CO2 consortia move from hot air generation to sequestration

US and Norway lead the way in tonnage sequestered—UK initiates ‘evaluation’ project.

Activity in CO2 sequestration is accelerating with new ventures on both sides of the Atlantic. The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program has just awarded $66.7 million to the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) for the fourth large-scale carbon sequestration project, located in the Illinois Basin. The partnership, led by Illinois State Geological Survey, will demonstrate CO2 storage in the Mount Simon Sandstone Formation which has the potential to store more than 100 years of carbon dioxide emissions from major sources in the region. One million tons of CO2 will be injected from the Archer Daniels Midland’s ethanol plant in Decatur.

Franco-Norwegian

A CO2 seminar was held last month in Norway to assess sequestration initiatives including StatoilHydro’s 11 year long Sleipner test, a new facility at the Mongstad power plant, Gaz de France’s K12-B North Sea project and Total’s experiment at Lacq, South West France where 150,000 tonnes of CO2 will be pumped over a two year period.

UK study

In the UK, the CO2 Aquifer Storage Site Evaluation and Monitoring (CASSEM) project kicks-off in 2008. The two year project is funded by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Partners include AMEC, Schlumberger, Marathon and BGS.

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