Carbon Cyber Infrastructure (CCI): Identifying and Characterizing CO2 Sources and Opportunities for Carbon Capture and Storage

Abstract

Abstract CO2 sources vary widely in emission characteristics including concentration, pressure, contaminants and intermittency. In addition, the ability to initiate carbon capture and storage (CCS) of particular sources are influenced by geographic location, land use, regulatory environment, and the proximity to potential geologic storage sites that can provide safe, secure storage over long periods of time (such as oil and gas fields, deep coal seams and saline aquifers). Differences in these multiple characteristics can dramatically impact the cost of capture and geologic storage. Large stationary anthropogenic sources of CO2 that provide the best opportunities for CCS include cement kilns, ethanol plants, natural gas plants, refineries, ammonia manufacturing plants and power generation (coal and natural gas). The United States Department of Energy's Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) have generated data that provides the foundation of a carbon cyber-infrastructure (CCI). This geospatial data is available online and can be used by the private and public sectors to improve the implementation of CCS for a single CO2 emission source or group of sources. An integrated learning approach using large amounts of geospatial data is proposed to evaluate CO2 sources in relation to an integrated system of capture, transport and geologic storage will be discussed. Use of geospatial data for source and geologic storage sites in southeast Kansas provides an example of integration within a changing regulatory and economic environment of multiple industrial sources of CO2 emissions of widely varying characteristics with multiple stacked geologic storage opportunities. Introduction The increasing level of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere is a growing concern as a contributing factor to global climate change. Atmospheric levels of CO2 have risen significantly from preindustrial levels of 280 parts per million (ppm) to present levels of 384 ppm (Tans, 2008). Evidence suggests the observed rise in atmospheric CO2 levels is the result of expanded use of fossil fuels. In the U.S. (which contributes approximately 20% of the world's GHG emissions), the combustion of fossil fuels is the major contributor of CO2 emissions (5.6 billion metric tons per year) (EIA, 2009). Of this amount, 3.8 billion metric tons is from stationary sources, such as power plants, ethanol plants, cement plants, etc. Predictions of increased global fossil energy use during this century imply a continued increase in carbon emissions (EIA, 2009), and rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere unless a major change is made in how carbon is managed. A promising approach towards GHG mitigation is carbon capture and storage (CCS). In CCS, CO2 is captured from a large point source, such as a power plant or industrial facility, transported to a suitable geologic storage site, such as a depleted oil field, unmineable coal seam, or saline formation, and injected underground (DOE, 2008). The geologic storage (GS) of CO2 in deep formations involves many of the same technologies that have been developed in the oil and gas industry. CO2 injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has been operating in the United States for 35 years and exhibits many operational similarities to CO2 injection for GS. The CO2 for EOR typically comes from naturally occurring reservoirs, although newer industrial technologies (e.g., natural gas processing and fertilizer, ethanol, hydrogen, and synthetic natural gas plants) can serve as present and future CO2 sources.