DOE cites carbon sequestration success

The Department of Energy has announced the successful storage of 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in a deep saline formation in Illinois. The project comes as part of a major DOE sponsored carbon capture and storage research program involving partnerships between DOE, state agencies, universities and private companies. DOE says that the Illinois project contributes to President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy.

“This milestone is an important step towards the widespread deployment of carbon capture technologies in real-world settings,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “The successful testing of these technologies and the lessons learned support a range of industries in the region, while also reducing the amount of emissions in the atmosphere and protecting the planet at the same time.”

The Illinois project involves the capture of carbon dioxide from the Arthur Daniels Midland Co.’s ethanol production facility in Decatur, Illinois, the compression of the gas and the transportation of the gas through a mile-long pipeline for injection into the Mount Simon sandstone formation 7,000 feet below the surface. The injection test, which began in 2011, performed better than expected, with pressures sustained well below regulatory limits, DOE says. A 300-foot thick shale formation acts a seal inhibiting upward migration of the injected carbon dioxide, which is expected to remain hundreds of feet below the shale for 100 years, the department says.

The Illinois State Geological Survey is leading a consortium called the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium to evaluate options for carbon sequestration and storage in the Illinois basin, a 60,000-square-mile geologic basin that underlies most of Illinois, southwestern Indiana and western Kentucky, DOE says.

- Alan Bailey