New CO2 Storage Monitoring Tools Investigated

Researchers in Canada are testing new geo-electric techniques that could complement seismic tools in monitoring the injection of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into reservoirs deep underground. The goal of the research is learn more about the electrical properties of CO₂ as well as the cross relationships between seismic and electric properties. By studying the relationship between fluid nature, pressure changes and temperature changes, the scientists hope to improve their fundamental understanding of how CO₂ affects the electrical properties of rocks in the CO2 storage formations. Using a saline aquifer in Saskatchewan and a reservoir in Quebec, the researchers will test different methods of measuring electrical properties underground. More specifically, the team will test how measuring the magnetic field instead of the electric field (as is usually done) can be used to infer the electric conductivity of the rock. Read more

U.K. Report Shows Hydrogen Potential in CCS

A new report from the U.K.-based Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers (IGEM) highlights the potential for using hydrogen to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve the efficiency of renewable technologies, including wind and solar power. The report explores how hydrogen can be used as a carrier to store energy produced from a wide range of primary sources, and to power applications including electric vehicles, heating and power generation.

For example, the authors explain how excess electrical output from solar and wind facilities can be used to produce hydrogen, which can be transported and used later to produce heat or electricity with zero carbon emissions, reducing dependency on fossil fuels. Similarly, they say storing and transferring energy using hydrogen could support and complement other technologies to combat climate change for instance carbon capture and storage technology

Doha Agreement Reached on Black Carbon

At the United Nations climate change meetings in Doha, ministers from 25 countries have agreed to co-operate on policies aimed at vastly reducing black carbon (commonly known as soot), as well as methane and ozone in the atmosphere – substances known collectively as short-lived climate pollutants. Read more

EIA CO2 Emissions Update

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlooks 2009 - 2013
Note: Solid portions of each series show history as of each publication; dotted portions show projections. ARRA2009 denotes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

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Projections for U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions have generally been lowered in recent editions of the Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), the long-term projections of the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The lowered projections reflect both market and policy developments that have reduced recent and projected growth in energy demand and its expected carbon intensity. The chart presents projected energy-related CO₂ emissions from AEOs issued since 2009 in terms of changes relative to emissions in 2005, a commonly used comparison year, particularly with regard to mitigation targets.

EIA's AEO reflects laws and regulations in place at the time the analysis was performed. New policies are incorporated in subsequent editions of the AEO as they are put in place. For example, updated fuel efficiency standards for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles were incorporated in AEO2012 and AEO2013, tending to lower CO₂ emissions relative to earlier projections. The CO₂ projection in AEO2013 generally falls below that in AEO2012, and remains more than 5 percent below the 2005 level throughout a forecast horizon that for the first time extends to 2040. However, near-term expectations of industrial growth in response to the availability of low-priced natural gas result in somewhat higher projected levels of CO₂ emissions at the end of the current decade than in last year's outlook.

From 2009 to 2013, key changes in the AEO include:

• Downward revisions in the economic growth outlook, which dampens energy demand growth
• Lower transportation sector consumption of conventional fuels based on updated fuel economy standards, increased penetration of alternative fuels, and more modest growth in light-duty vehicle miles traveled
• Generally higher energy prices, with the notable exception of natural gas, where recent and projected prices reflect the development of shale gas resources
• Slower growth in electricity demand and increased use of low-carbon fuels for generation
• Increased use of natural gas

Power sector transformation, based on decarbonization of the generation mix, occurs because natural gas and renewables gain market share at the expense of coal, reflecting:

• Resource economics—high domestic production of natural gas at historically low prices, reflecting increased production of shale gas
• Regulation—updated state renewable portfolio standards and efficiency standards, and cap-and-trade provisions of California Assembly Bill 32, as well as implementation of federal policies to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and other policies and measures at local, state, and federal levels

In addition to publishing the Annual Energy Outlook, EIA also creates a report evaluating how our projections of key energy concepts compare with realized outcomes. The AEO Retrospective Review includes additional analysis of past projections of CO₂ emissions and other energy indicators like consumption, production, and prices.

