Release Date: February 18, 2000

In the first of two major project selections the department expects to make this year in its carbon sequestration program, DOE said it will provide $7.7 million to the laboratories over the next three years to study innovations ranging from carbon dioxide filtering membranes to the development of "biofilms" made up of carbon-converting microorganisms.

In seven of the eight projects, lab researchers will team with scientists from the private sector, universities, or other agencies.

"Carbon sequestration is rapidly emerging as a promising third option for dealing with greenhouse gas concerns -- joining energy efficiency and the greater use of low-carbon fuels such as natural gas," said Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Robert W. Gee. "The initiative we are announcing today will draw on expertise from across our national lab complex and the private sector to explore an exciting array of possibilities for countering the buildup of global warming gases."

DOE's selections follow its announcement earlier this month of plans to more than double funding for carbon sequestration research in its FY 2001 fossil energy budget. DOE is proposing $19.5 million for sequestration projects next year, compared to $9.2 million in the current budget.

The department's goal is ultimately to make technologies for permanently disposing of carbon gases so affordable that both industrialized and developing countries could use them. DOE wants to develop concepts that cost only $10 per ton of carbon, equivalent to adding only two-tenths of a cent per kilowatt-hour to the cost of electricity (typical electricity rates range from 4 cents to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour).

This spring DOE will announce a second group of carbon sequestration projects, in this case selecting ideas proposed directly by industry. The department's National Energy Technology Laboratory is evaluating more than 60 candidate projects for this second set of projects.

The national laboratory projects are:

Category A - Multiple Laboratories with Industry Partners

1. Los Alamos National Laboratory and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory will collaborate with the University of Colorado, Pall Corp. and Shell Oil Co., in a 3-year project to develop an improved high-temperature polymer membrane for separating carbon dioxide (CO2) from methane and nitrogen gas streams. proposed award: $1.32 million.

   Project Title: CO2 Separation Using Thermally Optimized Membranes

   Lead Researcher: Dr. Robert C. Dye, Los Alamos National Laboratory, (505) 667-3404 e-mail: rcdye@lanl.gov

   Los Alamos National Laboratory, in collaboration with the University of Colorado, INEEL, Pall Corporation and Shell Oil Company, is developing a high-temperature polymer membrane that separates more CO₂ from the methane and nitrogen gas streams than current polymer membranes. The polymer membranes will be tested at temperatures from 100 to 400 degrees C to take advantage of enhanced gas diffusion as it interplays with the polymer structure. This approach will maintain high selectivity while creating polymer membranes with tunable permeability at an optimum temperature range. Functional sites will be placed in the structure to facilitate transfer of carbon dioxide through the membrane.

2. Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories will join with Strata Production Co. and the New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center in a 3-year study of ways to inject CO2 into depleted oil reservoirs. Proposed award: $2.025 million.

   Project Title: Sequestration of CO2 in a Depleted Oil Reservoir: A Comprehensive Modeling and Site Monitoring Project

   Lead Researcher: Dr. Henry R. Westrich, Sandia National Laboratory, (505) 844-9092 e-mail: HRWESTR@sandia.gov

   Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, in collaboration with Strata Production Company and a graduate student from the New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Center, will investigate down-hole injection of CO₂ into depleted oil reservoirs. This research will help to validate safe, long-term sequestration of CO₂ emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in geologic formations. A comprehensive suite of computer simulations, laboratory tests, field measurements and monitoring efforts to understand, predict and monitor the coupled geomechanical, geochemical, and hydrogeologic processes will be studied for three years. Field data will provide a rare opportunity to test, refine and calibrate computer models for this pilot field test. Both geophysical and geochemical techniques will be employed to monitor the transport and fate of the injected CO₂ plume. Ultimately, the models and data will be used to predict storage capacity and physical and chemical changes in reservoir properties, such as fluid composition, porosity, permeability, and phase relations.

3. Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, and Oak Ridge National Laboratories will cooperate with Chevron, Texaco, Pan Canadian Resources, Shell CO2 Co., BP-Amoco, Statoil, and the Alberta Research Council Consortium, in a 3-year study of geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide in formations such as brine reservoirs, depleted oil reservoirs, and coalbeds. Proposed award: $2.25 million.

   Project Title: Geological Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide

   Lead Researcher: Dr. Sally M. Benson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, (510) 486-5878, e-mail: SMBenson@lbl.gov

   Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, and Oak Ridge national laboratories, in cooperation with Chevron, Texaco, Pan Canadian Resources, Shell CO₂ Company, BP-Amoco, Statoil, and the Alberta Research Council Consortium, will investigate safe and cost-effective methods for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide. The project will conduct a set of targeted R&D tasks that address:

   • lowering the cost of geologic sequestration in targeted formations such as: brine reservoirs, depleted oil reservoirs, and coalbeds;
   • selecting the best sequestration sites by developing a set of screening criteria and siting guidelines;
   • identifying and demonstrating cost-effective and innovative monitoring technologies to track CO₂ migration; and
   • predicting and verifying that long-term sequestration practices are safe, effective and do not introduce new environmental problems.

