MINES INTEGRATED CCUS INITIATIVE SPRING MEETING · Brian Owens, Occidental, President and General...

CSM CCUS EXPO – Spring 2021 P. 1

CCUS EXPO

MINES INTEGRATED CCUS INITIATIVE SPRING 2021 MEETING

Thursday & Friday, March 18-19, 2021 Golden, CO


CCUS Expo Committee

Steve Sonnenberg, Professor Geology, EXPO Chair

Laura Singer, Program Manager, Payne Institute

Hossein Kazemi, Professor Petroleum Engineering

Mike McGuirk, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry

Ryan Richards, Professor, Department of Chemistry

Alexis Sitchler, Professor, Geology

John Bradford, Vice President and Professor Geophysics

Brian Owens, Occidental, President and General Manager for the Rockies

CCUS Task Force Members

John Bradford, CSM

Laura Singer, Payne Institute

Brian Owens, Occidental

Manika Prasad, CSM

Tim Barckholtz, ExxonMobil

Grant Bromhal, NETL

Ajay Mehta, Shell

Chris Copeland, ConocoPhillips

TJ Wheeler, ConocoPhillips

John Hand, ConocoPhillips

Mark Hart

Doug Hollett

Michael Matson, Carbon America

Jeff Lyng, Xcel


CCUS Expo Sponsor - 2021

CCUS Task Force Companies


Table of Contents

Page

CCUS Sponsorship Levels 6

CCUS Expo Agenda 7-10

Abstracts

Peter Barkmann 11

Linda Battalora 12

Nanette Boyle 13

Robert Braun 14

Jared Carbone 15

Moises Carreon 16

Doug Conquest 17

Ben Gilbert 18

Marte Gutierrez 19

Hossein Kazemi 20

Carolyn Koh, Ahmad Majid, Sriram Ravichandran, Mathias Pohl,

Manika Prasad, David Wu, Luis Zerpa 21

Richard Krahenbuhl 22

Ian Lange 23

Yaoguo Li, W. Anderson McAliley, Richard Krahenbuhl, Colton Kohnke,

and Joseph Capriotti 24

Mike McGuirk & Ryan Richards 25

Priscilla Nelson 26

Ryan O’Hayre, Rob Braun, Neal Sullivan 27


Mathias Pohl, Manika Prasad, Luis Zerpa, Jyoti Behura 28

Charlene Russell 29

Alexis Sitchler 30

Will Toor 31

Yanhua Liu and Ilya Tsvankin 32

Lori Tunstall 33

Ali Tura 34

Douglas Way and Colin Wolden 35

Yu-Shu Wu 36

Luis Zerpa, Manika Prasad, Jyoti Behura, Mathias Pohl: 37


Mines CCUS Innovation Center (MCIC) Sponsorship Levels

Founding Member: $250,000/year, minimum of three years. ▪ Access to reports, presentations, and data from all projects for 3 years ▪ Hold a seat on the CCUS Initiative Advisory Board ▪ Advise and provide data, details, and project specifications ▪ Add sponsor staff work alongside Mines researchers ▪ Early recruiting access to students and postdoctoral fellows ▪ Access to faculty and research staff by arrangement ▪ Advise on complementary research within CCUS Initiative ▪ Archival data access to project reports, presentations, and data

One to Two Project Sponsor: $50K/year for three years

▪ Access to reports, presentations, and data from sponsored projects ▪ First access to manuscripts and preprints from project ▪ Access to faculty and research staff during annual project review

Three to Four Project Sponsor: $45,000/project/year for three years

▪ Access to reports, presentations, and data from sponsored projects ▪ First access to manuscripts and preprints from project ▪ Early recruiting access to students and postdoctoral fellows ▪ Access to faculty and research staff during annual project review

Five or More Project Sponsor: $42,500/project/year for three years

▪ Access to reports, presentations, and data from sponsored projects ▪ First access to manuscripts and preprints from project ▪ Early recruiting access to students and postdoctoral fellows ▪ Access to faculty and research staff by prior arrangement ▪ Advise on complementary research within CCUS Initiative ▪ Serve on student committees and other roles in initiative ▪ Advise on complementary research within CCUS Initiative


Colorado School of Mines CCUS Exposition

March 18 – 19, 2021

March 18

8:00 – 8:10 Participants arrive, OnAir Instructions.

8:10 – 8:30 Welcoming Remarks:

Steve Sonnenberg, CSM CCUS Expo Chair John Bradford, CSM VP Global Initiatives, CSM CCUS Exposition Vision Paul Johnson, CSM President Brian Owens, Occidental, President and General Manager for the Rockies

8:30 – 9:00 Keynote Presentation:

Doug Conquest, VP Oxy Low Carbon Ventures: Transitioning Sequestration to

Meaningful Scale

Session 1: CO2 Sequestration in Petroleum Reservoirs (Chair: Steve Sonnenberg)

9:00 – 9:30 Ali Tura: CCUS: Economics, DOE Regional Efforts, and Future Technologies

9:30 – 10:00 Mathias Pohl, Manika Prasad, Luis Zerpa, Jyoti Behura: Multiphysics Evaluations of Seal

Integrity and Storage Capacity for CO2 Storage

10:00 – 10:30 Alexis Sitchler: Fluid-rock interactions in dynamic environments

Session 2: Sequestration and CO2 EOR (Chair: Mike McGuirk)

10:30 – 11:00 Hossein Kazemi: CO2 EOR and Sequestration—Fundamentals and Implementation

11:00 – 11:30 Luis Zerpa, Manika Prasad, Jyoti Behura, Mathias Pohl: Experimental and Modeling

Capabilities to Assess CO2 EOR and Geo-Sequestration

11:30 – 12:00 Yu-Shu Wu: Modelling Multiphysics Processes of CO2 Storage in Aquifers and Petroleum

Reservoirs

12:00 – 12:30: Questions and Discussion

12:30 – 1:00: Lunch Break


March 18 (continued)

Session 3: Reservoir Monitoring (Chair: Hossein Kazemi)

1:00 – 1:30 Rich Krahenbuhl and Yaoguo Li: The evolution and current state of time-lapse gravity for

carbon storage monitoring

1:30 – 2:00 Yaoguo Li, W. Anderson McAliley, Richard Krahenbuhl, Colton Kohnke, and Joseph Capriotti: Time-lapse electromagnetic and gravity methods in carbon storage monitoring: A multiphysics Approach

2:00 – 2:30 Yanhua Liu and Ilya Tsvankin: Application of elastic full-waveform inversion to seismic

monitoring

Session 4: CO2 Capture (Chair: Laura Singer)

2:30 – 3:00 Priscilla Nelson: CO2 Sequestration and Avoidance

3:00 – 3:30 Carolyn Koh, Ahmad Majid, Sriram Ravichandran, Mathias Pohl, Manika Prasad, David

