Characterization and design of the FutureGen 2.0 carbon storage site

Abstract

The objective of the FutureGen 2.0 Project was to demonstrate, at the commercial scale, the technical feasibility of implementing carbon capture and storage in a deep saline formation in Illinois, USA. Over approximately 5 years, the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, Inc. (Alliance) conducted a detailed siteselection process and identified a site for carbon sequestration storage in Morgan County, Illinois. A comprehensive geologic and hydrologic characterization of the storage site was conducted and included the collection of seismic data and the drilling and characterization of a stratigraphic borehole. The characterization data provided critical input for developing a site-specific conceptual model and subsequent numerical modeling simulations. The modeling simulations, coupled with upstream designs of the pipeline and power plant, supported the development of a detailed design that included the injection wells and associated control and monitoring infrastructure. The Alliance used all of these data to develop the required documentation to support the applications for four underground injection control (UIC) permits (one for each proposed well). In August 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued four, first-of-their-kind, Class VI UIC permits for carbon sequestration in the United States to the Alliance. This equated to one permit per planned injection well. The information and data generated under this project have been made publicly available through reports and publications, including this journal and others.

Linear Global Temperature Correlation to Carbon Dioxide Level, Sea Level, and Innovative Solutions to a Projected 6°C Warming by 2100

“…FutureGen Industrial Alliance, Inc. also has conducted a five-year CCS project of injecting 1.1 million metric tons (tonnes) of carbon dioxide into stratographic boreholes each year from coal burning power plants. The boreholes are deep saline formations suitable for carbon sequestration so a long-term conversion into inert carbonate rock is found to be accomplished (Gilmore et al, 2016).…”

Simulation of carbon dioxide injection at the FutureGen2.0 site: Class VI permit model and local sensitivity analysis

“…Characterization of the site was based on regional geologic information along with data from regional boreholes and a stratigraphic well drilled at the site. These data were used to generate a 161 km × 161 km (100 mi × 100-mi) geologic model for the site representing the major stratigraphic units and their regional dip of approximately 0.25 degrees in the east-southeast direction (Gilmore et al, 2016). The depths and thickness of major geological formation were determined by the knowledge of regional geology.…”

“…Nevertheless, the residual saturation of MtSimon 11 affects the total pore volume for the transport of the liquids, a larger value meaning less available pore space for the transport of brine and CO 2 and hence a reduced injectivity. It is noted that some of the residual water near the injection well is expected to be evaporated during the CO 2 injection process but the dry-out zone is expected to be very small and reside near the injection wells (Zhang et al, 2016). It is of interest to note that six (except the temperature gradient) out of the seven initial condition inputs (Table 6) were among the top 15.…”

“…Most models assume the relative permeability to be zero for S w  S rw . Zhang et al (2016) presented a relative permeability model for multiphase flow for oven-dry to full saturation conditions. This model treats the residual water to be mobile and appears to simulate CO 2 injection and the subsequent processes (e.g., the dry-out of brine and salt precipitation) more accurately than the classical models.…”

“…Under the terms of a cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE), the FutureGen Industrial Alliance (Alliance) was responsible for locating a suitable site, and executing the design, construction and operation of the FutureGen 2.0 CO 2 Pipeline and Storage Project. The primary objective of the project was to site, design, construct, and operate a pipeline and storage reservoir to be fully integrated with the FutureGen 2.0 Oxy-Combustion Large Scale Project, with sufficient capacity to transport, and sequester up to 1.1 million metric tons (MMT) per year of scCO 2 into the Mt Simon Sandstone for a duration of 20 years, resulting in storage of a total of 22 MMT scCO 2 (Gilmore et al, 2016;Vermeul et al, 2016). Site characterization indicated the presence of a relatively thin, high-permeability injection interval within the Mt.…”