Illinois Carbon Capture Project Aims for 1M Tons

A US group called MGSC (the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium) has kickstarted the United States' first one million tonne CO2 sequestration project.

Between now and 2014, the carbon dioxide will start to be archived permanently at a depth of more than one mile underground.

Although a demonstration, the MGSC carbon capture project will show the potential of the technique, designed to scrub the air of carbon emissions that would otherwise concentrate in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing global warming.

1M Ton CO2 Capture

In this instance, the CO2 being captured emanates from a corn ethanol plant and the project is one element of the US Department of Energy's more expansive Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships agenda, which was incepted eight years ago.

Within this, the 1m ton Co2 capture project figures within one of seven such partnerships now established and MGSC is spearheaded by the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), which hails from the University of Illinois' Prairie Research Institute.

"Establishing long-term, environmentally safe and secure underground CO2 storage is a critical component in achieving successful commercial deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage technology", the US Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy's Chief Operating Officer, Chuck McConnell, explained in a statement. He added: "This injection test project by MGSC, as well as those undertaken by other FE regional partnerships, are helping confirm the great potential and viability of permanent geologic storage as an important option in climate change mitigation strategies."

Illinois Carbon Capture Project

The Illinois carbon capture project's CO2 will be stored underneath the state's Mount Simon, at a rate of 1,000 tonnes a day. Reportedly, this has enough volume to hold up to 151 billion tons of CO2, with a number of shale layers present that form an impermeable cap, through which the liquid carbon cannot pass.

"The analysis of data collected beginning in 2003 indicates that the lower Mt. Simon Sandstone has the necessary geological characteristics to be an excellent injection target for safe and effective storage of CO2", ISGS' Robert J. Finley said, while his colleague, William W. Shilts, added: "Reaching the injection phase of this project is a major milestone in sequestration technology world-wide and for the State of Illinois.

"Four years of effort are coming to fruition at a site with unique capabilities, some of them first-in-the-world with respect to the extensive subsurface monitoring system."

See also:

UK Carbon Capture Technology Showcased by IME