Wu, Luis Zerpa: CO2 Capture and Storage Using Gas Hydrate Technologies

3:30 – 4:00 Mike McGuirk and Ryan Richards: CO2 Capture from Low Partial Pressure Point Sources

and Direct Air Capture with Earth-Abundant Metal Oxides

4:00 – 4:30 Peter Barkmann, CGS: CCUS Proposed Geologic Research for Colorado

Session 5: Research and Technology Partnership Opportunity (Chair: Manika Prasad)

4:30 – 4:45 Manika Prasad: Research and Technology Partnership Opportunity 4:45 – 5:30 Questions and Discussion


March 19

8:00 – 8:10 Participants arrive, OnAir Instructions

8:10 – 8:30 Welcoming Remarks:

Steve Sonnenberg, CSM CCUS Expo Chair Morgan Bazilian, Director CSM Payne Institute Laura Singer, Program Manager, Payne Institute: CCUS CSM Activities John Bradford, CSM VP Global Initiatives, CSM CCUS Exposition Vision Richard Holz, CSM Provost

8:30 – 9:00 Keynote Presentation:

Charlene Russell, CCO, Carbon America: 45Q CO2 Storage Tax Credit Regulation

Session 6: Research, Economics and Public Policy of CCUS (Chair: Steve Sonnenberg)

9:00 – 9:30 Will Toor, Executive Director, Colorado Energy Office: GHG Roadmap Process

9:30 – 10:00 Ben Gilbert: Management of flaring and methane emissions from the oil & gas sector:

Incentives and constraints

10:00 – 10:30 Ian Lange: Financial considerations for CCUS

10:30 – 11:00 Jared Carbone: The economy-wide impact of CCUS on jobs

Session 7: Sustainable and Alternative Energy Systems (Chair: Mike McGuirk)

11:00 – 11:30 Ryan P. O’Hayre, Rob Braun, and Neal P. Sullivan: CO2-to-Fuels Through Electrochemical Energy Storage

11:30 – 12:00 Marte Gutierrez: Research and Training on CO2 Geological Sequestration

12:00 – 12:30: Discussion and Questions

12:30 – 1:00: Lunch Break


March 19 (continued)

Session 7 (cont’d): Sustainable and Alternative Energy Systems (Chair: Hossein Kazemi)

1:00 – 1:30 Lori Tunstall: Engineered Char for Enhanced Concrete Strength and Carbon

Sequestration

1:30 – 2:00 Robert Braun: Advancing Sustainable and Alternative Energy Systems

2:00 – 2:30 Moises Carreon: Microporous Crystalline Molecular Sieve Membranes for CO2 Capture

2:30 – 3:00 Douglas Way and Colin Wolden: Catalytic Membrane Reactor Technology for Distributed

Hydrogen Production with CO2 Capture

3:00 – 3:30 Nanette Boyle: Biological Carbon Capture

Session 8: Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG), Sustainability (Chair: Laura Singer)

3:30 – 4:00 Linda Battalora: ESG and Social License

4:00 – 4:30 Expo Sponsor:

Kate Chisholm, Senior Vice President, Capital Power

Session 9: Research and Technology Partnership Opportunity (Chair: Manika Prasad)

4:30 – 4:45 Manika Prasad: Research and Technology Partnership Opportunity

4:45 – 5:30 Questions and Discussion


CCUS Proposed Geologic Research for Colorado

Peter E. Barkmann

Colorado Geological Survey

ABSTRACT

The Colorado Geological Survey (CGS) has participated in research and evaluation of carbon sequestration potential in Colorado and the Southwest region since the mid-2000s. CGS completed a comprehensive assessment of carbon dioxide sources and potential sinks with publication of Resource Series 45 in 2007. This assessment addressed carbon sink potential in oil and gas reservoirs, underground gas storage, natural CO2 fields, coalbed reservoirs, deep saline aquifers, and mineralization. The evaluation of deep saline aquifers listed the many deep sedimentary formations throughout the state by structural basins or regions and prioritized aquifers through a detailed screening process. Because of the assessment’s wide-ranging scope evaluation of each aquifer was made using generalized parameters for storage and containment. CGS also collaborated with the Southwest Partnership in a CO2 sequestration pilot study in the Craig, Colorado area to better define characteristics of potential deep aquifers and model response of those aquifers to CO2 injection. Recognizing that the earlier assessment necessarily applied generalized parameters to rank multiple deep saline aquifers, CGS now proposes to refine those parameters for top ranking aquifers from that assessment. This is based on knowledge of heterogeneity of facies and complex structural setting of those geologic formation often. Scope and extent of deep saline aquifer research in Colorado depends on the level of funding available. It is our goal to approach each aquifer comprehensively with a statewide extent. Potential aquifers in the state are many, which leads to the possibility of addressing many stratigraphic units representing many environments of deposition. This broadens the number of options to be considered. A side benefit that the information and comprehensive knowledge gained benefits other essential resource needs, groundwater supply in particular. [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


ESG and Social License

Linda Battalora

Petroleum Engineering Department

ABSTRACT

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria are integral to CCUS projects and other energy initiatives to ensure social license to operate and sustainability. Stakeholder engagement is fundamental to the outcomes of these criteria and is imperative in the project scoping from inception to decommissioning. Measuring what matters during the project life cycle is a critical component and one that lacks standardization. Integration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) in project planning and execution provides a framework of accountability and a universal platform to achieve social license and sustainable development. ESG and other performance data from global CCUS and other clean energy initiatives will be collected, analyzed and evaluated for achieving the UNSDGs and other frameworks of accountability. The results of these analyses will be used to develop educational materials including teaching and learning modules in various formats to inform and engage industry, academia, regulatory, and other stakeholders on technical and social performance topics of CCUS and other clean energy initiatives.


Biological Carbon Capture

Nanette R. Boyle

Chemical and Biological Engineering

ABSTRACT

Photosynthesis has long been nature’s mechanism to capture, recycle and store carbon. With advances in systems and synthetic biology we can now engineer photosynthetic microorganisms, such as cyanobacteria and algae, to be sustainable sources of both biofuels and bioproducts. Engineering these organisms have their own unique challenges, especially due to the transient metabolic shifts that occur moving from day to night. The Boyle laboratory is working on developing advanced metabolic models that will enable predictive modeling of metabolism and rationale engineering. These models will allow us to simulate hundreds or thousands of genetic changes and determine the phenotypic outcomes prior to constructing the mutant in a laboratory, thus streamlining the research and development of production strains. We will present the latest version of our multiscale multiobjective systems analysis (MiMoSA) model. The Boyle laboratory has also started investigating the use of cyanobacteria for carbon and methane capture efforts and the plan for these projects will be presented.


