Sean Plasynski – National Energy
Technology Laboratory
Sequestration Technology Manager
Carbon Sequestration R&D Overview
Global Task Force on Carbon
Capture and Sequestration
The Earth Institute – Columbia
University
Feb. 14, 2008
Sean Plasynski, PhD
Sequestration Technology
Manager
National Energy Technology Laboratory
Office of Fossil Energy
Annual CO2 Emissions Extremely Large
Emissions
Total Release in the U.S.,
short tons per year
Mercury
120
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
15,000
Municipal solid waste
230,000,000
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
6,300,000,000
1 million metric tons of CO2:
• Every year would fill a volume of 32 million cubic feet
• Close to the volume of the Empire State Building
Data sources: Mercury - EPA National Emissions Inventory (1999 data); SO2 - EPA air trends (2002 data); MSW - EPA OSWER
fact sheet (2001 data); CO2 - EIA AEO 2004 (2002 data)
Office of Fossil Energy
Technological Carbon Management Options
Improve
Efficiency
Reduce Carbon
Intensity
Sequester
Carbon
 Renewables
 Demand Side
 Capture & Store
 Nuclear
 Supply Side
 Enhance Natural
Sinks
 Fuel Switching
All options needed to:
 Affordably meet energy
demand
 Address environmental
objectives
Office of Fossil Energy
DOE’s Sequestration Program Structure
Core R&D
Monitoring,
Mitigation, &
Verification
Capture of
CO2
Storage
 Direct CO2
storage
 Enhanced
natural sinks
Infrastructure
Breakthrough
Concepts
Non-CO2
GHG
Mitigation
Carbon
Sequestration
Leadership
Forum
Regional Carbon
Sequestration
Partnerships
Integration
Projects
Initiated FY 2003
Office of Fossil Energy
Carbon Sequestration Program Goals
 Deliver technologies & best practices that validate:
 90% CO2 capture
 99% storage permanence
 < 10% increase in COE (pre-combustion capture)
 < 20% increase in COE (post- and oxy-combustion)
 +/- 30% storage capacity
Office of Fossil Energy
Key Challenges to CCS
 Sufficient Storage Capacity ?
 Cost of CCS ?
 Permanence ?
 Infrastructure ?
 Transport Lines
 Permitting
 Regulatory framework
 Public Acceptance (NIMBY  NUMBY)
 Liability
 Best Practices
 Human Capital Resources
Office of Fossil Energy
Sufficient Storage Capacity ?
• Validate Storage Capacity to +/- 30% Accuracy
Office of Fossil Energy
National Atlas Highlights
Adequate Storage Projected
U.S. Emissions ~ 6 GT CO2/yr all sources
Saline Formations
Oil and Gas Fields
Conservative
Resource
Assessment
North American CO2 Storage Potential
(Giga Tons)
Sink Type
Low
High
Saline Formations
969
3,223
Unmineable Coal Seams
70
97
Oil and Gas Fields
82
83
Unmineable Coal Seams
Hundreds of
Years of
Storage
Potential
Available for download at http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/carbon_seq/refshelf.html
Office of Fossil Energy
Worldwide Geologic Storage Capacity
(Thousands of Years of Potential Storage Capacity)
Capacity (Gigaton CO2)
200,000
Maximum Capacity Potential
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
24 Gigatons CO2
0
Deep
Saline
Formations
Depleted
Oil & Gas
Fields
Annual
World
Emissions
Coal
Seams
Storage Option
Office of Fossil Energy
Storage Options:
IEA Technical Review (TR4), March 23, 2004
World Emissions: DOE/EIA, International Energy Outlook 2003, Table A10
Cost of CCS ?
• < 10% increase in COE (pre-combustion capture)
• < 20% increase in COE (post- and oxy-combustion)
Office of Fossil Energy
CCS Is Expensive !
 5–30% parasitic energy loss
 35–110% increase in capital cost
 30–80% increase in cost of electricity
2012 Program Goals
Source: Cost and Performance Baseline for Fossil Energy Power Plants
Office of Fossil Energy
study, Volume 1: Bituminous Coal and Natural Gas to Electricity.
Technology Advances Are Starting to Emerge
Post-combustion
Chemical
looping
Cost Reduction Benefit
Pre-combustion
Oxycombustion
Ionic liquids
OTM boiler
CO2 Compression
MOFs
Biological
processes
Advanced
physical
solvents
Amine
solvents
Physical
solvents
Cryogenic
oxygen
Present
Advanced
amine
solvents
PBI
membranes
Enzymatic
membranes
Solid
sorbents
CAR
process
Membrane
systems
ITMs
CO2 Compression
5+ years
10+ years
15+ years
Time
to Commercialization
Office
of Fossil Energy
20+ years
Permanence ?
• Develop tools, protocols & best practices
• Verify 99% storage retention
Office of Fossil Energy
Tools, Protocols, and Best Practices
All Risks & Leakage Pathways Are Being Studied
 Environmental Risks
 Migration into other strata, displacement of underground fluids, …
 Health and Safety Risks
 CO2 is a nontoxic, inert gas that displaces oxygen - asphyxiation
 Economic Risks
 Liability and operational considerations, EOR commercially proven
Best Practices Manual
 Developing Science Protocol FY08 w/Office of Science
 Geologic characterization, site development and operations, risk
assessment and mitigation strategies, implementation, outreach,…
 Evolve into BMP as research continues
Office of Fossil Energy
Monitoring, Mitigation, and Verification
Technologies & Protocols Are Emerging
Office of Fossil Energy
Infrastructure ?
• Put “first of kind” projects in place
• Develop protocols & best practices
• Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships
Office of Fossil Energy
DOE’s Sequestration Program Structure
Infrastructure
Core R&D
Monitoring,
Mitigation, &
Verification
Capture of
CO2
Storage
 Direct CO2
storage
 Enhanced
natural sinks
Breakthrough
Concepts
Non-CO2
GHG
Mitigation
7 Regional Partnerships
 Engage regional, state, local
Carbon
governments
Sequestration
 Determine regional
Leadership
Forumbenefits
sequestration
 Baseline region for sources and sinks
 Establish monitoring and verification
Integration
protocols
Projects
 Address regulatory, environmental,
& outreach issues
 Validate sequestration technology
and infrastructure
Office of Fossil Energy
Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships
Creating Infrastructure for Wide Scale Deployment
Characterization Phase
• 24 months (2003-2005)
Validation Phase
• 4 years (2005 - 2009)
• 7 Partnerships (41 states)
• 25 Geologic field validation
tests
Deployment Phase
• 10 years (2008-2017)
• Several large injection tests in
different geology
Office of Fossil Energy