Source: EIA

Can CO2 Increase Bakken Well Production?

Researchers from the University of North Dakota's Energy and Environmental Research Center have announced a project to determine if injecting carbon dioxide into the Bakken formation could increase the productivity of depleted wells. The scientists estimate that pumping one percent of additional oil from the Bakken and Three Forks formations would yield an additional 1.7 billion barrels. The process, called enhanced oil recovery, has been used successfully with conventional reservoirs in other parts of the U.S. and  in Canada, but has not been tried with unconventional reservoirs such as the shale formations in the Williston Basin. Read more

DOE Approves Funding for CO2 Capture Technology

Washington, D.C. — A promising post combustion membrane technology that can separate and capture 90 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) from a pulverized coal plant has been successfully demonstrated and received Department of Energy (DOE) approval to advance to a larger-scale field test.

In an $18.75 million project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Membrane Technology and Research Inc. (MTR) and its partners tested the Polaris™ membrane system, which uses a CO2-selective polymeric membrane (micro-porous films which act as semi-permanent barriers to separate two different mediums) material and module to capture CO2 from a plant’s flue gas. Post-combustion separation and capture of CO2 is challenging due to the low pressure and diluted concentration of CO2 in the waste stream; trace impurities in the flue gas that affect removal processes; and the amount of energy required for CO2 capture and compression.

Because the Polaris membranes are 10 times more permeable to CO2 than conventional materials (reducing the membrane area required), and use a slipstream of combustion air as a sweep gas, the system has great potential for reduced energy requirements, reasonable capture costs and greater efficiencies for post-combustion capture, all important factors for retrofitting existing coal-based plants.

Demonstrating and further validating this innovative, cost-effective membrane CO2 separation process at the 1 megawatt equivalent (MWe) pilot scale is expected to be a major step toward meeting DOE’s program goals of capturing more than 90 percent of CO2 from flue gas with less than a 35 percent increase in the cost of electricity. Consequently, MTR will now begin fabricating a 1-megawatt (MW) system capable of meeting this goal from a 20-ton-per-day slipstream of coal-fired flue gas.

The 1-MW system will be tested at DOE’s National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) in Wilsonville, Ala., beginning in 2013. The Post-Combustion Carbon Capture Center at the NCCC enables testing and integration of advanced CO2-capture technologies, at scale, using flue gas from Alabama Power’s Gaston power plant Unit 5, an 880-megawatt supercritical pulverized coal unit. Data generated in a 6-month field test of the 1-megawatt system will be used by MTR to develop a preliminary 20-megawatt full-scale commercial design in cooperation with their partners, Vectren and WorleyParsons.　

　

In addition to MTR, other collaborators on the three-year project include the Babcock & Wilcox Company, Electric Power Research Institute, and Southern Company. Objectives of the project, part of DOE’s Clean Coal Research Program portfolio, include reducing the capital cost, footprint, and energy penalty for CO2 capture in conventional coal-fired power plants, compared to existing commercial systems.

Source: NETL

Alberta Bitumen Processing Plant Moves Ahead

Plans for the first world's first oil refinery designed to capture CO2 moved ahead today as the two companies behind the proposed facility reportedly approved $5.7 billion for the first phase of the project. The refinery, to be built near Edmonton, Alberta, will process bitumen from nearby oilsands development, according to a CBC report earlier this month. The goal of the first phase of the project is to upgrade 50,000 barrels of bitumen per day into crude oil. Upon completion of all three phases, the plan is to process 150,000 barrels per day into products including low-sulphur diesel fuel while capturing up to 1.2 million tons of the CO2 produced during the upgrading process. Part of the CO2 would be sold to area oil companies for enhanced oil recovery use, according to the CBC. The two companies working on the new facility are North West Upgrading Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources, both of Calgary. Read more