Capture and Storage of Carbon Dioxide

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Capture and Storage of CO₂ in Geologic Formations

Carbon sequestration, the act of capturing and permanently sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2), is one strategy used to reduce CO2 emissions in order to mitigate its effect on climate change. To this end, Battelle is participating in several regional and site-specific carbon sequestration projects. A number of these projects are based in the Ohio River Valley region in the Midwestern United States, which is home to a large number of CO2 point sources including coal-fired power plants, refineries, and other industrial facilities.

On a regional level, Battelle is leading the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP—www.mrcsp.org), a consortium of more than 30 organizations including U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE), the Ohio Coal Development Office, several utilities and industrial companies, and research partners including geologic surveys, universities, and non-government organizations across seven states. The primary goal of the MRCSP is to be the premier resource in its region for identifying the technical, economic, and social considerations associated with CO2 sequestration and creating viable pathways for its deployment. Phase II of the MRCSP will involve multiple field demonstrations of geologic sequestration over four years starting in late 2005.

The Ohio River Valley CO2 Storage Project at the American Electric Power’s (AEP) coal-fired Mountaineer Power Plant is the first site-specific investigation in the world located at an active power plant. The key sponsors include the U.S. DOE, AEP, BP, Ohio Coal Development Office, Schlumberger, Battelle, and the Battelle-managed Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The project has recently completed its site characterization phase, involving drilling and testing an approximately 2800-m deep exploratory well and conducting a seismic survey. The results have been used to identify CO2 storage zones, evaluate storage integrity, and conduct reservoir modeling and risk assessment to support the design and permitting of a potential future CO2 injection and monitoring phase. The current work includes a design and feasibility assessment for building a CO2 capture facility that will provide a test bed for integrated assessment of capture, local transport, injection, and monitoring of carbon capture and storage (CCS) under realistic conditions.

Additionally, having identified a strong need to obtain geologic data from deep rock formations at a low cost, Battelle has developed collaborative efforts with regional oil and gas companies to obtain these data during exploratory well drilling. Battelle is also working with Stanford University’s Global Climate and Energy Program through their Department of Geophysics to explore optimum strategies for reservoir stimulation and lateral well drilling as well as to investigate issues of induced seismicity based on geomechanical data. Similarly, Battelle and Central Research Institute for Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) in Japan have collaborated on a Japanese Government-funded project to understand the impact of CO2 movement in shallow formations through fieldwork in Ohio and laboratory work in Japan.

For more information, please contact Dr. Neeraj Gupta at (614) 424-3820, gupta@battelle.org, or Mr. David A. Ball at (614) 424-4901, balld@battelle.org.