Geologic capacity exists to permanently store hundreds of
years of regional carbon dioxide emissions in nine states stretching from Indiana to New
Jersey, according to injection field tests conducted
by the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP).
MRCSP's just-released Phase II final report indicates the
region has likely total storage of 245.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide,
mostly in deep saline rock formations, a large capacity compared to present day
emissions. While distributed sources such as agriculture, transportation, and
home heating account for a significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions in
the MRCSP area, over half of the emissions come from large, stationary sources
such as power and industrial plants. These units account for nearly 700 million
metric tons annually.
MRCSP is one of seven Regional Carbon Sequestration
Partnerships (RCSPs) established by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE)
Office of Fossil Energy (FE) to determine the best geologic and terrestrial
storage approaches and apply technologies to safely and permanently store
carbon dioxide for each partnership's specific region. Establishing the safe,
permanent, and environmentally sound storage of carbon dioxide is a key element
in moving toward the commercial deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and
storage (CCUS) technology, which many experts view as a crucial option in
helping meet the climate change challenge.
MRCSP's Phase II small-scale geologic field tests used less
than 60,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide injection into selected deep saline
formations to validate data from earlier Phase I, or characterization,
research. Deep saline formation injection is a storage type that represents the
most significant geologic storage potential for the United States. These latest results
turn earlier information into practical, real-world knowledge for the most
promising carbon storage technologies.
Phase I projects characterized large point sources of carbon
dioxide and potential geological and terrestrial storage options for the
region, which comprises Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In all, seven small-scale field
validation tests were conducted in Phase II:
- Three geologic injection tests, one in each of
the three major geologic provinces of the region: the Michigan Basin,
Appalachian Basin, and Cincinnati Arch, and hosted by major power companies in
the region.
- Four terrestrial field tests in land types
characteristic of the region’s diversity: croplands, reclaimed minelands,
reclaimed marshlands, and forested wetlands.
Phase II terrestrial field tests showed that the MRCSP
region can potentially store about 15% of the region's annual carbon dioxide
emissions from large point sources, such as power plants. In particular, Phase
II confirmed that no-till agriculture is a valuable carbon storage strategy
with the added benefit of improved soil quality and agronomic productivity.
MRCSP Phase II field tests also determined that oil-and-gas
fields have a high potential for enhanced oil and gas production associated
with carbon dioxide storage. In addition, using carbon dioxide for enhanced
coalbed methane recovery also shows potential for storing carbon dioxide. The
MRCSP estimates that by utilizing carbon dioxide for EOR, approximately 1.2
billion barrels of oil could be recovered from existing oil fields in their
region helping to offset the cost of deploying carbon capture and storage
technologies.
Managed by FE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, the
seven RCSPs, which includes the MRCSP, focus on CCS opportunities within their
specific regions, while collectively building an effective and robust
nationwide initiative. Through this process, each RCSP has developed a regional
carbon management plan to identify the most suitable storage strategies and
technologies, aid in regulatory development, and propose appropriate
infrastructure for CCS commercialization within their respective regions.
The MRCSP project, led by Battelle, included a
public-private collaboration with nearly 40 members from government, industry,
state geological surveys, and universities across the nine member states.
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