 (+2200%)
K2CO3				Based on Table 3.5 in [IPCC, 2005]. Between brackets
Fe2O3				the increase or decrease compared to a similar plant
2.63				without CCS.
FeCO3				See also
21.76				Energy portal
All Carbonates				Sustainable development portal
Leakage				Biochar
Cow killed by a 1986 natural carbon dioxide leak at				Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage
Lake Nyos. The leakage killed 1,700 people and a				Carbon cycle re-balancing
large amount of livestock.				Carbon sink
A major concern with CCS is whether leakage of				Chemical looping combustion
stored CO2 will compromise CCS as a climate change				CO2 sequestration
mitigation option. For well-selected, designed and				FutureGen
managed geological storage sites, IPCC estimates				Limnic eruption A possible hazard resulting from a
that risks are comparable to those associated with				large scale release of CO2
current hydrocarbon activity. CO2 could be trapped				Low-carbon economy
for millions of years, and although some leakage				Mitigation of global warming
occurs upwards through the soil, well selected stores				Post combustion capture
are likely to retain over 99% of the injected CO2				Relative cost of electricity generated by different
over 1000 years. Leakage through the injection pipe				sources
is a greater risk. Although the injection pipe is usually				Quaternary recovery
protected with Non-return valves (to prevent release				Solvay process industrial process used in the
on a power outtage), there is still a risk that the pipe				production of soda ash (sodium carbonate)
itself could tear and leak due to the pressure. A small				Terra preta
incident of this type of CO2 leakage was the Berkel				IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme
and Rodenrijs incident in December 2008, where a				Notes
modest release of greenhouse gas emissions resulted				^ Weyburn doubles up as EOR and large-scale,
in the deaths of a small group of ducks. In order to				commercial CCS operation.[dead link]
measure accidental carbon releases more accurately				^ a b c d e f g h i [IPCC, 2005] IPCC special report
and decrease the risk of fatalities through this type				on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage. Prepared by
of leakage, the implementation of CO2 alert meters				working group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on
around the project perimeter has been proposed.				Climate Change. Metz, B., O.Davidson, H. C. de
In 1986 a large leakage of naturally sequestered				Coninck, M. Loos, and L.A. Meyer (eds.). Cambridge
carbon dioxide rose from Lake Nyos in Cameroon				University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and
and asphyxiated 1,700 people. While the carbon had				New York, NY, USA, 442 pp. Available in full at (PDF -
been sequestered naturally, some point to the event				22.8MB)
as evidence for the potentially catastrophic effects				^ Coal Utilization Research Council (CURC)
of sequestering carbon.				Technology Roadmap, 2005
For ocean storage, the retention of CO2 would				^ "NETL 2007 Carbon Sequestration Atlas", 2007
depend on the depth; IPCC estimates 3085% would				^ Gasification Body<! -- Bot generated title -->
be retained after 500 years for depths 10003000 m.				^ integrated gasification combined cycle for carbon
Mineral storage is not regarded as having any risks of				capture storage Claverton Energy Group conference
leakage. The IPCC recommends that limits be set to				24th October Bath.
the amount of leakage that can take place. This				^ Energy Futures Laboratory and the Grantham
might rule out deep ocean storage as an option.				Institute for Climate Change
It should also be noted that at the conditions of the				^ Winner: Restoring Coal's Sheen, William Sweet,
deeper oceans, (about 400 bar or 40 MPa, 280 K)				IEEE Spectrum, January 2008. Available in full at
waterO2(l) mixing is very low (where carbonate				^ First Successful Demonstration of Carbon Dioxide
formation/acidification is the rate limiting step), but				Air Capture Technology Achieved by Columbia
the formation of water-CO2 hydrates is favorable. (a				University Scientist and Private Company
kind of solid water cage that surrounds the CO2).				^
To further investigate the safety of CO2				^ Paul W. Parfomak and Peter Folger, RS Report for
sequestration, we can look into Norway's Sleipner gas				Congress: Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Pipelines for Carbon
field, as it is the oldest plant that stores CO2 on an				Sequestration: Emerging Policy Issues, Updated
industrial scale. According to an environmental				January 17, 2008 (Order Code RL33971) (
assessment of the gas field which was conducted				^ Adam Vann and Paul W. Parfomak, "CRS Report
after ten years of operation, the author affirmed				for Congress: Regulation of Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
that geosequestration of CO2 was the most definite				Sequestration Pipelines: Jurisdictional Issues," Updated
form of permanent geological storage of CO2.				April 15, 2008 (Order Code RL34307) ( (reviewing
Available geological information shows absence of				federal jurisdictional issues related to CO2 pipelines
major tectonic events after the deposition of the				and reviewing agency jurisdictional determinations
Utsira formation [saline reservoir]. This implies that the				under the Interstate Commerce Act and the Natural
geological environment is tectonically stable and a site				Gas Act
suitable for carbon dioxide storage. The solubility				^ IPCC "Special Report on Carbon Capture and
trapping [is] the most permanent and secure form of				Storage, pp. 181 and 203 (Chapter 5, "Underground
geological storage.				Geological Storage")
In March 2009, StatoilHydro issued a study showing				^ Rocks Found That Could Store Greenhouse Gas,
the slow spread of CO2 in the formation after more				Live Science, March 9, 2009
than 10 years operation.				^ "Warning signs on the ocean floor: China and India
Phase I of the Weyburn Project in Weyburn,				Exploit Icy Energy Reserves: Part 2: Can a Potential
Saskatchewan, Canada has determined that the				Curse Be Transformed into a Blessing?"
