Can Carbon Capture and Storage Clean up Fossil
Can Carbon Capture and Storage Clean up Fossil Fuels Geoffrey Thyne Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute University of Wyoming
Conclusions v v v Ultimately CCS is viable only if legislation (international and national) produces a carbon-constrained world. Legal/Regulatory framework under construction. CCS industry will be on scale of oil and gas industry (largest in human history). Expense is uncertain until large scale project completed, but on order of $1 trillion/year to build CCS industry. Possible with current science and technologies. ¾ Future technological advances will reduce cost, improve efficiency and enhance safety. ¾ More scientific work needs to be done. There is technical knowledge and experience within petroleum industry.
Carbon (Dioxide) Emissions and Climate Change v v Increase in atmosphere is “linked” to climate changes. There is still no proof of the link.
Carbon Capture and Sequestration v v First step is capture of carbon applied to large point sources that currently emit 10, 500 Mt. CO 2/year (e. g. power stations). CO 2 would be compressed and transported for storage and use.
Large Stationary CO 2 Sources • carbon dioxide sources >0. 1 Mt. CO 2/yr • most (75 %) CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion/processing (coal-fired power plants are almost 3 wedges)
Carbon Dioxide Capture Four basic systems v v Post combustion Pre combustion Oxyfuel Industrial All gas is mostly CO 2 plus N 2, CO, SO 2, etc. All Methods capture 80 -95% of CO 2
Carbon Dioxide Capture Four basic systems v Pre combustion v Post combustion v Oxyfuel v Industrial Separation stage CO 2
Sequestration Targets v Terrestrial ¾ v Oceanic ¾ v Release into the atmosphere for incorporation into biomass (short term - 10 -100’s years) Release into ocean for dissolution and dispersion (medium term – 100 -1000’s years) Geologic ¾ Injection into subsurface (long term – 10, 000 -1, 000’s years)
Sequestration Targets Atmospheric v Oceanic v Geologic v
Sequestration Targets Atmospheric v Oceanic v Geologic v Characteristics Disposal into deep ocean locations Much of the ocean is deep enough for CO 2 to remain liquid phase (average ocean depth is 12, 460 feet) Largest potential storage capacity (2, 000 - 12, 000 Gt. CO 2 – worldwide) Storage time 100’s – 1000’s years Potential ecological damage (p. H change) Models and small scale projects only
Sequestration Targets Atmospheric v Oceanic v Geologic v Disposal costs are fairly well known Distance and volume are primary considerations (inverse relationship)
Sequestration Targets Atmospheric v Oceanic v Geologic v
Sequestration Targets Atmospheric v Oceanic v Geologic v Characteristics Disposal into subsurface locations Deep enough to remain supercritical (greater than 2500 feet depth) Large potential storage capacity (200 - 2, 000 Gt. CO 2 worldwide) Storage time 10, 000’s – 1, 000’s years Potential ecological damage (point source leaks) 40+ years experience in petroleum EOR operations and sour gas disposal
Carbon Dioxide Phase Behavior §Supercritical Fluid is a liquid-like gas §Gas-like viscosity, fluid-like compressibility and solvent behavior §CO 2 above critical T and P (31°C and 73. 8 bar or 1085 psi) §Density about 50% of water v v v Combustion product from fossil fuel GHG Four phases of interest
Carbon Storage Geological Sequestration want to inject to greater than 800 m depth v CO 2 in supercritical state ¾ behaves like a fluid with properties that are mixture of liquid and gas ¾ also stores more in given volume v price to pay in compressing gas v
Carbon Dioxide Phase Behavior and Sequestration v v v Terrestrial, Oceanic and Geologic P and T conditions. Ocean conditions allow disposal of liquid CO 2 Geologic conditions allow disposal of supercritical CO 2
Geological Carbon Sequestration need geologic site that will hold CO 2 safely for 1000 s of years – natural analogs v four possible geologic targets ¾ enhanced oil and gas recovery ¾ depleted oil and gas fields ¾ saline aquifers ¾ enhanced CBM recovery v
Geological Carbon Sequestration Leakage Paths
CCS relative cost Capture + Pressurization v v Cost data from IGPCC 2005 Includes cost of compression to pipeline pressure (1500 psi) 45% difference Separation stage CO 2
CCS relative cost Capture + Pressurization + Transport v v v Price highly dependent on volume per year. Includes construction, O&M, design, insurance, right of ways. for capacities of >5 Mt. CO 2 yr-1 the cost is between 2 and 4 2002 US$/t. CO 2 per 250 km for an onshore pipe 37% difference Separation stage CO 2
CCS relative cost Capture + Pressurization + Transport + Storage (Oceanic and Geologic) v v Oceanic - For transport (ship) distance of 100500 km and injection depths of 3000 m Geologic - For storage in onshore, shallow, highly permeable reservoir with preexisting infrastructure 23% difference 31% difference Separation stage CO 2
CCS relative cost Capture + Pressurization + Transport + Storage (Oceanic and Geologic) – EOR Offset v v Assuming oil price of $50 bbl. Without Sequestration Credit (Carbon Tax) Separation stage CO 2
Pilot Projects ¾ Sleipner, Norway (North Sea) ¾ Weyburn Project, Saskatchewan (Canada)
Pilot Projects: Sleipner is a North Sea gas field ¾ operated by Statoil, Norway’s largest oil company v produces natural gas for European market v in North Sea, hydrocarbons are produced from platforms v
Pilot Projects: Sleipner v special platform, Sleipner T, built to separate CO 2 from natural gas ¾ supports 20 m (65 ft) tall, 8, 000 ton treatment plant ¾ plant produces 1 million tons of CO 2 ¾ also handles gas piped from Sleipner West Norway has a carbon tax of about $50/ton for any CO 2 emitted to the atmosphere v to avoid the tax, Statoil has re-injected CO 2 underground since production began in 1996 v
Pilot Projects: Sleipner production is from Heimdal Formation ¾ 2, 500 m (8, 200 ft) below sea level v produces natural gas mixture of hydrocarbons (methane (CH 4), ethane (C 2 H 6), butane (C 4 H 10)), gases (N 2, O 2, CO 2, sulfur compounds, water) v the natural gas at Sleipner has 9 % CO 2 v
Pilot Projects: Sleipner v CO 2 injected into Utsira Formation ¾ high porosity & permeability sandstone layer ¾ 250 m thick and 800 m (2, 600 ft) below sea bed ¾ filled with saline water, not oil or gas ¾ CO 2 storage capacity estimated at 600 billion tons (20 years of world CO 2 emissions) millions tons CO 2 stored since 1996 v first commercial storage of CO 2 in deep, saline aquifer v
Pilot Projects: Sleipner seismic surveys conducted to determine location of CO 2 v results shown in diagram to left v Optimum conditions for geophysical imaging v
Conclusions v v v Ultimately CCS is viable only if legislation (international and national) produces a carbon-constrained world. Legal/Regulatory framework under construction. CCS industry will be on scale of oil and gas industry (largest in human history). Expense is uncertain until large scale project completed, but on order of $1 trillion/year to build CCS industry. Possible with current science and technologies. ¾ Future technological advances will reduce cost, improve efficiency and enhance safety. ¾ More scientific work needs to be done. There is technical knowledge and experience within petroleum industry.
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