Capturing Carbon is Real and Used to Enhance Oil Recovery

Ken Silverstein | Jul 24, 2013

Carbon capture and storage seems like a distant concept. But some experts are saying that aspects of the tool are very much within the nation’s grasp, especially if such releases are used for the purpose of enhanced oil recovery.

The technology is critical in the fight to combat climate change, which as the American public knows is a top priority of the Obama administration. As such, it would be essential to commercialize if the coal industry in this country is to remain a vital lynchpin of the electric generation market. The hurdles to such dreams, though, are formidable: That is, both the left and the right have their economic and environmental visions, with both saying that the costs are too high. One side says that the money ought to go into green technologies while the other says that the free markets are best suited to decide.

“Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a critical technology for reconciling our continued dependence on fossil fuels with the imperative to protect the global environment,” says Judi Greenwald, vice president for technology at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. “Our best home at the moment for CCS advancement is carbon capture, utilization and storage,” which take the captured carbon and uses it for enhanced oil recovery.

Greenwald, who testifies before a House energy panel Thursday, points out that the United States and the rest of the world are getting 80 percent of their energy from coal, oil and natural gas. Under current scenarios, the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects fossil fuels to continue providing 65 percent of this country’s electricity consumption in 2040, with 35 percent coming from coal.

Globally, coal will provide about 60 percent of the electricity generation in 2035, she adds, with most of that coming from developing nations and specifically China and India. While her organization advocates a shift to nuclear energy and to renewable power, she says that the development of CCS is critical. She says that such technology can store up to 90 percent of the emissions from stationary sources such power plants and industrial facilities.

To that end, CCS for applications related to coal and gas-powered electricity remain expensive, necessitating further research development. So, Greenwald is pushing carbon capture and utilization -- to increase oil finds. She points to two projects: Air Products’ Port Author and Southern Company’s Mississippi venture.

Twin Missions

The U.S. Department of Energy helped support the Air Products project, where carbon dioxide is captured from a refinery and then used to enhance oil recovery. In late 2012, it began operations. The Energy Department pumped in $284 million of the total $430 million cost. Similarly, the agency is working with Southern Co. at its Kemper power plant in Mississippi. Here, the public’s contribution is $290 million. The project is more than 50 percent complete.

Carbon, generally, can be captured three ways: Pre-combustion, which separates the carbon from the coal before it is burned; post-combustion, which parses the carbon from a flue gas after it is burned and oxy-coal combustion, which generates electricity in an oxygen-rich environment. The Energy Department's awards are for post-combustion technologies.

Among the most notable is FutureGen: The Energy Department is putting up $1.1 billion or 80 percent of the money to build it. In its second iteration, the facility is expected to be 200 megawatts that will retrofit an oil-fueled unit in Meredosia, Illinois. The project is now focused on its preliminary design and engineering, according to the agency. It will capture at least 90 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted, and it will inject all of that underground, the organization explained.

The plan is to use oxygen to help burn the coal in such a way that is would nearly eliminate the harmful emissions regulated under the Clean Air Act. The whole process is known as oxy-combustion, cheaper than building a unit from scratch.

Good news, if it works. As for industrial or power generation facilities located near the oil fields, there are other options:

“For those CO2 capture technologies that have not reached full commercialization, especially in electric power generation, selling captured CO2 for use in enhanced oil recovery can provide a revenue stream that helps reduce the financial risks and uncertainty of investing in emerging technology,” says Greenwald, with the climate and energy think tank.

Capturing and storing carbon from power plant production is within sight but still further down the road. But capturing such releases and then using them to increase oil production is more readily achievable. The missions, though, can feed off each other, helping the Obama administration to realize its environmental goals while also giving the coal sector a fresh start.

EnergyBiz Insider has been awarded the Gold for Original Web Commentary presented by the American Society of Business Press Editors. The column is also the Winner of the 2011 Online Column category awarded by Media Industry News, MIN. Ken Silverstein has been honored as one of MIN’s Most Intriguing People in Media.

Twitter: @Ken_Silverstein

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