likelihood of stored CO2 release is less than one				^ "The great submarine burp"
percent in 5,000 years.				^ "Deep-Sea Disposal Of Fossil-Fuel CO2: First Ocean
Detailed geological histories of basins are required and				Observations"
should utilise the multi billion dollar petroleum seismic				^ Goldberg, Chen, Oonnor, Walters, and Ziock. (1998).
data sets to decrease the risk associated with fault				"CO2 Mineral Sequestration Studies in US", National
stability. On injection of CO2 into the earth there is a				Energy Technology Laboratory. Retrieved June 7th,
major pressure front that can break the seal and				2007 from:
make faults unstable. The Gippsland Basin in Australia				^ Natuurwetenschap & Techniek; April 2009;
has a 3D-GEO seismic megavolume that consists of				CCS leakage risks
30+ 3D seismic volumes that have been merged.				^ Pentland, William. "The Carbon Conundrum." 6
Such datasets can image faults at a resolution of 15				October 2008.
metres over an area 100km by 100km. Mid 2010 the				^ "Norway: StatoilHydro's Sleipner carbon capture and
first full geological study of the Gippsland Basin will				storage project proceeding successfully".
become openfile by 3D-GEO making CCS fault risk				Energy-pedia. 8 March 2009. Retrieved 19 December
workflow available with the associated data that				2009.
constrains it. In basins around the world such studies				^ Allan Casey, Carbon Cemetery, Canadian
are not available and can only be bought at a price				Geographic Magazine, Jan/Feb 2008, p. 61
tag of greater than a million dollars.				^ New Scientist No2645, 1st March 2008.
CO2 re-use				^
Making Jet fuel by scrubbing CO2 from the air would				^ David Biello: Scientific American Sept 16, 2006
allow aviation to continue in a low carbon economy				^ a b Allan Casey, ibid, p. 63
A potentially useful way of dealing with industrial				^ - originally called Great Plains Coal Gasification plant
sources of CO2 is to convert it into hydrocarbons				^ President Carter loan guarantee statement, 1980
where it can be stored or reused as fuel or to make				^ Allan Casey, ibid, p. 59
plastics. There are a number of projects investigating				^ "Demonstration project The Netherlands: Zero
this possibility. Currently, biofuels represent the other				Emission Power Plant"
potentially carbon-neutral jet fuel available.				^ "Bureau of Economic Geology Receives $38 Million
Carbon dioxide scrubbing variants exist based on				for First Large-Scale U.S. Test Storing Carbon Dioxide
potassium carbonate which can be used to create				Underground"
liquid fuels. Although the creation of fuel from				^ DoE Funding opportunity announcement
atmospheric CO2 is not a geoengineering technique,				"Restructured Futuregen"
nor does it actually function as greenhouse gas				^ "SU receives $66.9 million carbon sequestration",
remediation, it nevertheless is potentially very useful				Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 2008-11-18. Retrieved on
in the creation of a low carbon economy, as				2008-18-11.
transport fuels, especially aviation fuel, are currently				^ per company website 4-9-2009
hard to make other than by using fossil fuels. Whilst				^
electric car technology is widely available, and can be				^ NETL Carbon Sequestration NETL Web site.
used with renewable energy for carbon neutral				Retrieved on 2008-21-11.