CO2 Utilization through Electrochemical Energy Conversion Systems

Robert J. Braun

Department of Mechanical Engineering

ABSTRACT

Decarbonization of electricity, transportation, and industrial sectors via CCUS present tremendous challenges to existing energy supply chains and infrastructures, including technology scale-up, economic viability, management of energy requirements and environmental impacts. Further, movement towards predominately low-carbon energy systems requires renewable resources and could be accelerated by integration with high temperature electrochemical technologies. Currently, substantial penetration of wind and solar resources into the electric power grid is challenged by their intermittency and the timing of generation which can place huge ramping requirements on central utility plants. This presentation explores how high temperature electrochemical energy conversion technologies and systems can use carbon-free electrons and thermal energy from renewable resources to convert CO2 to high value chemicals and fuels, while serving as an effective grid-balancing solution. Highlights of the presentation include research accomplishments related to Power-to-Gas, Power-to-liquids, process intensification, and energy storage technologies using primarily C-H-O chemistry including a techno-economic outlooks for levelized cost of storage, liquid fuels, and synthetic natural gas. The work largely focuses on MW-scale systems, but includes an overview of technology development activities, some unique test facilities at Mines, and future research directions.

Dr. Robert Braun is Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and leads the Advanced Energy Systems group (http://aes.mines.edu). He received a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2002. From 2002-2007, Dr. Braun was at United Technologies Fuel Cell and Research Center divisions where he last served as project leader for UTC’s mobile solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power system development program. Dr. Braun has multi-disciplinary background in mechanical and chemical engineering and his research focuses on energy systems modeling, analysis, techno-economic optimization, and numerical simulation of transport phenomena occurring within fuel cell and alternative energy systems. His industry experience encompasses development of low-NOx burners, CO2-based refrigeration, and fuel cell technologies (incl. PEMFC, PAFC, MCFC, SOFC, and PCFC). Dr. Braun’s current research activities focus on hybrid fuel cell/engine systems, renewable energy pathways to synthetic fuel production, grid-scale energy storage, novel protonic ceramics, supercritical CO2 power cycles, and dispatch optimization of concentrating solar power plants. He is a Link Energy Foundation Fellow, a member of ASME, ECS, and ASHRAE, has over 50 journal publications, and holds six U.S. patents.

http://aes.mines.edu/


The Economy-Wide Impact of CCUS on Jobs1

Jared Carbone

Economics and Business

ABSTRACT At her recent confirmation hearing, soon-to-be energy secretary Jennifer Granholm emphasized the importance of green jobs in general and CCUS specifically in navigating the transition to a zero-carbon economy in the United States. We propose to analyze the potential for job creation from the future deployment of CCUS in the US economy. To do so, we will employ a state-of-the-art economy-wide simulation model, SLiDE, developed in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). SLiDE’s capacity to model employment impacts and its ability to couple seamlessly with NREL’s ReEDS model of the electricity sector make it the ideal framework for studying the implications of CCUS deployment in the power sector. Bio: Carbone is an environmental economist specializing in the analysis of economy-wide impacts of environmental regulations. Recent work supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency focuses on the employment impacts of regulation.

1 Proposal in collaboration with Jon Becker (NREL), Maxwell Brown (NREL), Caroline Hughes (NREL)


Microporous Crystalline Molecular Sieve Membranes for CO2 Capture

Moises A. Carreon

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

ABSTRACT

Chemical separations account for approximately half of US industrial energy use, and up to 15% of the nation’s total energy consumption. Non-thermally driven membrane-based separations can make industrial relevant separations more energy efficient. From the energy view point, capturing carbon dioxide from natural gas is of great societal relevance. Membrane technology could play a key role in making this separation less energy intensive and therefore economically feasible. If prepared in membrane form, microporous crystalline molecular sieves (such as zeolites, and metal organic frameworks) combine highly desirable properties, such as uniform sized selective micropores, high surface areas, and exceptional thermal and chemical stability, making them ideal candidates for challenging molecular gas separations In this presentation, I discuss successful examples of crystalline microporous molecular sieve membranes (SAPO-34, and ZIF-8) that effectively separate CO2/CH4 gas mixtures. Fundamentally, I discuss the separation mechanisms involved: molecular sieving, competitive adsorption, and difference in diffusivities.

Moises A. Carreon is Professor in the Chemical & Biological Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines. His research focusing on porous crystals, molecular gas separations, crystal growth, gas storage, and heterogeneous catalysis, tackles highly relevant societal issues related to energy and environment, including carbon dioxide capture and utilization, biomass conversion to fuels, natural gas purification and storage, nuclear spent fuel treatment, and ammonia synthesis and purification.


Transitioning Sequestration to Meaningful Scale

Doug Conquest

VP Oxy Low Carbon Ventures

ABSTRACT

The increasing levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, and its ramifications, present the largest global scale challenge facing our planet. ‘Business as usual’ with current levels of emissions will increase global temperatures to a point that will significantly impact our way of living. The oil and gas industry are an essential part of solving this challenge, and must transition to an industry with a holistic respect for the impacts of carbon. How can we limit this warming? There are many answers, and many will be required in combination to facilitate a successful outcome of reduced atmospheric carbon dioxide. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has the potential to be a cornerstone of solving the challenge. Currently around 40 million tons per annum are captured and stored, this is compared to total global greenhouse gas emissions of 51 billion tons Clearly there is room to significantly increase the scale of CCS deployment and use. The challenges and issues to be overcome to scale CCS are numerous. From the technical difficulty of effective carbon capture in certain industrial processes, governmental and local policy to societal attention and developing economically viable projects. Oxy has set aggressive climate goals. In support of this, the Low Carbon Ventures division was established to develop and deploy CCS projects, provide technical advisory services, decarbonize power consumed and invest in synergistic technologies. The pace and scale of CCS projects under development has increased in the last four years, but there is a huge ever-present task to reach the 5.6 billion tons of CCS estimated to be required by 2050 to meet warming restriction targets.


Management of Flaring and Methane Emissions from the Oil & Gas Sector:

Incentives and Constraints

Ben Gilbert

Economics & Business

ABSTRACT

Flaring and methane emissions are two socially costly ways in which uneconomic natural gas is wasted during the oil & gas production process. The climate impact of methane emissions in particular is 28 to 36 times that of carbon dioxide, so understanding the drivers of emissions and developing efficient policies is important for slowing near-term warming. I will discuss an economic research agenda on the management of these socially costly practices centered around three research questions. First, what are some creative policy and market mechanisms that can achieve abatement and while preserving flexibility in compliance? I will discuss a novel monitoring and incentive mechanism that would leverage advances in remote sensing technology and new data sources to reduce flaring and methane emissions. Implementing this mechanism will require the interdisciplinary development and application of new machine learning methods. Second, what are the costs and benefits of abatement of methane emissions and flaring? Measuring these costs and benefits is an important input to industrial and environmental economic policy. Lastly, what are the systemic causes of methane emissions and routine flaring in the upstream oil and gas industry? I will give an overview of some of the supply chain constraints and market structure determinants of flaring and methane emissions and discuss important unanswered research questions. Answering each of these three questions requires funding for people and data. Costly, proprietary datasets from multiple private vendors are a necessary input to this research. Detailed, daily historical data on throughput and capacity constraints throughout the gas gathering, processing, and transmission pipeline network are required in addition to high frequency energy commodity price data from regional trading hubs. Importantly, organizing and managing these data products, running the analyses, and communicating the results requires a team of talented graduate students. Bio: Ben Gilbert is an environmental and natural resource economist at Colorado School of Mines. His recent research examines market structure and environmental policy options in the oil & gas industry. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, San Diego in 2011.


