{"id":577,"date":"2018-11-27T11:47:14","date_gmt":"2018-11-27T11:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=577"},"modified":"2018-11-27T11:47:14","modified_gmt":"2018-11-27T11:47:14","slug":"storing-co2-underground-can-curb-carbon-emissions-but-is-it-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/577\/storing-co2-underground-can-curb-carbon-emissions-but-is-it-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Storing CO2 underground can curb carbon emissions, but is it safe?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Jonathan O’ Callaghan<\/div>\n

At first glance, it almost sounds crazy. Can we really take carbon dioxide emissions from an industrial plant and store them underground? To find out, research is currently taking place to test if such an idea is not only viable but safe, and prove that to the public.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n
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This approach is known as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and it’s been around for decades but has never really taken off. In its recent reports, however, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that CCS could have a\u00a0key role to play<\/a>\u00a0if we\u2019re going to meet our climate goals in the coming years.<\/p>\n

If everything is done right, the signs are promising. Studies have shown that CO2 can be safely stored underground, such as in deep, porous rock formations, for\u00a0thousands of years<\/a>, and we\u2019ve even found natural pockets of CO2 that have existed for\u00a0millions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Public and scientific opinion on CCS\u00a0remains divided<\/a>, however, not least because the approach seems to encourage the continued use of fossil fuels rather than switching to renewable sources of energy. It\u2019s also unclear how much CCS can be scaled up.<\/p>\n

It is estimated that\u00a0up to 90%\u00a0of carbon emissions from the industrial use of fossil fuels could be captured by CCS, which has resulted in\u00a0more than a dozen<\/a>\u00a0large-scale projects taking place around the world in the past two decades. But questions remain about how effective CCS really is, alongside low adoption rates due to a\u00a0limited business case<\/a>\u00a0and lingering public\u00a0concerns<\/a>\u00a0about safety.<\/p>\n

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\u2018We have more than enough capacity theoretically to store permanently all the CO2 coming from burning (fossil fuels).\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Edda Sif Arad\u00f3ttir, Deputy Managing Director, Reykjavik Energy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

One major concern with CCS is that CO2 could leak out of these underground reservoirs into the surrounding air and contribute to climate change, or taint nearby water supplies. Another is the risk of human-made tremors caused by the build-up of pressure underground, known as induced seismicity.<\/p>\n

Scientists in a project called\u00a0ENOS\u00a0<\/a>are\u00a0conducting research at five test sites across\u00a0Europe\u00a0to examine some of the issues facing carbon storage.<\/p>\n

\u2018The overall aim of ENOS is to demonstrate safe and secure storage,\u2019 says Rowena Stead, project manager at France\u2019s Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM) which is coordinating the project. \u2018That involves developing and testing techniques in the field and in real conditions.\u2019<\/p>\n

Injection<\/strong><\/p>\n

To investigate the issue of leakage and safe storage techniques, ENOS is carrying out research on the injection \u2013 or pumping \u2013 of CO2 into the ground at the Hontomin Technology Development Plant (TDP), near the city of Burgos in Spain, where CO2 is being pumped into a 1,600-metre-deep well alongside an underground reservoir.<\/p>\n

Running until September 2020, the project will use a variety of underground and surface-level sensors to monitor the wells and look for any gas that could be leaking out into the nearby water supply.<\/p>\n

ENOS will also use geophysical sensors to monitor any seismic activity, such as tremors, caused by injecting CO2.<\/p>\n

\u2018The magnitude of such events is small, meaning that the risk of having any tremors at the surface is null,\u2019 says Dr Pascal Audigane, head of the groundwater resources unit at BRGM. \u2018But geophysical monitoring tools can detect these events to prevent any risk of unexpected pressure.\u2019<\/p>\n

ENOS will model how seismic waves caused by CO2 injections move through the ground. The idea is that if we know how these tremors are caused, this could then help with the selection of future carbon storage sites that pose minimal risk.<\/p>\n

At two more sites in the UK and in Sardinia, Italy, which are due to begin injecting soon, ENOS will also conduct experiments to understand how overlying rocks or faults \u2013 places in the ground where rocks slip past each other – contribute to leakage. These experiments are designed to help build better detection tools and select safe sites.<\/p>\n

