Environmental + Sustainability
Carbon Capture & Sequestration: An overview and guide to its economic incentives
By Dave Palmerton, SCS Engineers, Project Director
2. Transportation: CO2 is captured and then transported to the storage site by pipelines, trucks, or ships. 3. Injection: At the storage site, the CO2 is injected into a suitable geological formation at a supercritical state. Injecting the CO2 as a supercritical liquid reduces the volume by over 99 percent allowing more effective use of underground pore space. 4. Monitoring and Reporting: After the CO2 is injected, the storage site is monitored to ensure that the CO2 stays underground and not leaking back into the atmosphere. Monitoring can include seismic reflection surveying, groundwater monitoring, integrity testing, and other techniques which help detect potential leaks. This information is then reported to the regulatory agency that issued the permit. 5. Post-Injection Site Care: The specific post-injection tests required for a CO2 injection project will depend on regulatory requirements, the project design , and the specific characteristics of the reservoir. Economic Incentives: Various economic incentives and funding sources can be used to develop CCUS. These incentives are offered under different programs but are important to consider as funding sources when embarking upon a potential CCUS project. Carbon pricing is one of the potential policy tools that address greenhouse gas emissions and promote CCUS technologies. Other policies, such as direct government funding for CCUS research and development, tax incentives for carbon capture projects, and regulatory mandates for emissions reductions, also promote carbon sequestration efforts. In the United States, there are several tax incentives available for carbon capture projects:
The Biden Administration Infrastructure Plan's robust commitment to carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies has set the stage for significant strides toward environmental sustainability. President Biden has set an ambitious goal for the US: to achieve a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net zero emissions economy by no later than 2050, according to a TheWhiteHouse.gov fact sheet. In April, the administration released a new National Innovation Pathway Report, highlighting the Biden-Harris Administration’s strategy for accelerating critical clean energy technologies. According to the White House, the Administration is advancing a three-pronged approach to prioritize innovation, demonstration, and deployment to scale the technologies needed to achieve its carbon pollution-free electricity sector goals. What is Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)? CCUS is the capture, transport, and geological sequestration of carbon so it is removed from the biosphere. Once the CO2 is captured it can be transported by various methods and stored within underground geological formations, such as those comprising depleted oil and gas fields, or in deep ocean water. Carbon capture, utilization, and storage are one of the key technologies under development to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change. The CCUS process generally includes five steps: 1. Capture: CO2 is captured from industrial sources using various methods, such as post-combustion capture, pre-combustion capture, or oxy-fuel combustion. It is then compressed for transport and sequestration. Post-combustion capture is the most prominent method of carbon capture and storage (CCS) since it is the largest source. This method is favored because it can be retrofitted onto existing power plants and industrial processes. This method has been deployed commercially at several locations around the world.
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csengineermag.com
September 2023
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