Research and Training in CO2 Geological Sequestration

Marte Gutierrez

Civil and Environmental Engineering

ABSTRACT

CO2 Geological Sequestration (CO2 GS) is considered one of the most viable solutions to reducing the anthropogenic release of CO2 to mitigate climate change. The presentation will give an overview of research and training activities and capabilities in CO2 GS in my research group. Research covers experimental, computational, and fieldwork. A laboratory facility, which includes an HPHT (high-pressure-high-temperature) triaxial apparatus, was established to characterize the hydro-mechanical and acoustic properties and behavior of rocks from sequestration sites. Computational modeling covers the interactions between geomechanical response and two-phase fluid flow in sequestration reservoirs and cap rocks during injection and migration of supercritical CO2. The numerical modeling works are carried out to improve the prediction of geological sequestration sites' geomechanical response, including surface subsidence and potential fracturing of cap rocks that will lead to the escape of injected CO2 to the atmosphere. Fieldwork involves collaboration with the University of Oslo on studying analogs for CO2 GS reservoirs from rock exposures in Green River, UT, where clear signs of fluid migration in the Entrada sandstone in its geologic history have been observed. The rock analogs provide a good representation of geology's influence on fluid flow patterns that can be used to select CO2 GS sites. Training in CO2 GS has been carried out with the University of Oslo and University Center in Svalbard through summer courses for graduate students from the US and Norway on the impact of climate change in the High North. The summer courses involved classroom lectures, laboratory work, and field geological work in Svalbard and Colorado Springs. The training emphasized the Arctic environment, which is currently experiencing the fastest impacts of climate change than the rest of the world. Marte Gutierrez is currently the James R. Distinguished Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research on CO2 Geological Sequestration has been funded by the US Department of Energy, the Norwegian Research Council, the Norwegian Center Internalization of Education, the Unconventional Natural Gas Institute, and oil companies.


CO2 EOR and Sequestration: Fundamentals and Implementation

H. Kazemi

Department of Petroleum Engineering

ABSTRACT

The objective of this paper is to describe the practical aspects of CO2 EOR and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) from power plants and industrial sources. It is a proven fact that CO2 EOR both enhances oil production and simultaneously sequesters CO2 as unintended consequence of CO2 EOR; thus, it can be broadened to a bigger scale and utilized as an effective means to achieve the goal of ‘net zero emission’ while producing an additional amount of high-quality oil from currently producing oil fields or abandoned ones. The average ‘Net CO2 Utilization’ is about 6,000 scf of CO2 per bbl of incremental produced oil, and the ‘Gross Utilization’ is around 12,000 scf of CO2 per bbl of produced oil in several key Permian Basin fields. This means that 6,000 scf of CO2 per bbl of EOR oil is sequestered naturally while the reservoir consumes 12,000 scf/bbl of CO2 per bbl of EOR oil produced. Typical CO2 source for EOR is naturally occurring subsurface CO2 reservoirs. Example of such CO2 reservoirs include McElmo Dome, in Colorado, and Jackson Dome, in Mississippi. CO2 can also be found mixed with methane, hydrogen sulfide, etc. in natural gas reservoirs as in LaBarge Field, Wyoming which provides CO2 both for EOR and CCS. Power plants and industrial sources, such as cement manufacturing plants, constitute additional sources of CO2 both for EOR and CCS which are the focus of this presentation. In this regard, it is noteworthy that there are nearly 1800 natural gas and 400 coal power plants in the US. Furthermore, we calculate that five power plants in Colorado (four using coal and one natural gas) produce a total of 450,000,000 scf of CO2/day which can be utilized for a project that combines CO2 EOR and CCS. In this presentation, we will also address the combined potential for CO2 EOR and CCS in unconventional shale reservoirs. We will discuss the mechanism of oil mobilization by CO2 EOR in conventional reservoirs, typically a Water-Alternating-Gas (WAG) method, compared to that of unconventional shale reservoirs which cannot use WAG. Finally, we will conclude that ‘combined CO2 EOR and CCS’ is the most effective and practical method in achieving the goal of ‘net zero emission’ in the next three or four decades. Furthermore, ‘combined CO2 EOR and CCS’ create jobs and enhances the World economy! Our research proposals will include assessment of reservoir quality for CO2 EOR and CCS, numerical modeling, project design and, if needed, core flood experiments.


CO2 Capture and Storage Using Gas Hydrate Technologies

Carolyn Koh1, Ahmad Majid1, Sriram Ravichandran1, Mathias Pohl2, Manika Prasad2, David Wu3, Luis Zerpa4

1Chemical and Biological Engineering Department 2Geophysics Department 3Chemistry Department

4Petroleum Engineering Department

ABSTRACT

Gas hydrates are crystalline solids comprised of a three-dimensional network of hydrogen-bonded water molecules that can trap small gas molecules, such as carbon dioxide, and methane. The gas storage capacity is 164 volumes of gas per volume of hydrate at STP. This presentation proposes the development and usage of a gas hydrate technology to selectively capture and store carbon dioxide. Our recent proof-of-concept studies have demonstrated that carbon dioxide can be selectively separated from various gas mixtures using hydrate formation/treatment. A particularly interesting aspect of using a gas hydrate technology for carbon dioxide capture and storage is the possibility of dual treatments, i.e., using waste water or saline water to selectively capture carbon dioxide, while also simultaneously treating the waste water. Storage of carbon dioxide within the hydrate water cages can be tailored such that near ambient storage conditions are used, such as atmospheric pressure or lower pressure and mild refrigeration; the hydrated carbon dioxide can be also safely transported across the state. From previous studies on hydrogen storage in hydrates, we demonstrated the ability for reversible storage and controlled molecular hydrogen release at near ambient conditions. Our previous developments on gas hydrate nucleation, growth and reversible storage/release will be applied to carbon dioxide capture and storage.


The Evolution and Current State of Time-Lapse Gravity for Carbon Storage Monitoring

Richard Krahenbuhl and Yaoguo Li

Center for Gravity, Electrical, and Magnetic Studies. Department of Geophysics

ABSTRACT

The many facets of time-lapse gravity method for monitoring hydrocarbon production and carbon storage have evolved significantly in the last decade and they are continuing to develop at a rapid pace. These developments are occurring in instrumentation design and portability, sensitivity to smaller time-lapse signals, inversion and interpretation methodologies, integration with seismic data and reservoir models, and most recently, an expansion from conventional single-component (vertical) data to vector gravity that can now respond to horizontal movement direction within a reservoir. While the misconception persists regarding gravity as a low-resolution method with limited application for monitoring, much of that belief is tied to the past with limited knowledge of the current state of play and the lack of familiarity with the continuous advancement in the field. In this presentation, we provide a brief overview of the evolution of time-lapse gravity for monitoring subsurface dynamic processes. We then focus on current advances is instrumentation, integration, and interpretation, with a closing on recommendations for monitoring underground carbon during injection and long-term storage.