driving, there are no electric jet airliners available, nor				^
are there likely to be in the foreseeable				^
future.[citation needed]				^
Single step methods: CO2 + H2 methanol				^
A proven process to produce a hydrocarbon is to				^
make methanol. Methanol is rather easily synthesized				^ China Puts Fizz In Bid To Reduce Carbon Emissions
from CO2 and H2 (See Green Methanol Synthesis).				^ Germany leads 'clean coal' pilot, BBC News,
Based on this fact the idea of a methanol economy				2008-09-03,
was born.				^ Access all areas: Schwarze Pumpe, BBC News,
Single step methods: CO2 hydrocarbons				2008-09-03,
At the department of Industrial Chemistry and				^ 'Emissions-free' power plant pilot fires up in
Engineering of Materials at the University of Messina,				Germany
Italy there is a project to develop a system which				^ Press Release: BASF, RWE Power and Linde are
works like a fuel-cell in reverse, whereby a catalyst is				developing new processes for CO2 capture in
used that enables sunlight to split water into				coal-fired power plants on
hydrogen ions and oxygen gas. The ions cross a				^ "First carbon storage plant launched"
membrane where they react with the CO2 to create				^ "Seeking clean coal science 'only option'"
hydrocarbons.				^ "CO2CRC Otway Project overview"
2 Step methods: CO2 CO Hydrocarbons				^ a b c Rochon, Emily et al. False Hope: Why carbon
If CO2 is heated to 2400C, it splits into carbon				capture and storage won save the climate
monoxide and oxygen. The Fischer-Tropsch process				Greenpeace, May 2008, p.5.
can then be used to convert the CO into				^
hydrocarbons. The required temperature can be				^ Biomass with capture: negative emissions within
achieved by using a chamber containing a mirror to				social and environmental constraints: an editorial
focus sunlight on the gas. There are a couple of rival				comment, James S. Rhodes and David W. Keith
teams developing such chambers, at Solarec and at				^ 20244 DTI Energy Review_AW
Sandia National Laboratories, both based in New				^ Science, 27 February 2009, Vol 323, p 1158, timulus
Mexico. According to Sandia these chambers could				Gives DOE Billions for Carbon-Capture Project
provide enough fuel to power 100% of domestic				^ CCS - Assessing the Economics, Mckinsey, 2008
vehicles using 5800 km, but unlike biofuels this would				References
not take fertile land away from crops but would be				Environmental Challenges and Greenhouse Gas
land that is not being used for anything else. James				Control for Fossil Fuel Utilization in the 21st Century.
May, the British TV presenter, visited a				Edited by M. Mercedes Maroto-Valer et al., Kluwer
demonstration plant in a recent programme in his 'Big				Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 2002:
Ideas' series.				"Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide by Ocean
Example CCS projects				Fertilization", pg 122. By M. Markels, Jr. and R.T. Barber.
Industrial-scale storage				Nobel Intent: Carbon Dioxide Lakes in the Deep
As of 2007, four industrial-scale storage projects are				Ocean, September 19, 2006 @ 11:08AM - posted by
in operation. Sleipner is the oldest project (1996) and				John Timmer
is located in the North Sea where Norway's				Solomon, Semere. (July, 2006). Carbon Dioxide
StatoilHydro strips carbon dioxide from natural gas				Storage: Geological Security and Environmental Issues
with amine solvents and disposes of this carbon				Case Study on the Sleipner Gas Field in Norway. The
dioxide in a deep saline aquifer. The carbon dioxide is				Bellona Foundation. Retrieved November 7, 2006,
a waste product of the field's natural gas production				from
and the gas contains more (9% CO2) than is allowed				ICO2N - The Vision
into the natural gas distribution network. Storing it				Stephens, J. 2006. Growing interest in carbon capture
underground avoids this problem and saves Statoil				and storage (CCS) for climate change mitigation.
hundreds of millions of euro in avoided carbon taxes.				Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy 2(2):413.
Since 1996, Sleipner has stored about one million				Published online November 29, 2006
tonnes CO2 a year. A second project in the Snhvit				The Economist (2009) The illusion of clean coal -
gas field in the Barents Sea stores 700,000 tonnes				Climate change, Mar 5th 2009, From The Economist
per year.				print edition, section
The Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project is currently the				The Economist (2009) Trouble in store - Carbon
world's largest carbon capture and storage project.				capture and storage, Mar 5th 2009, From The
Started in 2000, Weyburn is located on an oil				Economist print edition
reservoir discovered in 1954 in Weyburn,				Bullis, K. (2009, October). Capturing carbon dioxide
southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. The CO2 for				through cement production. Technology Review,
this project is captured at the Dakota Gasification				112(5), Retrieved from
Company plant in Beulah, North Dakota which has				Biello, D. (2008, August 7). Cement from co2: a
produced methane from coal for more than 30 years.				concrete cure for global warming?. Scientific
At Weyburn, the CO2 will also be used for enhanced				American, Retrieved from
oil recovery with an injection rate of about 1.5 million				External links
tonnes per year. The first phase finished in 2004, and				CO2 Capture Project Global partnership of seven
demonstrated that CO2 can be stored underground				major energy companies working on next-generation
at the site safely and indefinitely. The second phase,				CCS technology
expected to last until 2009, is investigating how the				3D-GEO CCS/CGS: Multiple Studies have been
technology can be expanded on a larger scale.				completed and are on-going. Gippsland Basin, Perth
The fourth site is In Salah, which like Sleipner and				Basin, Otway Basin, Cooper Basin, with multiple Asian
Snhvit is a natural gas reservoir located in In Salah,				Projects completed. Regional Studies completed over
Algeria. The CO2 will be separated from the natural				the last 10 years for CGS. Currently we have multiple
gas and re-injected into the subsurface at a rate of				in-house basin studies available, including seismic
about 1.2 million tonnes per year.				megavolumes.
