March 9, 2023: What is CO2 Graveyard? Will this work? Has Denmark found a solution? Why are the environmentalists still unhappy? A mini ReferencePepper!
Denmark inaugurated this week, a project to store carbon dioxide 1,800 metres beneath the Sea. This makes Denmark the first country in the world to do bury CO2 imported from other countries.
What is CO2 Graveyard?
The term "CO2 graveyard" refers to geological formations that can potentially serve as long-term storage sites for carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from industrial processes, such as power plants, in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
These formations can include depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline aquifers, and un mineable coal seams, among others. The idea behind CO2 storage is that by injecting the captured CO2 deep underground, it can be securely stored and prevented from entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
Picture source: https://www.semcomaritime.com/news/design-greensand
This expensive and costly project is in infancy stage and quite a few projects are already either operational or under project stage in Europe.
Where location has Denmark identified for CO2 storage? And why?
The site of an old oil field will be used for imported CO2 storage. The project called the "Greensand" project expects this Graveyard to be able to store up to eight million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.
The North Sea is particularly suitable for this type of project as the region already has pipelines and potential storage sites after decades of oil and gas production.
The Danish subsoil is with its many sandstone formations in the North Sea subsoil well suited for storing CO2. There is actually room enough to store all the CO2 that Danish society has historically emitted - and more. The Danish subsoil is estimated to be able to store the next 500 years of CO2 emissions from Denmark at the current emission level as per the project website.
Picture source: Maersk Drilling
In the pilot project, Project Greensand will investigate the storage potential for liquid CO2 in the reservoir called Nini West. It is located approximately 200 kilometers out in the North Sea. Later, Project Greensand will expand the storage to also include the Nini Main field and subsequently the fields on Siri Fairway.
This corresponds to emissions from approximately more than 13% of Denmark's annual CO2 emissions.
The consortium (an association, typically of several companies) consists of 23 Danish and international partners who contribute with expertise from transportation, storage and monitoring of CO2 in the subsoil.
The consortium's members include everything from Danish and international companies, research institutes, universities, and start-ups. Ineos, a British chemical company and Wintershall Dea, a German company are a couple of notable names leading this Project.
How will the CO2 be imported to Greensland Project?
- CO2 is captured:
CO2 can be captured in many ways. It is most efficient to capture it where there is a large and stable supply of CO2. For example, in large emissions such as industry, energy production or incineration plants, where the CO2 is separated from the smoke.
- CO2 is liquefied:
The captured CO2 is made into liquid. This can be done by heating, compressing, and cooling.
- CO2 is transported:
The liquid CO2 is transported by ship to the storage areas at Siri in the North Sea. In the pilot phase, it will take place in tank-containers from Belgium - while it will be on specially built ships when Project Greensand is fully matured.
- CO2 is stored underground:
Liquid CO2 is sent down into the sandstone reservoir approximately 1800 meters underground via CO2 wells.
- The CO2 storage is monitored:The fields for CO2 storage in the subsoil have been screened over many years and new groundbreaking technologies are being developed for monitoring CO2 storage.
Source: Project Greensland website
Why are the environmentalists still not excited?
While CO2 storage has the potential to be an important part of efforts to address climate change, there are also concerns about potential leakage and other risks associated with long-term storage of large quantities of CO2. As such, any proposed CO2 storage projects must undergo careful evaluation and monitoring to ensure their safety and effectiveness.
According to IEEFA, an Australian think tank, this process to capture and store the CO2 itself emits the equivalent of 21% of the gas captured.
Environmentalists believe that norms and education to reducing carbon emission should be enforced and promoted instead of finding ways to bury the CO2 produced.
Reducing is a more sustainable and long term solution than burying.
"It doesn't fix the problem and prolongs the structures that are harmful," said Helene Hage, Head of the Climate and Environmental Policy at Greenpeace Denmark.
"The method is not changing our deadly habits. If Denmark really wants to reduce its emissions it should look into the sectors that are producing a lot of them," she said, singling out sectors such as agriculture and transportation.