Financial Considerations for CCUS-Ian Lange, Division of Economics and Business

Ian Lange

Economics and Business

ABSTRACT This research proposal will utilize information on subsidies, market conditions, and engineering aspects of potential CCUS facilities to predict which sites have the greatest chance for success. Published research of factors leading to successful CCUS facilities guide a model that takes into account the level of 45Q subsidy, ability to sell carbon to downstream users, and financial structure of the project. Ian Lange is an Associate Professor in the Division of Economics and Business. He has spent time in the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and Council of Economic Advisers. Ian may be contacted at: [email protected]



Time-Lapse Electromagnetic and Gravity Methods in Carbon Storage Monitoring: A Multiphysics Approach

Yaoguo Li, W. Anderson McAliley, Richard Krahenbuhl, Colton Kohnke, and Joseph Capriotti

Center for Gravity, Electrical, and Magnetic Studies

Department of Geophysics

ABSTRACT Time-lapse geophysics is essential for monitoring carbon storage. Although the seismic method is widely used for monitoring hydrocarbon reservoirs and being developed for carbon storage monitoring, time-lapse electromagnetic (EM) and gravity methods have likewise emerged for monitoring carbon storage sites in recent years. The primary driver for these new methods include the stronger dependencies of the related physical properties on the CO2 saturation, land accessibility, and the cost of long-term monitoring for CO2 permanence. There have been significant developments in field acquisition technology, data processing, and integrated interpretation methods to enable the wider application of time-lapse EM and gravity in this arena. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the reasoning for these two methods and discuss a recent time-lapse controlled-source EM experiment we have conducted by charging existing well casings for deep penetration. We will also discuss a path forward to integrated data interpretation through coupled inversions of time-lapse EM and gravity data with injection data using examples from time-lapse gravity.


CO2 Capture from Low Partial Pressure Point Sources and Direct Air Capture with Earth-Abundant Metal Oxides

Mike McGuirk & Ryan Richards

Department of Chemistry

ABSTRACT

Recent advances have sought to replace aqueous amine scrubbers with solid adsorbents for selective CO2 capture. Significant academic focus has been given to designer porous materials, such as metal–organic frameworks, as their surface chemistry can be deliberately tuned to enhance key performance metrics, such as selectivity and cyclability. Yet, proliferation of these designer materials remains hampered by concerns over scalability, overall cost and long-term stability. Therefore, a need remains for selective, cyclable, and cost-effective materials from earth abundant materials. Bulk calcium oxide (CaO), produced from the calcination of limestone (i.e., calcium carbonate, CaCO3), has been extensively studied for CO2 capture as part the Ca-looping process. Yet, the performance of bulk CaO, primarily composed of (100) surfaces, is sub-optimal, with the already low initial capacity being lost with cycling due to sintering-induced loss of porosity. Recently, the Richards group showed that the CO2-capture capacity of another alkaline metal oxide, magnesium oxide (MgO), could be dramatically enhanced at low partial pressures by tuning the surface chemistry, namely synthesizing MgO with (111) surfaces. While control of surface chemistry has made immense advances for the catalytic applications of metal oxides, it had not been previously explored for sorption. Furthermore, this approach obviated sintering concerns, as CO2

adsorption with MgO (111) actually improves with treatment at 800 C. Building on this result our team seeks to undertake three key tasks: (1) Further explore the deliberate tuning of MgO surfaces to achieve adsorbents with high(er) capacity, selectivity and cyclability; (2) Use lessons learned with MgO to achieve similarly performing CaO initially made from limestone; and (3) Explore direct chemical conversion of surface-adsorbed CO2 species to desirable feedstock chemicals. Through these efforts, our team will leverage an atomic-level understanding of metal oxide surfaces to achieve desirable CO2 capture and conversion with earth-abundant materials. Ryan Richards, Professor, Department of Chemistry Director, Joint Mines/NREL NEXUS Center, [email protected] Ryan completed his Ph.D. at Kansas State University. From 2000-2002 he was Max Planck Fellow at the MPI in Muelheim, Germany. In 2002 Ryan joined Jacobs University Bremen where he was promoted to associate professor before moving to Mines in 2007. The Richards group focuses on inorganic nanoscience in the areas of nanoparticle preparations (metal and metal oxides), in situ spectroscopy, and catalysis. Mike McGuirk, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, [email protected] Mike completed his Ph.D in supramolecular chemistry at Northwestern with Prof. Chad Mirkin in 2016, after which he was the Philomathia post-doctoral fellow with Prof. Jeff Long at UC–Berkeley until 2019, focusing on selective gas capture in metal–organic frameworks. Mike joined the chemistry department at Mines in 2019, where his group focuses on the bottom-up design of functional materials.


CO2 Sequestration and Avoidance

Priscilla P. Nelson

Department of Mining Engineering

ABSTRACT

There are many ways in which earth resources can play a role in CCUS, and three different (even off-the-wall) concepts are introduced in this presentation:

1. Carbon capture and storage using industrial wastes: Research on surficial carbonation of mine tailings and other fine-grained solid reactants is at an intermediate scale of readiness, ripe for larger scale field experiments. CO2-bearing fluid or gas is reacted with mine tailings, alkaline industrial wastes, or rock formations, all with a high proportion of reactive surface area. The mineralization process consists of paired reactions: a) dissolution of silicate rock surfaces into a cation-rich solution (the rate limiting step, and b) precipitation of mineral carbonates when the solution is combined with hydrated CO2. Mine tailings are the “low hanging fruit”, and can achieve CDR (carbon dioxide removal from air) at costs much lower than manufactured air capture systems. Assuming a large mine produces 10Mt of tailings per year and has an average reactive mineral content of 2wt. %, up to 150,000 tonnes of CO2 can be sequestered per year. Next steps: small- to medium-scale pilot experiments to advance knowledge and assessment of the feasibility of large-scale application of these ideas.

2. Mine tailings to manufactured products and cement (CO2)) avoidance: Significant amounts of mine tailings are generated each year and transported in slurry form to large impoundments. Disposal of mine tailings occupies large areas of land. The mine tailings can be repurposed by transforming them into valuable and sustainable construction materials, avoiding the CO2 from cement production, and 1 ton of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) consumes about 1.5 tons of natural materials and releases 1 ton of CO2 to the atmosphere. Two processes are highlighted: alkali activation and geopolymerization.

