The Department of Energy (DOE) last week was excited to announce the commencement of industrial-scale carbon capture and utilization demonstration projects at two hydrogen production facilities in Port Arthur, Texas. Though renewable energy will play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, some argue that capturing the carbon released from fossil fuels will be necessary if we are to continue using them as a primary energy source.
The hydrogen production plants, owned by Air Products and Chemicals, are now operating at full capacity and capturing 90 percent of carbon emissions—roughly one million metric tons per year. Combined carbon capture was more than 222,000 tons by early May. The $431 million project, supported by a $284 million DOE investment, supports a process whereby carbon dioxide is separated, compressed, and dried, before being injected underground in a number of geologic formations including oil and gas reservoirs, unmineable coal, and saline formations. A report commissioned by DOE states that while this process is not without risk, injection sites are carefully screened before, during and after the injection process.
However, not all carbon dioxide is stored underground. Air Products will pipe much of the captured CO2 to a newly constructed 13.1-mile feeder that connects the two plants to an existing carbon dioxide pipeline. The captured gas will travel to West Hastings oil field, where it will increase oil production by an estimated 1.6 to 3.1 million barrels per year. According to DOE, enhanced oil recovery is critical in producing oil that would normally be too difficult to extract. Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Christopher Smith, said the Texas project demonstrates “the potential to produce economic benefits and increase our energy security while greatly reducing the environmental impacts of our fossil energy use.” The relatively costly process is being demonstrated in several large-scale projects, and is also in the works in an oil sands project in Alberta, Canada.
The DOE claims the U.S. has at least 2,400 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide storage capacity, and appropriated more than $575 million from the Recovery Act by 2010. Clearly, this is in line with the “all of the above” strategy, but I’m not quite sold.
Schematic showing both terrestrial and geological sequestration of carbon dioxide emissions from a coal-fired plant. Rendering by LeJean Hardin and Jamie Payne. Source: http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/v33_2_00/research.htm
