Carbon Capture and Sequestration Capturing Attention

2009-10-01

Just outside the tiny community of Coronach, Saskatchewan, research into what could possibly be a big help in reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere is underway. Scientists and engineers, with funding provided through a partnership between the Government of Saskatchewan and the State of Montana, are working on a hope to trap almost 1,000 tonnes of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from SaskPower's Poplar River coal-fired generating station near Coronach, Sask, and then send it by pipeline to northeastern Montana, where the gas would be injected in a geological formation almost two kilometres underground.

It’s the latest in a number of projects researching and developing the practicality of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which could help Canada and other countries around the globe in the fight against climate change.

CCS is the practice of capturing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial facilities, compressing them and then trapping them in a secure location. And, it is gaining traction in Canada.

A task force created in 2007 by the Alberta and federal governments to provide advice on how government and industry can work together to facilitate and support the development of carbon capture opportunities, stated in its 2008 report, Canada’s Fossil Energy Future: The Way Forward on Carbon Capture and Storage, that the technology could be used to capture and store roughly 40 per cent of Canada’s projected greenhouse gas emissions in 2050, resulting in international recognition for taking the lead on emission reductions.

In the report’s foreword, task force chairman Steve Snyder wrote that while the technology “is not the only solution possible or needed…our analysis indicates that it must be part of Canada’s overall plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”

The federal and provincial governments are buying into this idea. In addition to the Saskatchewan-Montana project, there are a handful of other projects underway in Canada, including the Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project, one of the largest CCS projects in the world.

“Weyburn is looking at the integrity of storing (captured CO2) in a partially depleted oil field to enhance oil recovery and at same time is storing CO2,” says Malcolm Wilson, director of the Office of Energy and Environment at the University of Regina, which will participate along with the Government of Saskatchewan and SaskPower in the development and operation of the reference/capture unit for the Saskatchewan-Montana project.

“The Saskatchewan-Montana project is looking at the full line from capturing CO2 from the smoke stack to piping it, injecting it and storing it. This will look at things like the operations of the power station, what are energy costs, what are CO2 costs.”

Whereas the concept and practice of trapping and storing CO2 is rather new, there are no standards in place nationally or internationally that specifically address the technology of CCS. However, there is a range of standards developed internationally and in Canada that are being used voluntarily and through regulation in the oil and gas sector to support the implementation of CCS. These include the standard for Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems (CAN/CSA Z662), which the Standards Council of Canada has approved as a National Standard of Canada; and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)’s standard for Petroleum and natural gas industries -- Life cycle costing -- Part 1: Methodology (ISO 15663-1:2000). 

“Different standards need to be applied to different configurations of the technology,” says Pierre Boileau, manager of Climate Change for CSA Standards. “For example, a project that captures a relatively pure CO2 stream from a natural gas processing facility will use different standards for capturing and purifying the CO2 than a project where the CO2 is captured from a coal-fired power plant, where the CO2 may be only 15 per cent of the flue gas.”

CSA Standards (formerly the Canadian Standards Association) – which is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada to develop standards in Canada – has identified standardization of the different configurations as one of the needs to enable the commercialization of the technology.

“As many countries move forward with carbon sequestration pilot projects, CSA Standards will be working with various organizations throughout the word to help bring forward the best possible carbon capture and sequestration standards for Canada,” says Boileau.

“Where standards may be needed is in the approach to designing or conceiving individual CCS projects to help ensure that they perform at a high level.”

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This article first appeared in Volume 36 of CONSENSUS Magazine, 2009.  The information it contains was accurate at the time of publication but has not been updated or revised since, and may not reflect the latest updates on the topic.  If you have specific questions or concerns about the content, please contact the Standards Council of Canada.

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