Canada				In Salah Gas CO2 Storage Project Joint venture
In July 2008, the Government of Alberta announced				which has overseen capture and storage of one
a $2 billion investment in three to five				million tonnes per year of CO2 from its natural gas
large-scalecarbon capture and storage projects. In				refinery
2009, letters of intent were signed with four project				Zero Emissions Platform European Technology
proponents and grant agreement negotiations are				Platform for Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants
ongoing. It is expected the grant agreements will be				UCL Carbon Capture Legal Programme Free online
signed in early 2010. The projects selected include a				source of CCS Legal and Policy information.
240 kilometre pipeline;an in-situ coal gasification				Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC
(ISCG) project ; an oil sands upgrader and expansion;				Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and
and an electricity plant.				Storage (CCS).
A major Canadian initiative called the Alberta Saline				Scientific Facts on CO2 Capture and Storage, a
Aquifer Project (ASAP) is a consortium of 38				peer-reviewed summary of the IPCC Special Report
industry participants that are developing a pilot site				on CCS.
for commercial scale carbon capture and storage in a				Carbon Sequestration News Recent news articles on
saline aquifer. The initial pilot will sequester 1,000				CO2 capture and storage.
tonnes per day in 2010, while the commercial phase				CO2NET - Carbon Dioxide Knowledge Sharing
could see 10,000 tonnes per day as soon as 2015.				Network Extensive news and reports on CO2
Another Canadian initiative called the Integrated CO2				capture and storage events, projects and activities.
Network (ICO2N) is a proposed system for the				Allianz Knowledge Site Short movie about Schwarze
capture, transport and storage of carbon dioxide				Pumpe, the world's first ccs pilot coal power plant.
(CO2). ICO2N members represent a group of				Stanford University Collection of recent news articles
industry participants providing a framework for				on CO2 capture and storage.
carbon capture and storage development in Canada.				Paving the Legal Path for Carbon Sequestration from
Netherlands				Coal 2009 journal article on CCS legal questions.
In the Netherlands, a 68 MW oxyfuel plant ("Zero				DOE Fossil Energy Department of Energy programs in
Emission Power Plant") was being planned to be				carbon dioxide capture and storage.
operational in 2009. However, this project was later				2007 NETL Carbon Sequestration Atlas
cancelled.				Online discussion on pipeline materials for supercritical
United States				saturated CO2
In October 2007, the Bureau of Economic Geology at				Carbon Sequestration News, Events, Research and
The University of Texas at Austin received a				People Carbon Capture and Storage Information Hub
10-year, $38 million subcontract to conduct the first				The Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute The
intensively monitored, long-term project in the United				Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (Global
States studying the feasibility of injecting a large				CCS Institute)
volume of CO2 for underground storage. The project				"Burying Climate Change: Efforts Begin to Sequester
is a research program of the Southeast Regional				Carbon Dioxide from Power Plants", West Virginia
Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB), funded				hosts the world's first power plant to inject some of
by the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the				its CO2 emissions underground for permanent
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The SECARB				storage, Scientific American, September 22, 2009.
partnership will demonstrate CO2 injection rate and				"What does it take to demonstrate CCS?" by
storage capacity in the Tuscaloosa-Woodbine				Bjrn-Erik Haugan
geologic system that stretches from Texas to				Mitigate your Carbon emissions by planting trees
Florida. The region has the potential to store more				Green EU Initiative
than 200 billion tons[vague] of CO2 from major point				A Guide To Carbon Capture And Storage: Can carbon
sources in the region, equal to about 33 years of U.S.				capture and storage save the climate from the
emissions overall at present rates. Beginning in fall				consequences of fossil fuel burning?
2007, the project will inject CO2 at the rate of one

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