Representing:
>350 Organizations
41 States
4 Canadian Provinces
3 Indian Nations
34% cost share
Phase II Field Validation
25 Geologic Tests

Injections 750-525,000
Tons CO2



Northwest Alberta
MMV technologies

Permitting requirements

Public outreach
3
Larger in conjunction with EOR
Validating geologic
formation capacities and
injectivity
11
12 13
7
Testing formation seals
Partnerships
8
16 17
21 20
18
MRCSP
15
25
6
5
MGSC
Formation Type
1 19
SECARB

23
22
Oil bearing
4
SWP
Gas bearing
WESTCARB
Saline formation
24
Big Sky
Coal seam
2
9
PCOR
10
14
Office of Fossil Energy
Summary of Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships
Phase II Field Activities – estimate as of Q2 2007
Q
1
Geologic Field Test
Big Sky
FY 2006
Q
2
Q
3
FY 2007
Q
4
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
FY 2008
Q
4
Q
1
Basalt and Mafic Rock Field Validation Test
Appalachian Basin Geologic Test
MRCSP
Cincinnati Arch Geologic Test
Michigan Basin Geologic Test
Saline Formation Tests
MGSC
Enhanced Oil Recovery Tests (Huff 'n Puff)
Enhanced Oil Recovery Well Conversion
Enhanced Coalbed Methane Tests
Lignite in North Dakota Field Validation Test
PCOR
Zama Field Validation Test
Beaver Lodge EOR Field Test
Gulf Coast Stacked Storage Project
SECARB
Black Warrior Basin Coal Test
Central Appalachian Basin Coal Test
Saline Reservoir Field Test: The Mississippi Test Site
Paradox Basin, UT: Aneth EOR-Seq and Deep Saline Tests
SWPCS
Permian Basin,TXe SACROC-Claytonville EOR-Seq Test
San Juan Basin, NM: ECBM-Sequestration Test
WESTCARB
Rosetta Resources Gas Reservoir and Saline Formation
Northern Arizona Saline Formation CO2 Storage Pilot
Office of Fossil Energy
- Baseline
- Drilling
- Injection
- MMV
Q
2
Q
3
FY 2009
Q
4
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
Q
4
Deployment Phase
Scaling Up Towards Commercialization
Several Large Volume
Sequestration tests in North
America


Injection rates up to
1,000,000 tons per year for
several years
Scale up is required to
provide insight into several
operational and technical
issues in different formations
Years 1-3

Site selection and
characterization; Permitting and
NEPA compliance; Well
completion and testing;
Infrastructure development
CO2 procurement and
transportation; Injection operations;
Monitoring activities
Years 8-10
FY 2008-2017 (10 years)
Office of Fossil Energy
Site closure; Post injection
monitoring; Project
assessment
Years 4-7

Phase III Timeline
Large Scale Test Locations
as of 2/8/2008
PCOR
Fort Nelson
CO2 Acid
Gas
Injection
Project
PCOR
Williston Basin CO2
Sequestration and
EOR Test
MGSC
Large-Volume
Sequestration Test with
Ethanol Plant Source
SWP
Deep Saline
Deployment
Project
SECARB
Phase III Saline
Formation
Demonstration
1. Early Test
2. Anthropogenic Test
- Test Location
Office
of Fossil Energy
- Partnership
Headquarters
Deployment Phase
Outcomes
 Site characterization requirements
 Storage capacity assessment
 Design criteria
 Injection wells
 Regional monitoring, mitigation,
and verification program
 Site Closure
 Permitting requirements
 Validate reservoir and risk
assessment models
 Accelerate public outreach
 Science Protocols
 Best practice manuals
Office of Fossil Energy
Visit Office of Fossil Energy & NETL Websites
http://fossil.energy.gov/
http://www.netl.doe.gov
Office of Fossil Energy