CARBONATE SEQUESTRATION AND CO_2 PIPELINE LOGISTICS FOR THE PJM REGION

摘要

CO_2 sequestration using carbonate mineralization and employing locally available sources for ultramafic rock was investigated for 300-MW and larger pulverized-coal fired power plants in the U.S. EPA Region II network known as PJM (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland). PJM could deliver up to 147 x 10~3 Metric tonnes of CO_2 daily and using nearby ultramafic resources it is technically feasible to provide all the resources for sequestering this volume of CO_2 through mineralization. A Pennsylvania-based central carbonate formation facility located near Allentown, PA would be an appropriate host site for a central carbonate formation plant since Allentown is near the weighted geographical epicenter for the CO_2 sources and is accessible to nearby zones in which the carbonates could be stored after formation. The proposed pipeline routes will follow existing right-of-way corridors and permission will need to be secured for 800 km of pipeline ranging in size from 10 to 48 inches. All but 135 km of this right-of-way will be subject to the rigorous administrative safety reviews now mandated by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The capture was considered to be $42 per metric tonne of CO_2 using an oxy-fired fuel approach. These costs could come down significantly with success in ongoing research. To this must be added costs of up to $1 per metric tonne of CO_2 for pipeline delivery. Considerations for the capital and operating costs of the mineralization step are currently underway at the U.S. Bureau of Mines and are not included here.