3. Underground AA-CAES and CO2 avoidance: Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is a physical battery that uses excess electricity to compress air. The compressed air may be stored in a tank, in a balloon, under water (offshore or onshore), in an underground well or drilled shaft, or in an underground cavern. When more electricity is needed, the compressed air is heated, which drives a turbine as it expands. Traditional CAES usually can't be carbon-neutral because it uses natural gas to heat up that compressed air. Advanced Adiabatic CAES or AA-CAES addresses the problem that when the air is compressed to 60 – 70 times atmospheric pressure, the heat is generated (up to 650 degrees) and becomes difficult to manage.

Priscilla P. Nelson came to the Colorado School of Mines in 2014 as Professor and Department Head of Mining Engineering. She previously was Provost at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), program director and senior advisor at the US National Science Foundation (NSF), and Professor in Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. She has an international reputation in geological and rock engineering, and has been involved in the mining and underground construction industries for over 45 years. She received her BS degree in geology from the University of Rochester (1970) and two master’s degrees in geology (Indiana University, 1976) and structural engineering (University of Oklahoma, 1979). In 1983, she received her PhD degree from Cornell University. [email protected]



CO2-to-fuels through electrochemical energy storage

Ryan P. O’Hayre1, Rob Braun2, and Neal P. Sullivan2

1Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, Colorado Center for Advanced Ceramics, [email protected]

2Mechanical Engineering Department, Colorado Fuel Cell Center, [email protected] Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA

We present our development of proton-conducting ceramic materials to synthesize methane from sequestered CO2 and H2O feed streams. This research first began as part of a NASA program to enable manned missions to Mars. Both CO2 and H2O are in great supply on The Red Planet; solar power could be harnessed to convert these feedstocks into fuel to sustain human life and enable permanent bases. Since this initial effort, our research has shifted focus to terrestrial carbon-capture, utilization, and storage. Our research takes two perspectives. Our experimental work seeks to demonstrate meaningful rates of CO2 upgrading to CH4 using novel proton-conducting ceramic electrolyzers. In parallel, techno-economic models seek to quantify the levelized cost of storage for the produced methane.

With the deployment of intermittent renewable energy resources into the utilities sector, research into fast and efficient forms of energy storage has become critical to address the temporal variation associated with these renewable resources. Our efforts seek to convert this renewable-but-intermittent electricity into chemical energy that is more-easily stored. This power-to-chemicals conversion utilizes water vapor and carbon dioxide feedstocks to form methane and higher-value chemicals. The approach has the potential to decrease CO2 emissions while also providing storage for intermittent renewables.

Bios: Ryan O’Hayre is a Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. He has been leading development of next-generation proton-conducting ceramic materials for efficient electricity generation, energy storage and fuels synthesis.

Rob Braun is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Braun’s current research activities focus on hybrid fuel cell/engine systems, renewable energy pathways to synthetic fuel production, grid-scale energy storage, novel protonic ceramics, supercritical CO2 power cycles, and dispatch optimization of concentrating solar power plants.

Neal Sullivan is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Director of the Colorado Fuel Cell Center. Prof. Sullivan’s recent work is focused on scale up of proton-conducting ceramic material towards commercial deployment.


Multiphysics Evaluation of Seal Integrity and Storage Capacity for CO2 Storage

Mathias Pohl1, Manika Prasad1, Luis Zerpa2, Jyoti Behura1

1Geophysics Department 2Petroleum Engineering Department

ABSTRACT

This project is designed to refine and calibrate remote sensing techniques to successfully map and quantify CO2 injected in the subsurface and detect potential leakage paths through or damages to the seal formation. Seal integrity can be compromised by CO2 reactions with seal rocks, or CO2 can act as a solvent to mobilize or segregate hydrocarbons leading to enhanced or blocked flow properties. Our laboratory study is designed to a) investigate temporal and spatial changes in seal integrity, and b) quantify leakage from the reservoir into the seal formation, and c) assess additional CO2 storage capacity in the seal formation. Our controlled experiments will provide a calibration of multiphysics signals (simultaneous velocity, electrical resistivity, strain, and NMR) used to better quantify, model, and map CO2 related effects in geophysical surveys. Our project will recreate the reservoir injection scenario to the laboratory scale with injection of fluids into a reservoir formation with seal formations on both ends. During the controlled injection, geophysical sensors will monitor changes in the seal and in the reservoir formations simultaneously to assess long-term changes using time-lapse measurements. These data will be further enhanced with complementary data on mineralogy, organic content, and storage capacity. For example, adsorption experiments will quantify storage potential of the seal formation. Prior work has shown that organic matter provides additional storage for CO2. Our multiphysics experiments will relate geophysical signature to CO2 adsorption in fine-grained nano-porous rocks. The data from our project will help create calibrated rock physics models specifically designed to quantify CO2 related changes in the reservoir and in the seal formation as coupled processes, and assess risks associated with formation damage and leakage. The calibrated geophysical signatures will be instrumental in tailoring remote sensing surveys specifically for monitoring CO2 projects.


The Evolution of 45Q

Charlene Russell

Carbon America

ABSTRACT

Hundreds of organizations including environmental NGO’s, academia, government agencies, heavy industry including oil and gas, and green investors for over a decade have worked to get 45Q to its current form. What is this legislation that has had this dedicated support and how has it changed over time to become one of the most powerful pieces of climate legislation in the country? The Carbon Capture and Storage market that it helps create is critical to address climate change, yet, even in its current form, is it enough to significantly affect our climate goals? Synergistic supporting policies are being addressed in many states and enhancements to 45Q are already advocated that reduce the risks of projects and bring additional value to the carbon capture and storage market. The 45Q of the future may provide an even greater tool for climate change mitigation. Charlene Russell Chief Commercial Officer with Carbon America. Senior executive with 30 years of experience in the enhanced oil recovery, carbon capture and storage, and chemicals industries with a special focus on low carbon and sustainable project development. Most recently VP Business Development and Strategy where she laid the foundation for and co-led the creation of Oxy Low Carbon Ventures. Corporate leader with expertise in policy development, regulatory implementation and advocacy needed to complete difficult projects. BS (chemical engineering) University of Kentucky. [email protected]