   This effort will help to identify early opportunities to apply these technologies in pilot-tests to facilitate near-term commercial application.

Category B - Optional Private Sector Participation

1. Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory will team with Purdue University, Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Gas, and BP Amoco to develop a novel "gas-liquid contactor" that creates a whirlwind-like vortex for separating CO2 from natural gas and flue gas. Project duration: three years. Proposed award: $750,000.

   Lead Researcher: Dr. Michael G. McKellar, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, (208) 525-1992, e-mail: MGQ@inel.gov

   Project Title: Vortex Tube Design and Demonstration

   A joint INEEL-industry partnership will develop and demonstrate a novel gas-liquid contactor for separating CO₂ from natural gas and flue gas. The objective is to achieve at least 50% improvement in performance and cost over conventional gas absorption technology for separating CO₂ from dilute mixtures (less than 15% CO₂) by employing an operationally robust vortex tube contactor. The vortex tube design and operation will be optimized to develop the necessary information for process scale-up and eventual field demonstration. There is significant cost sharing from industrial partners, including Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Gas, and BP Amoco.

2. Argonne National Laboratory will conduct a 2-year study of ways to retrofit a coal power plant with recirculating technology to concentrate carbon dioxide sufficiently to transport it to sequestration sites. Proposed award: $260,000.

   Project Title: Evaluation of Coal Fired Power Plants with Flue Gas Recirculation

   Lead Researcher: Dr. Richard Doctor, Argonne National Laboratory, (630) 252-9728 e-mail: rdoctor@anl.gov

   Supporting a pilot plant demonstration, Argonne National Laboratory is evaluating the recovery of CO₂ from pulverized-coal-fired power plants retrofitted for flue gas recirculation. The full energy cycle will be considered including mining, coal transportation, coal preparation, the PC-fired boiler with power generation, particulate removal and flue gas recirculation, pipeline CO₂ conditioning, and pipeline transport of CO₂ to sequestration. Process design conditions and costs will be estimated. Issues relating to CO₂ sequestration in a variety of host reservoirs will be surveyed.

3. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will team with the U.S. Geological Survey and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in a 2-year study of ice-like hydrates that form when cold CO₂ is pumped into deep ocean basins. Proposed award: $360,000.

   Project Title: Accelerated Carbonate Dissolution as a CO₂ Capture and Sequestration Strategy

   Lead Researcher: Fred Followill, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, (925) 422-3920, e-mail: followill1@llnl.gov

   The success of pumping CO₂ into ocean basins depends on the chemical and mechanical stability of the CO₂ hydrate that forms when seawater first contacts cold CO₂. However, the properties and structure of the ice-like hydrate are generally poorly understood, partly because of a lack of pure material for testing. The ice physics team from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lead Researcher: Dr. David J. Borns of the United States Geological Survey will use its facilities to (1) routinely manufacture pure, polycrystalline CO₂ hydrates, and (2) investigate and measure many of their chemical, physical, thermal and mechanical properties. The team will make available to other researchers standard material for analysis, measurement and testing. In collaboration with the Monterey Bay Area Research Institute, the team will conduct hydrate stability tests in an actual ocean-floor setting using one of the institute's remotely operated submersibles.

4. Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will join with The Ohio State University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute in a 2-year project to study the use of soil enhancers made from the solid wastes of coal plants, paper mills, and sewage treatment facilities to improve the natural carbon uptake of lands disturbed by mining, highway construction or poor management practices. Proposed award: $280,000.

   Project Title: Enhancing Carbon Sequestration and Reclamation of Degraded Land

   Lead Researcher: Dr. Anthony V. Palumbo, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, (423) 576-8002, e-mail: palumboav@ornl.gov

   The DOE Center for Research on Enhancing Carbon Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems will expand its research to include lands that have been disturbed by mining, highway construction, or poor management practice. The new approach focuses on soil enhancers that contain solid by-products from fossil-fuel combustion, paper production, and biological waste-treatment facilities. The primary goal is to identify and quantify the key factors leading to successful carbon sequestration and reclamation of degraded lands. The results will be summarized in a set of guidelines containing practical information about matching amendment combinations to land types and optimum site-management practices. Long-term field studies will be designed and site(s) will be recommended for demonstration and optimization.

5. Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory will team with Montana State University, and the University of Memphis in a 2-year study of ways to grow microorganisms known as cyanobacteria as "biofilms" that could capture and convert carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Proposed award: $420,000.

   Project Title: Enhancement of CO₂ Emissions Conversion Efficiency by Structured Microorganisms

   Lead Researcher: Dr. Richard E. Rice, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, (208) 526-1992, e-mail: rrr@inel.gov

   INEEL, Montana State University, and the University of Memphis have formed a team to develop cyanobacterial conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into useful hydrocarbon products. Current CO₂ conversion efficiencies for microorganisms are low, and economics need to be improved. In the proposed work, cyanobacterial species will be grown as a biofilm, a film of layered adhering cells. The biofilm physiology will be optimized for maximum thickness for efficient photosynthesis and CO₂ saturation. Hydrocarbon production will be measured, and a conceptual design and economics determined for a facility to treat CO₂ emissions from a 10-megawatt power plant.