Carbon Capture and Storage
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Carbon Capture and Storage
As carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere it accumulates and creates warming. This means that climate change is linked to the total amount of emissions over time. The instantaneous rate of emissions is perhaps surprisingly less important. The solution to tackling climate change isn’t just to reduce emissions to a level lower than today, but to bring emissions to zero so that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doesn’t keep increasing. Even at that point, the stock of carbon dioxide may still be greater than the goal to limit it, so removal becomes an important end-game in achieving the Paris Agreement.
It is possible that society could be using oil, gas and even coal well into the 22nd century. For this reason, the term ‘net-zero emissions’ has emerged, emanating from the Paris climate Agreement, meaning that zero emissions are achieved on a net basis by removing the same amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as is being added. Over the long term, the most suitable removal mechanism for carbon dioxide is to permanently store it underground through carbon capture and storage (CCS).
CCS is already a viable and deployable technology. There are 20 major facilities operating around the world and the technologies required are well established in the oil and gas industry. The challenge to develop CCS further and quickly is economic not technological. To support the Paris Agreement CCS requires some form of incentive to encourage investment, such as have benefitted many emerging technologies. Carbon pricing is arguably the simplest approach, but a more focused mechanism to stimulate CCS may be required.
How does CCS work?
There are four central steps to the carbon capture and storage process chain:
- Capture
- Compression
- Transport
- Utilisation and storage
Every step of this chain is critical to carbon management, starting with the capture of CO2 from industrial emissions. Taking a refining context, for example, there are a variety of streams where capturing technologies are relevant to reduce pollution, such as with power production, a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU), a fluid coking unit (FCU), furnace offgas, a sulphur recovery unit, a tail gas offgas unit and a hydrogen manufacturing unit (HMU).
The compression step is enabled by readily available technology capable of compressing emissions to 1,200 pounds per square in gauge (psig) or about 82.7 bar. After compression, the emissions must be transported to a secure sequestration location. Pipelines are the most frequently used solution in this step.
However, there are other CO2 transportation options being explored, such as by Equinor, Total and Shell in the Northern Lights project (part of “Project Longship”) to ship compressed emissions to central storage locations. The final sequestration step stores the emissions safely underground in geological repositories.
Shell’s global CCS projects
From Canada to Norway, from Australia to the Netherlands, Shell is at the forefront of developing CCS technology globally.
Quest, Canada
The QUEST facility at the Athabasca Oil Sands Project leverages ADIP-ULTRA to capture CO2 from the Scotford Upgrader’s HMU. Those emissions are then compressed and stored safely 2 km underground. ADIP-ULTRA is used for the pre-combustion capture from flue gas.
Boundary Dam Power Station, Canada
The Boundary Dam power station in Saskatchewan uses the CANSOLV CO2 process to capture emissions from the flue gases of a coal-fired power station and is used for enhanced oil recovery in nearby oilfields. Boundary Dam is SaskPower’s largest coal-fired power station and is a significant source of power for the region.
Northern Light Project, Norway
Northern Lights – is a partnership between Shell, Norwegian energy company Equinor and the French company Total, with backing from the Norwegian government. It is part of Norway’s full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. The project will initially capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial sites in Eastern Norway. Plans are to transport it by ship to a plant on Norway’s west coast, and then send it 110 kilometres by pipeline to be safely and permanently stored deep below the sea. it aims to become the first carbon storage facility with capacity to transport and store CO2 from industrial facilities in Norway and potentially from across Europe. It also uses shipping for the first time as a way of widening access to a carbon storage market.
In its first phase, expected to start operations by 2024, Northern Lights will transport and store up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year. That could increase to 5 million tonnes a year as demand grows. The technology can be used for industries that depend on carbon-intensive processes, such as cement and steel. In Norway, it will also be used to capture emission from incinerating waste plant which generates more than 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emission a year.
Energy and Chemicals Park, the Netherlands
As part of its Powering Progress strategy, Shell is transforming its refineries (which numbered 14 in October 2020) into five energy and chemicals parks. Shell aims to reduce the production of traditional fuels by 55% by 2030 and provide more low-carbon fuels such as biofuels for road transport and aviation, and hydrogen.
In September 2021, Shell announced a final investment decision to build an 820,000-tonnes-a-year biofuels facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam, the Netherlands, formerly known as the Pernis refinery. Once built, the facility will be among the biggest in Europe to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel made from waste. The facility is expected to use technology to capture carbon emissions from the manufacturing process and store them in an empty gas field beneath the North Sea through the Porthos project. A final investment decision for Porthos is expected next year.
The future of CCS
By improving compliance and enhancing the sustainability of operations, organisations can better prepare for a changing energy future and the global emphasis placed on decarbonisation.
It is well understood that CCS alone will not be sufficient to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change. There is no “silver bullet”. CCS must be applied in conjunction with the wide-spread application of renewable power, a more in-depth approach to energy efficiency, the use of alternative non-carbon based fuels and many other pivots we need to make as a society to reach our ambitious energy transition goals.
To learn more about Shell CCS technology from Project Quest, visit: https://www.shell.ca/en_ca/about-us/projects-and-sites/quest-carbon-capture-and-storage-project/discover-more-about-ccs.html
Source:
2. How does CCS works, Quest and Boundary Dam: https://www.shell.com/business-customers/catalysts-technologies/resources-library/how-carbon-capture-and-storage-can-help-increase-competitiveness-through-the-energy-transition.html
3. Northern Light Project: https://www.shell.com/inside-energy/creating-a-market-for-capturing-carbon.html
4. Pernis: https://www.shell.com/media/news-and-media-releases/2021/shell-to-build-one-of-europes-biggest-biofuels-facilities.html