Fluid Rock Interactions in Dynamic Environments

Alexis Navarre-Sitchler

Geology and Geological Engineering Department

ABSTRACT

Fluids injected into the subsurface mix with in-situ fluids and change the balance of chemical equilibrium between fluids and minerals. Mineral dissolution and precipitation reactions driven by this change in chemical equilibrium can lead to changes in porosity and pore network structure. While reactive transport models with capabilities of reservoir simulators can predict changes in mineralogy with CO2 injection, data are needed to constrain modeling studies and to develop approaches to capturing changes in porosity and permeability with mineral reactions. In a previous study, rock samples from the Department of Energy funded SEACARB project were analyzed to characterize physical and mineralogical properties across a depositional gradient. Samples of Gothic Shale and the Tuscaloosa Formation were reacted with supercritical CO2 and reanalyzed to identify changes in mineralogy and porosity. In both samples total porosity increased with reaction with changes in the relative amounts of connected and unconnected porosity. To advance our understanding of fluid-rock interactions and the coupling to physical properties in CO2 sequestration systems a better understanding of the coupling of pore structure and mineral reactions is needed, as are experimental results from core-flood experiments where samples are reacted with CO2 under both in-situ stress and temperature conditions. To address coupling of pore structure and mineral reactions we have developed microfluidic experimental methods using minerals and rocks as the substrate of the microfluidic device. This allows for experimental control on pore network structure etched in the surface using femtosecond laser ablation. Initial experiments with feldspar dissolution show the role of unconnected porosity in mineral reactions. We propose to use this approach to evaluate the effects of mineral carbonation on pore network structure with strong gradients in fluid chemistry induced by injection. At scales larger than pore-scale, core flood experiments can be used to react rock under reservoir temperature and pressure conditions. With detailed characterization before and after reaction, changes in pore network structure can be related to mineral reactions.


GHG Roadmap Process

Will Toor, Executive Director

Colorado Energy Office

ABSTRACT

In 2019 the Colorado legislature adopted science-based economy wide GHG emissions targets. In response, state agencies developed a GHG roadmap to map out near term action strategies to meet the targets of a 50% reduction below 2005 levels by 2030. While the largest near-term reductions will come from the transition from fossil generation to renewables in the power sector, significant reductions are also needed from transportation, buildings, oil and gas extraction, and other industrial sources. The Roadmap identifies CCUS as a potentially important strategy, and the state is convening a CCUS taskforce to develop a recommended policy framework. [email protected]


Application of Time-Lapse Full-Waveform Inversion of Seismic Data to Monitoring CO2 Sequestration

Ilya Tsvankin


ABSTRACT

Temporal variations in seismic signatures have proved useful in monitoring CO2 sequestration, but the resolution of existing time-lapse techniques is often insufficient. Full-waveform inversion (FWI) has the potential to provide estimates of time-lapse parameter changes with high spatial and temporal resolution. The presentation will discuss a robust time-lapse FWI algorithm recently developed at the Center for Wave Phenomena. This FWI methodology operates with multi-component seismic data for realistic (elastic and anisotropic) subsurface models. We propose to modify and enhance our algorithm for application to CO2-sequestration projects and test it on reflection and/or VSP (vertical seismic profiling) field data. The main tasks of the proposed research are listed below. 1. Modify the current FWI algorithm, which is designed for reflection data, to make it suitable for VSP inversion. Walkaway VSP data have a number of advantages in time-lapse processing including a lower level of noise and the absence of surface waves. 2. Implement the “source-independent” technique that substantially reduces the influence of errors in the source wavelet on time-lapse FWI results. 3. Test several approaches to FWI of time-lapse seismic data (e.g., the parallel-difference, sequential-difference, and double-difference methods) in the context of monitoring CO2 sequestration. Evaluate the effectiveness of combining several time-lapse approaches for specific types of input data. 4. Incorporate lithologic (facies-based) constraints into FWI using an algorithm recently developed in CWP. 5. Apply the methodology to available CO2 sequestration data sets. Ilya Tsvankin is a Professor of Geophysics and Director of the Center for Wave Phenomena at Colorado School of Mines. His research is focused on modeling, inversion, and processing of seismic data for anisotropic media, characterization of fractured reservoirs, and time-lapse seismology. The Society of Exploration Geophysicists recognized Dr. Tsvankin's contributions with the Virgil Kauffman Gold Medal (1996), Honorary Membership Award (2015), and Outstanding Educator Award (2020). E-mail: [email protected]. Website: https://inside.mines.edu/itsvanki.

https://inside.mines.edu/itsvanki


Engineered Char for Enhanced Concrete Strength and Carbon Sequestration

Lori E. Tunstall

Civil and Environmental Engineering

ABSTRACT

Our team has developed an easy-to-use concrete additive and mix design that reduces concrete cost, decreases green-house gas emissions by at least 55%, and improves both the compressive and flexural strength of cement mortars. The additive is an inexpensively produced engineered char, a material made from the pyrolysis of wood waste. At 28 days, we show that mixtures containing 10 wt% replacements with char have a 20% increase in compressive strength. Flexural strength also improves with the addition of 10 wt% char—an 8% increase at 14 days. The global production and application of concrete is estimated to consume more than 10 exa-joules of energy and release 2.2 gigatons of CO2, or ~8% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As a result, many cement companies have pledged to lower their carbon footprint by as much as 50% by 2030. There are two primary strategies for achieving this goal: 1) greener cement manufacturing processes and 2) greener alternatives to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The first strategy (involving technologies such as alternative fuels, carbon sequestration, etc.) has high capital cost and only offers environmental benefit. The second strategy (including materials such as geopolymers) has a lower implementation cost and usually offers improved material properties, but often has larger hurdles for market acceptance. Our innovation fits into the second strategy, with an important distinction—we offer a solution that is still primarily OPC-based. This distinction will reduce market opposition of our material, since it is not expected to require alternative acceptance testing/requirements, novel placement or curing methods, etc. Instead of creating an entirely new material, we are able to market the innovation as a concrete additive, which is the one area in which the concrete industry has predictably embraced change. Nearly all the advancements in the concrete industry in the last century are due to innovative additives. Future research will focus on demonstrating that the char reproducibly yields the desired improvements in concrete properties and that it does not adversely affect durability. To investigate this, we will perform additional strength testing and advanced materials characterization to better understand the mechanisms for strength improvement. Techniques employed will include X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, fracture analysis, etc. We will also characterize any changes in the microstructure with the addition of the char, focusing on changes in permeability, since this is the feature most closely associated with durability. Bio: Dr. Tunstall is an assistant professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a focus on concrete durability and sustainability. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Tunstall was a materials scientist at Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technology where she earned the Defense Programs Award of Excellence; she received her Ph.D. and postdoctoral training from Princeton University, where she was distinguished with the Emerging Alumni Scholars Award. [email protected]



