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Technology Collaboration Programme by IEA

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Discover the latest advances carbon capture and storage research

Technical Review

Workshop on Environmental Impact of Amine Emissions during Post-Combustion Capture

  • 1 June 2010
  • Capture
  • Event Proceedings

The amine post combustion capture technology is based on washing the flue gas with a solvent that captures CO₂. Thus, a small fraction of this solvent will be released through the stack together with the cleaned flue gas. This release may cause environmental concerns both directly and indirectly through subsequent solvent degradation into other substances in the atmosphere. There is a clear lack of understanding of the characteristics of the used solvent and their degradation products, which are an additional concern. From the global prospective, it is clear that the activities in relation to this topic are limited and there is a clear need for cooperation and knowledge exchange between the different institutes. Therefore, the “Environmental Impact of Post Combustion Capture” workshop was held, primarily to share information on the environmental effect of using chemical solvents for capturing CO₂, associated with conventional combustion based fossil fuel fired power stations

Technical Review

6th Meeting of the Wellbore Integrity Network

  • 1 July 2010
  • Event Proceedings
  • Storage

This eclectic mix of representation ensured the discussion sessions remained varied, without bias, and included debate reflecting different viewpoints. The future of the network will be determined over the next couple of years, with a proposal to hold a combined Modelling / Wellbore Integrity Meeting in 2011, and the 2nd Joint Network Meeting in 2012. The outcomes of these meetings will help to shape the future development of the IEAGHG networks as a whole. The format of the meeting allowed for 20 minute presentations with 5 minutes for questions. Each of the three meeting sessions was followed by prolonged discussion sessions where ideas and experiences were discussed by the meeting attendees at a greater level of detail. These discussion sessions are the primary focus of this report, and the presentations are available on the network webpage for reference.

Technical Review

Development of a Global CO₂ Pipeline Infrastructure

  • 1 August 2010
  • Transport

Projections of the scale on which CCS needs to be deployed to meet targets for CO₂ emissions reductions indicate that a massive CO₂ pipeline infrastructure will be required. To date CCS systems have tended to be based on dedicated pipelines connecting source to sink although some studies of regional CO₂ pipeline infrastructure requirements have been carried out. The purpose of this study is to examine the wider issues including design, financing, economics and regional differences.

Technical Review

What Have We Learnt from IEAGHG CO₂ Capture and CCS Generic Tehcnical Studies

  • 1 August 2010
  • Capture
  • Industry Insights

This report is considered the 3rd in a series of reports summarizing the learning points from the different IEAGHG activities. This series of reports started by summarizing the learning points from the storage activities (report 2009/TR1, February 2009) and the CCS demonstration projects (report 2009/TR6, November 2009). This 3rd report summarises key learning points on CO₂ capture and generic CCS studies from Operating Phase 5 of the IEAGHG, which commenced in 2005 and effectively coincided with the publication of the IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (IPCC SRCCS). IEAGHG activities revolve mainly around contracted studies and organisation of the international research networks.

Technical Review

Geothermal Energy and CO₂ Storage

  • 1 August 2010
  • Storage

This report summarises the main issues related to potential conflicts and possible synergies between geothermal activities and CO<sub>2</sub> geological storage, for the purpose of finding what further research into this area will be necessary and what further steps could be taken by IEAGHG. The majority of the information in the report is largely based on a conference held by the GFZ in Potsdam on Geothermal Energy and CO<sub>2</sub> Storage: Synergy or Competition, which was largely focussed on European issues and did not cover an overall global perspective. There are two principal types of geothermal energy, the traditional hydrothermal, which mines heat using the in-situ geothermal waters and Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), where alternate methods are used to mine the heat. This can involve the fracturing of a low permeability rock to increase fluid flow, as in a Hot Dry Rock System.

Technical Report

Summary Report of the IEAGHG Workshop - Natural Releases of CO₂: Building Knowledge for CO₂ Storage Environmental Impact Assessments

  • 1 November 2010
  • Event Proceedings
  • Storage

The IEAGHG workshop on Natural Releases of CO₂: Building Knowledge for CO₂ Storage Environmental Impact Assessments was held in Maria Laach, Germany, in November 2011 and hosted by CO₂GeoNet and BGR. The workshop was well attended, with forty seven participants from over ten different countries. Sessions included: Setting the Scene; Releases, Magnitudes and Impacts: Marine Environments and Terrestrial Environments; Mobilisation of Brine and Metals; Near Surface vs. Deep Subsurface Mechanisms and, Monitoring Challenges in Light of Natural Systems. Due to considerable interest in the workshop and an overly prescribed agenda, poster sessions were included within coffee and lunch breaks, with eight presented posters during the workshop.