Key to ENOS\u2019 research will be not only to test if CCS is safe and viable but also to address public concerns. According to Stead, ENOS has been holding meetings with local communities near the test sites to answer their questions and explain how the technology works.<\/p>\n

Full cycle<\/strong><\/p>\n

While ENOS is still testing the safety of carbon storage, another project called\u00a0CarbFix2<\/a>\u00a0in Iceland is demonstrating how to capture, transport and store carbon permanently as a mineral. This builds on an earlier project that tested how to capture and inject CO2 into rock formations.<\/p>\n

The project, which began in August 2017, will run for three and a half years and is taking place at the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant near the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. Here, CO2 is being captured from the plant, transported via pipelines and then stored hundreds of metres underground.<\/p>\n

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\"The
The CarbFix2 project in Iceland injects CO2 in liquid form, rather than as a gas, into porous basaltic rock underground. The CO2 reacts with the rock to form less harmful calcite. Image credit: Sandra O. Snaebjornsdottir, CarbFix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

To deal with the issues of leakage, CarbFix2 has a novel solution. They dissolve their CO2 in water before it is injected underground, meaning it is stored dissolved in liquid rather than a gas. And they\u2019ve chosen basaltic rock as their storage point, which reacts with carbon to form calcite.<\/p>\n

\u2018We are doing the injection in a totally different way than (traditional) carbon capture storage,\u2019 said project coordinator Dr Edda Sif Arad\u00f3ttir, deputy managing director at Reykjavik Energy. \u2018So we don\u2019t have to worry about leaks.\u2019<\/p>\n

To tackle seismicity the plant closely manages the injection of water and dissolved gases to avoid causing tremors in an already seismically active area. The type of rock is important too \u2013 a high permeability and porosity mean the CO2 can circulate more easily without getting clogged up.<\/p>\n

The biggest risk in this project does not come from the CO2 capture, transport or storage, notes Dr Arad\u00f3ttir, but rather from the co-capture of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), which is also produced at the plant. In high concentrations this can be poisonous, so care must be taken to avoid gas leaks in the capture process that could harm workers.<\/p>\n

CarbFix2 has demonstrated an entire CCS cycle by capturing, transporting and storing CO2 at \u20ac22 per metric tonne, which is less than half of previous\u00a0cost estimates<\/a>. Currently, their system captures about 35% of CO2 coming from the plant, but Dr Arad\u00f3ttir said there would be no issues scaling this up to 100%. \u2018We have more than enough capacity theoretically to store permanently all the CO2 coming from burning (fossil fuels),\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

Before that can happen, there would need to be the political will to invest in carbon storage, according to Dr Arad\u00f3ttir. Key to that will be addressing safety concerns. But if projects like ENOS and CarbFix2 can prove the technology is both safe and viable, then it might be important to our future. \u2018(It) could be a major factor in the battle against climate change,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jonathan O’ Callaghan At first glance, it almost sounds crazy. Can we really take carbon dioxide emissions from an industrial plant and store them underground? To find out, research is currently taking place to test if such an idea is not only viable but safe, and prove that to the public. 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As coordinator of the CEMCAP project, she and her colleagues have been investigating\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carbon capture and storage is the only way for many industries to significantly reduce emissions, according to Sintef scientist Kristin Jordal.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/geograph-4480157-by-Alan-Murray-Rust.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/geograph-4480157-by-Alan-Murray-Rust.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/geograph-4480157-by-Alan-Murray-Rust.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/geograph-4480157-by-Alan-Murray-Rust.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/geograph-4480157-by-Alan-Murray-Rust.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1106,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1106\/trees-and-doodlebugs-emit-methane-the-question-is-how\/","url_meta":{"origin":577,"position":1},"title":"Trees and doodlebugs emit methane \u2013 the question is, how?","author":"Rex Merrifield","date":"January 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Trees and insects may play a significant role in the emission of methane \u2013 a potent greenhouse gas \u2013 and improving our understanding of exactly how this happens could help in targeting more effective ways to fight global warming. Because methane has\u00a0more than 80 times the global warming potential of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Monitoring the larvae of doodlebugs could tell scientists how their activities fit with methane flux measurements. 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