CCUS: Economics, DOE Regional Efforts, and Future Technologies

Ali Tura


ABSTRACT

CO2 molecules have been released into the atmosphere during most of the industrial revolution and earlier. So why is there such an urgency at this time? I discuss two key reasons: Public opinion and Technological changes. This will lead into today’s energy transition and the key role of carbon sequestration. One of the key topics is clearly economics of different carbon capture and sequestration options and why enhanced oil recovery related sequestration can be an optimal solution. This can potentially form the best path for the energy industry and a reasonably well posed problem for geological and geophysical long-term storage and monitoring. Next, I will transition into ongoing efforts by the DOE in their four regional US efforts to support CCUS around information dissemination, education, industrial outreach and identifying key projects per state including source, transport and sequestration. I will conclude by discussing specific CCUS technologies related to the subsurface and open questions related to CCUS operations – in particular geophysical monitoring and leak detection technologies that are key for a safe operation and in obtaining public confidence. This presentation will have a project emphasis as well as a subsurface technology emphasis. Proposed Research: Initiate key CCUS projects with industry. Apply best practices and develop optimal cost-effective technologies for integrated subsurface improved CO2 injection and EOR oil recovery technologies that cover subsurface model building, simulation, production, forecasting, and monitoring using geophysics, reservoir engineering and geology. In particular study use of fiber optics and machine learning on building sequestration monitoring systems. Bio: Ali Tura is Professor of Geophysics and Co-director of Reservoir Characterization Project at Colorado School of Mines. His expertise is in the areas of petroleum systems, reservoir characterization and monitoring, seismic methods, CO2 and sequestration, fiber optics technology and data analytics. He is also chief scientist at Tulip Geosciences, a geosciences consulting and training company. Prior to this, he was geophysical senior fellow at ConocoPhillips, geophysical advisor at Chevron and 4D subject matter expert at Shell. He has been active in the energy industry for over 37 years and served as SEG vice-president, board of directors of SEG-SEAM Inc., chairman of the SEG Research Committee, and chairman of the editorial board of The Leading Edge. Ali will also be the SEG Distinguished Lecturer for 2021. [email protected], website: rcp.mines.edu, 713-885-2087 (cell)



Catalytic Membrane Reactor Technology for Distributed Hydrogen Production with CO2 Capture

J. Douglas Way and Colin A. Wolden

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

ABSTRACT

The vast majority of H2 (>95%) is categorized as “brown hydrogen”, produced by steam methane reforming (SMR) which is both energy intensive and has a large CO2 footprint. “Green hydrogen” generated through electrolysis using renewables is the goal but faces challenges with respect to both scale and economics. “Blue hydrogen” is a critical bridge technology that relies on conventional SMR in concert with CO2 capture and utilization. Catalytic membrane reactor (CMR) technology provides process intensification by integrating methane reforming and hydrogen purification into a single compact unit operation. Our group has been developing novel membranes and reactor configurations to drive performance. In a CMR conversion of methane is driven towards completion at significantly reduced temperature, producing a permeate stream containing high purity hydrogen and a retentate stream of concentrated CO2 at high pressure, ideal for its conversion or capture. Unlike conventional SMR technologies that rely on economies of scale, the CMR approach has a reduced CapEx and is amenable to distributed production of hydrogen. In this talk we will describe our advances in this and related technologies. Bio: Professors Way and Wolden have been at CSM for decades and have been collaborating for the past dozen years developing CMR technology for industrially important reaction and gas separation processes with support of DOE, NSF, and industrial partners. [email protected]


Modelling Multiphysics Processes of CO2 Storage in Aquifers and Petroleum Reservoirs

Yu-Shu Wu

Department of Petroleum Engineering

ABSTRACT

In this presentation, we will discuss the CO2 related research activities conducted at the Energy Modeling Group (EMG) on developing and applying the state-of-the-art reservoir modeling technology and advanced simulation tools in modeling multiphysics processes in CO2 geosequestration in brine aquafers and EOR operations in conventional and unconventional reservoirs, including advanced reservoir simulators: TOUGH2-CSM and MSFLOW-CO2 for modeling thermo-hydrologic-mechanic-chemic (THMC) processes in CO2 storage and EOR practice. Even though worldwide research efforts in the past two decades have been conducted in many countries related to CO2 geosequestration, large-scale field applications of subsurface CO2 storage projects are not considered to be economically feasible and have been not implemented at present. In general, there is a significant lack in studies or understandings of CO2 phase behaviour, flow, transport and storing mechanisms, and long-time performance under in-situ, high pressure, high temperature, and high salinity conditions in deep formations. To achieve a significant reduction of atmospheric emissions, the amounts of CO2 to be injected into geologic storage reservoirs are very large, leading to large CO2 plumes with elevated pressure in formations. To evaluate whether geologic storage is a viable technology for reducing atmospheric emissions of CO2, it is necessary to understand and investigate the conditions under which a large amount of CO2 can be injected and stored safely for a long time in geologic formations, which is controlled by complicated multiphysics processes of CO2 multiphase flow and transport, coupled with site-specific geothermal, geochemical, and rock mechanical effects. Therefore, assessment of the storing capacity and integrity of a GS system depends also on how these coupled processes are quantitatively predicted under specific geologic and GS design/operation conditions. Due to the large spatial and time-scale involved in CCUS, modelling will play a critical role. This talk will focus on how we are addressing the research needs and our multiphysics modelling capability developed and the progress made on CCUS studies at EMG. Proposed Research:

(1) Study of the suitability and capacity of developed oil and gas reservoirs for CO2 storing purpose under realistic, in-situ HPHT, and high-salinity conditions;

(2) Develop a THMC model for assessing long-term performance of CO2 storage in oil and gas reservoirs;

(3) Modelling studies of optimizing field operation and remediation measures for storing CO2 in deep brine aquifers and oil/gas reservoirs to permanently store a large amount of CO2

Bio: Yu-Shu Wu, professor in petroleum reservoir engineering and director of Energy Modelling Group (EMG) research center in the Petroleum Engineering Department at CSM. He is a fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA) and has been a Guest Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2008, participating in CO2 related research over two decades. [email protected]



Experimental and Modeling Capabilities to Assess CO2 EOR and Geo-Sequestration

Luis Zerpa1, Manika Prasad2, Jyoti Behura2, Mathias Pohl2

1Petroleum Engineering Department 2Geophysics Department

ABSTRACT

Our team combined capabilities include experimental evaluation of rock and fluid systems with fluid flow and modeling at different scales. We propose an integrated design approach of CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery and Storage processes and the development of monitoring techniques, to maximize oil recovery, optimize storage, and monitor CO2 movement. Our integrated approach involves the assessment of reservoir fluid properties and their behavior to evaluate the effect of CO2. For this, we use a high-pressure PVT apparatus with full visibility. After evaluating fluid properties, we can perform experimental evaluation of fluid/rock interactions during displacement using a coreflooding apparatus. We have developed a unique methodology that integrates multiphysics measurements on the core surface to evaluate and image fluid distribution, phase transitions, and rock/fluid interactions during fluid displacement. The sensors include acoustic or ultrasonic transducers, electrical conductivity electrodes, strain gauges, and temperature. This methodology will be applied to study fluid transport in fractured rocks, to capture geomechanical impacts on the performance of oil recovery and/or storage processes. The measured data in experiments is used to calibrate multiscale models at the pore scale and laboratory scale, allowing the integration of results into basin-scale models. These models are applied to maximize oil recovery and optimize CO2 storage, and in the design of technologies for monitoring the distribution of CO2 within the reservoir.

MINES INTEGRATED CCUS INITIATIVE SPRING MEETING · Brian Owens, Occidental, President and General...

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