Technical Review

2nd High Temperature Solid Looping network meeting

  • 1 November 2010
  • Capture
  • Event Proceedings

The second meeting on the high temperature solid looping network was held at the Netherlands energy research centre at Petten from 15-17th September 2010. Approximately 70 delegates attended the meeting of which about 25% were representing industry. 24 papers were presented and discussed during the event and in addition 7 posters were also on display. ECN is actively engaged in research in this area and delegates were able to see first hand the large pilot plant constructed under the EU framework 6 and CCP 2 CACHET project to demonstrate an integrated sorbent enhanced reforming and water gas shift process using multiple fixed beds. Also included in the site tour were ECN’s fluid bed biomass gasification pilot plants, the latest of which is a large 0.8 MW unit large enough to operate without external heat jacketing to compensate for heat losse

Technical Review

Pressurisation and Brine Displacement - Issues for Deep Saline Formation CO₂ Storage

  • 1 November 2010
  • Storage

Worldwide, deep saline formations are expected to store gigatonnes of CO₂ over the coming decades, making a significant contribution to greenhouse gas mitigation. At present, our experience of deep saline formation storage is limited to a small number of demonstration projects that have successfully injected megatonnes of captured CO₂. However, concerns have been raised over pressurization, and related brine displacement within and around deep saline formations, given the anticipated scale of future storage operations. This report aims to address these concerns and their origins in computational and analytical flow models. The report does not address the related impact of brine displacement on shallow potable groundwater, which is the subject of a separate IEAGHG study, to follow in 2011.

Technical Review

Water Usage and Loss Analysis of Bituminous Coal Fired Power Plants with CO₂ Capture (5 volumes)

  • 1 March 2011
  • Capture

IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG) retained Foster Wheeler to investigate and evaluate water usage and loss of power in power plants with CO₂ capture. The work is developed thought the establishment of a rigorous accounting of water usage throughout the power plant in order to establish an acceptable methodology that can be used to compare water usage in power plants with and without CO₂ capture. This can provide a baseline set of cases and water loss data for assessing potential improvements and evaluating R&D programs.The purposes of the study, therefore, include:<!-- wp:acf/columns {"name":"acf/columns","data":{"padding_top":"1","_padding_top":"field_columns_fields_padding_top","padding_bottom":"1","_padding_bottom":"field_columns_fields_padding_bottom","margin_top":"0","_margin_top":"field_columns_fields_margin_top","margin_bottom":"0","_margin_bottom":"field_columns_fields_margin_bottom"},"mode":"preview"} --> <!-- wp:acf/column-content {"name":"acf/column-content","mode":"preview"} --> <!-- wp:list --><ul><!-- wp:list-item --><!-- wp:list-item --><li> A review and assessment of the available information of water usage from power plants such as PC, IGCC and NGCC with or without CO₂ capture from various previous studies done for IEA GHG, based on oxyfuel, pre- or post combustion CO₂ capture technologies.</li><!-- /wp:list-item --><!-- /wp:list-item --><!-- wp:list-item --><!-- wp:list-item --><li>A review and assessment of the available technologies that would allow reduction of water usage from power plants; </li><!-- /wp:list-item --><!-- /wp:list-item --><!-- wp:list-item --><!-- wp:list-item --><li>An evaluation and assessment of the applicable technologies for power plants with CO₂ capture in areas where water supplies could be severely limited.</li><!-- /wp:list-item --><!-- /wp:list-item --></ul><!-- /wp:list --> <!-- /wp:acf/column-content --> <!-- /wp:acf/columns -->

Technical Report

Retrofitting CO₂ Capture to Existing Power Plants

  • 1 May 2011
  • Capture

The main purpose of this report is to examine, at a generic level, the scope for cutting CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from suitable existing fossil fuel plants by retrofitting CCS to them, as an alternative to replacing them with new build fossil fuel plants with CCS.  In this context it should be seen as a discussion of preliminary screening assessment methods to address the general issue of ‘under what conditions might it be worth considering retrofitting CCS to an existing fossil power plant, instead of replacing it by a new plant with CCS’?  As a generic study though it cannot address either future costs for construction, fuel etc. or site- and region-specific questions that will govern the feasibility and cost of a specific retrofit project, although it does discuss some of the principles involved and examine sensitivities. Nor does it make comparisons with other options for emission reductions from a particular site, such as fuel switching from coal to gas.

Technical Report

Caprock Systems for CO₂ Geological Storage

  • 1 June 2011
  • Storage

The study involved a detailed literature review of recent and ongoing research in this topic, with engineering judgement drawn from the findings. The study focussed on caprocks in the context of CO₂ storage in deep saline formations, although depleted hydrocarbon fields were also considered, in the context of the associated wide body of available knowledge. Particular issues considered by the study included: Caprock characteristics for site selection purposes; Geomechanical, geochemical and other relevant processes, and their coupling into predictive performance models; Potential leakage pathways and mechanisms, including faults, fractures and by diffusion; Discussion of the time frames and rates of leakage for the various mechanisms and caprock systems; Best practices for caprock assessment including data collection and modelling methodologies.

Technical Report

Effects of Impurities on Geological Storage of CO₂

  • 1 June 2011
  • Storage

Study on evaluation of the effects of impurities on CO₂ transport, injection and storage, sponsored by the International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG). The IEA GHG’s objectives of this study are: To provide a review of existing information and published research on the potential impact of CO₂ stream purity on storage reservoir and caprock performance and associated engineering costs; To provide a high level overview of available knowledge. The focus is on storage of impure CO₂ in deep saline formations, since this scenario has the largest theoretical storage capacity and the most significant potential for complex geochemical reactions, although depleted gas fields and CO₂-EOR are also relevant.

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