Carbon capture and storage - one of the most important engineering challenges
Economides paper on overestimation of sequestration reservoir capacity
A recent paper by Economides, et al. http://twodoctors.org/manual/economides.pdf concluded that geological storage of CO2 is a "profoundly non-feasible option for the management of CO2 emissions." The reason: "the volume of liquid or supercritical CO2 to be disposed of cannot exceed more than about 1% of pore space." Anyone have a problem with that?
If the Economides paper is right, the reservoir capacity estimations are off by a factor of 5-20. Trying to cram more CO2 into the reservoir according to inaccurate estimations would lead to its going somewhere else, perhaps to fatally erupt on our grandchildren as at Lake Nyos. Public resistance to carbon dumpsites is increasing over reasonable concerns over containment. See the discouraging GAO report on CCS: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-1080 And the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has probably destroyed public trust in sequestration forever. Look at what is happening at what was supposed to be the site of the FutureGen project, now designated a carbon dumpsite, at Mattoon, Illinois.
Public subsidy of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) for the oil companies, in the guise of fighting climate change, looks more and more like corporate welfare. Its continuance looks unlikely, despite the recent desperate surge of sequestration demonstration projects. Instead of doubling down on a doomed scheme, and ignoring reality just to spend stimulus money somehow, why not punt sequestration right now?
If the Economides paper is right, the reservoir capacity estimations are off by a factor of 5-20. Trying to cram more CO2 into the reservoir according to inaccurate estimations would lead to its going somewhere else, perhaps to fatally erupt on our grandchildren as at Lake Nyos. Public resistance to carbon dumpsites is increasing over reasonable concerns over containment. See the discouraging GAO report on CCS: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-1080 And the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has probably destroyed public trust in sequestration forever. Look at what is happening at what was supposed to be the site of the FutureGen project, now designated a carbon dumpsite, at Mattoon, Illinois.
Public subsidy of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) for the oil companies, in the guise of fighting climate change, looks more and more like corporate welfare. Its continuance looks unlikely, despite the recent desperate surge of sequestration demonstration projects. Instead of doubling down on a doomed scheme, and ignoring reality just to spend stimulus money somehow, why not punt sequestration right now?
Tags: Economides, pore, space
Views: 12
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Abiola Olabode on -
i really do not understand the purpose of this paper you posted. are you in support of CO2 sequestration or not? many research works that are seemingly unreasonable and of no financial benefit are going on. the government needs to spend money on CO2 sequestration research both for economic reasons and common sense. CO2 is the only by-product of fossil fuel combustion that will not be easy to come by should we find a scientific means of reversing the combustion equation either catalytically or using biological agents as we are seeing some work in that direction now. if government does not find a sensible way of pumping money into the system to take care of activities that should or would be rewarded, then the present economic malady we've found ourselves will be around for a long time. the fact that somebody did not obtain research grants on topics he deems more important in his opinion should not make him tear down other peoples efforts. CO2 sequestration is the repository of wealth of the future in the subsurface.
please lets talk. those of us that believe in this research. we must justify our work. -
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Permalink Reply by Júlio Carneiro on -
If your concern is with the Economides paper on storage capacity, just have a look at the ZEP reply to it: http://www.zeroemissionsplatform.eu/component/downloads/?id=511.
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