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Carbon Sequestration Test Well Completed
The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) has completed
an 8,000-foot deep test well at FirstEnergy’s R.E. Burger Power Plant, an
important milestone in its regional field tests to research the sequestering
of carbon dioxide deep underground. This technology offers promise as one approach
to stabilizing or reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Carbon dioxide or CO2 is a common gas released during a coal-based plant’s
combustion process. In carbon sequestration, carbon dioxide is captured from
the power plant stack in concentrated form, compressed, then injected through
a deep well into porous rock such as sandstone or limestone. The carbon dioxide
spreads through these porous layers and is expected to be sealed permanently
in place by layers of dense rock above.
The field test at the Burger Plant, located south of Shadyside, OH, just
across the river from Moundsville, WV, is one of three geologic field tests
being
conducted by the MRCSP and one of more than 20 similar projects under way across
the country.
These projects are part of a national strategy to test the feasibility of carbon
sequestration technology. They are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s
(DOE’s) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). In Ohio, NETL is
working with the MRCSP, which is a large team headed by Battelle and covering
an eight-state region in the Midwest.
At the Burger plant, scientists have been collecting data on the geology
of the site to determine which geologic layers would be good targets for injection
of
carbon dioxide and to ensure that there are good seals, or caprock layers above
the injection layers to ensure the CO2 is well contained. A seismic survey,
which involves the use of sound waves sent into the ground to define the geologic
layers
over a several mile area around the injection site, was conducted at the site
in the summer of 2006. In late December 2006 through January 2007, a test well
of more than 8,000 feet - more than 1-1/2 miles deep - was drilled through
the geological zones of interest to further define the geology at the site.
Following
analysis of the geologic data, the test well will be converted into an injection
well for the small scale injection test.
“
That data is important for developing profiles of the rocks,” said Phil
Jagucki, Battelle’s Operations Manager for the MRCSP’s geologic field
tests. “The analyses will take several months to complete before they
can be reviewed and approved by the Ohio regulators so that injection can begin
in
2008.”
FirstEnergy hosted a tour of the Burger site in late January 2007 to view
the MRCSP’s drilling activities and also Powerspan’s ECO multi-pollutant
control technology being demonstrated at the site. The tour provided visitors
with an update on the full scope of MRCSP’s sequestration program and also
Powerspan’s plans for developing and demonstrating its ECO2 CO2 capture
technology.
Battelle and MRCSP scientists now are beginning a series of analyses in the
test well to confirm that the geology is indeed suitable for injection of
CO2. The
information from these tests and the other data gathered at the site will
be used as a basis for obtaining an injection permit from the State of Ohio
prior
to converting the test well into an injection well and proceeding further
to inject CO2 in the small amounts planned as part of the test. The analyses
being
carried out in the test well use a variety of tools to measure rock properties
and gather information on subsurface conditions. If possible, scientists
also will take core samples of the rocks to further calibrate the other measurements.
For more information, visit www.battelle.org.
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