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Liu L, Miranda MM, Bielicki JM, Ellis BR, Johnson JX. Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of CO 2-Enabled Sedimentary Basin Geothermal. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:1882-1893. [PMID: 38214663 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c04006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
The expansion of renewable energy and the large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) can decarbonize the power sector. The use of CO2 to extract geothermal heat from naturally porous and permeable sedimentary basins to generate electricity (CO2-plume geothermal (CPG) system) presents an opportunity to simultaneously generate renewable energy and geologically store CO2. In this study, we estimate the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of CPG systems through 12 scenarios in which CPG systems are combined with one of six CO2 sources (e.g., bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and iron and steel facilities) and operate in two geological settings. We find the life cycle GHG emissions of CPG systems ranging from -0.25 to -6.18 kg CO2eq/kWh. CPG systems can achieve the highest emissions reductions when utilizing the CO2 captured from BECCS. We evaluate uncertainty through a Monte Carlo simulation, demonstrating consistent net reductions in life cycle emissions and a local, one-parameter-at-a-time sensitivity analysis that identifies the CO2 capture capacity as the high-impact parameter of the results. Through the production of electricity, CPG systems can provide additional environmental benefits to the deployment of large-scale CCS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lily Liu
- Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7908, United States
| | - Marcos M Miranda
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Jeffrey M Bielicki
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
- John Glenn College of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Brian R Ellis
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Jeremiah X Johnson
- Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7908, United States
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Abstract
Achieving ambitious greenhouse gas mitigation targets will require technological advances and cost reductions in dispatchable carbon-free power generation sources that can provide load following flexibility to integrate high penetrations of variable wind and solar power. Several other sectors may be difficult to decarbonize and a net-zero or net-negative carbon economy may require the deployment of geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) storage. Utilizing CO2 as a working fluid for geothermal energy production and energy storage can achieve both goals: isolating CO2 from the atmosphere and providing valuable power system services to enable high penetrations of variable carbon-free electricity production. The use of CO2 as a working fluid facilitates access to low-grade heat in sedimentary basins, which are widely available and could allow for strategic citing near CO2 sources or where power system flexibility is needed. In this perspective piece, we summarize the state of knowledge for sedimentary basin CO2-geothermal, sometimes referred to as CO2 plume geothermal, and explore how it could support decarbonization of the energy sector. We also present the potential for using geologically stored CO2 for bulk energy storage which could provide valuable time-shifting and other services to the power grid. We explore the promise and challenges of these technologies, identify key research gaps, and offer a critical appraisal of the role that policy for a technology at the intersection of renewable energy, energy storage, and geologic CO2 storage may play in achieving broad deployment.
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The Review of Carbon Capture-Storage Technologies and Developing Fuel Cells for Enhancing Utilization. ENERGIES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/en14164978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The amount of CO2 released in the atmosphere has been at a continuous surge in the last decade, and in order to protect the environment from global warming, it is necessary to employ techniques like carbon capture. Developing technologies like Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage aims at mitigating the CO2 content from the air we breathe and has garnered immense research attention. In this review, the authors have aimed to discuss the various technologies that are being used to capture the CO2 from the atmosphere, store it and further utilize it. For utilization, researchers have developed alternatives to make profits from CO2 by converting it into an asset. The development of newer fuel cells that consume CO2 in exchange for electrical power to drive the industries and produce valuable hydrocarbons in the form of fuel has paved the path for more research in the field of carbon utilization. The primary focus on the article is to inspect the environmental and economic feasibility of novel technologies such as fuel cells, different electrochemical processes, and the integration of artificial intelligence and data science in them, which are designed for mitigating the percentage of CO2 in the air.
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Semi-Analytical Solution to Assess CO2 Leakage in the Subsurface through Abandoned Wells. ENERGIES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/en14092452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Geological carbon storage is an effective method capable of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at significant scales. Subsurface reservoirs with sealing caprocks can provide long-term containment for the injected fluid. Nevertheless, CO2 leakage is a major concern. The presence of abandoned wells penetrating the reservoir caprock may cause leakage flow-paths for CO2 to the overburden. Assessment of time-varying leaky wells is a need. In this paper, we propose a new semi-analytical approach based on pressure-transient analysis to model the behavior of CO2 leakage and corresponding pressure distribution within the storage site and the overburden. Current methods assume instantaneous leakage of CO2 occurring with injection, which is not realistic. In this work, we employ the superposition in time and space to solve the diffusivity equation in 2D radial flow to approximate the transient pressure in the reservoirs. Fluid and rock compressibilities are taken into consideration, which allow calculating the breakthrough time and the leakage rate of CO2 to the overburden accurately. We use numerical simulations to verify the proposed time-dependent semi-analytical solution. The results show good agreement in both pressure and leakage rates. Sensitivity analysis is then conducted to assess different CO2 leakage scenarios to the overburden. The developed semi-analytical solution provides a new simple and practical approach to assess the potential of CO2 leakage outside the storage site. This approach is an alternative to numerical methods when detailed simulations are not feasible. Furthermore, the proposed solution can also be used to verify numerical codes, which often exhibit numerical artifacts.
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Miocic JM, Gilfillan SMV, Frank N, Schroeder-Ritzrau A, Burnside NM, Haszeldine RS. 420,000 year assessment of fault leakage rates shows geological carbon storage is secure. Sci Rep 2019; 9:769. [PMID: 30683881 PMCID: PMC6347600 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36974-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is routinely cited as a cost effective tool for climate change mitigation. CCS can directly reduce industrial CO2 emissions and is essential for the retention of CO2 extracted from the atmosphere. To be effective as a climate change mitigation tool, CO2 must be securely retained for 10,000 years (10 ka) with a leakage rate of below 0.01% per year of the total amount of CO2 injected. Migration of CO2 back to the atmosphere via leakage through geological faults is a potential high impact risk to CO2 storage integrity. Here, we calculate for the first time natural leakage rates from a 420 ka paleo-record of CO2 leakage above a naturally occurring, faulted, CO2 reservoir in Arizona, USA. Surface travertine (CaCO3) deposits provide evidence of vertical CO2 leakage linked to known faults. U-Th dating of travertine deposits shows leakage varies along a single fault and that individual seeps have lifespans of up to 200 ka. Whilst the total volumes of CO2 required to form the travertine deposits are high, time-averaged leakage equates to a linear rate of less than 0.01%/yr. Hence, even this natural geological storage site, which would be deemed to be of too high risk to be selected for engineered geologic storage, is adequate to store CO2 for climate mitigation purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes M Miocic
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE, UK. .,Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Freiburg, Albertstr. 23b, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Stuart M V Gilfillan
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE, UK
| | - Norbert Frank
- Institute for Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andrea Schroeder-Ritzrau
- Institute for Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Neil M Burnside
- School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, James Watt South Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - R Stuart Haszeldine
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE, UK
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