The SECARB Anthropogenic Test: A US Integrated CO₂ Capture, Transportation and Storage Test

George Koperna, David Riestenberg, Vello Kuuskraa, Richard Rhudy, Robert Trautz, Gerald R. Hill, Richard Esposito

Advanced Resources International, Inc., Arlington, USA.
Advanced Resources International, Inc., Knoxville, USA.
Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, USA.
Research & Environmental Affairs, Southern Company, Birmingham, USA.
Southern States Energy Board, Norcross, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ijcce.2012.12002                

Abstract

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to validate the feasibility of injecting, storing and monitoring CO₂ in the subsurface (geologic storage) as an approach to mitigate atmospheric emissions of CO₂. In an effort to pro- mote the development of a framework and the infrastructure necessary for the validation and deployment of carbon sequestration technologies, DOE established seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs). The South- east Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB), whose lead organization is the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB), represents 13 States within the southeastern United States of America (USA). The SECARB Anthropo- genic Test R&D project is a demonstration of the deployment of CO₂ capture, transport, geologic storage and monitor- ing technology. This project is an integral component of a plan by Southern Company, and its subsidiary, Alabama Power, to demonstrate integrated CO₂ capture, transport and storage technology. The capture component of the test takes place at the James M. Barry Electric Generating Plant (Plant Barry) in Bucks, Alabama. The capture facility, equivalent to 25 MW, will utilize post-combustion amine capture technology licensed from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America. CO₂ captured at the plant will be transported by pipeline for underground storage in a deep, saline geologic formation within the Citronelle Dome located in Citronelle, Alabama. At the end of the first quarter of 2012, up to 550 tonnes of CO₂ per day will be captured and transported twelve miles by pipeline to the storage site for injection and subsurface storage. The injection target is the lower Cretaceous Paluxy Formation which occurs at 9400 feet. Trans- portation and injection operations will continue for one to two years. Subsurface monitoring will be deployed through 2017 to track plume movement and monitor for leakage. This project will be one of the first and the largest fully-inte- grated commercial prototype coal-fired carbon capture and storage projects in the USA. This paper will discuss the re- sults to date, including permitting efforts, baseline geologic analysis and detailed reservoir modeling of the storage site, framing the discussion in terms of the overall goals of the project.

Keywords

CO₂; Storage; Permitting; Capture; Characterization

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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