Vattenfall and Carbon Capture and Storage
Carbon Capture and Storage - CCS - is the method of capturing carbon dioxide from flue gas, compressing it into liquid form and storing it deep underground in suitable geological formations.
The world is currently dependent on the use of fossil fuels for its energy supply. This will continue to be the case in the foreseeable future. The development of alternative energy sources will take time, but emissions from fossil fuels need to be drastically reduced already. CCS is a plausible concept that can help achieve a sharp reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fired power plants. It can support the transition to a long-term sustainable energy system and be one step on the way to fossil fuel independence.
CCS – a necessity to halt the greenhouse effect
Vattenfall’s plans for demonstration plants
CCS – a necessity to halt the greenhouse effect
Climate change, a result of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, is the overriding environmental challenge of our time. Vattenfall uses fossil fuels in some plants and we therefore have a responsibility to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions. We also see it as our responsibility to take initiatives, to be a driver of development and lead the way for others. CCS will enable us to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while continuing to use fossil fuels, something that will still be necessary for a long time to come. CCS will work as a temporary solution that buys us the time we need to develop a sustainable energy system in the future. We say that CCS is a way of “bridging to the future”. We need CCS technology if we are to start reducing the ever-growing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and thereby counteracting the greenhouse effect.
Vattenfall’s CCS project
CCS is a part of the solution to the world’s problems with increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Vattenfall has ventured into the development of CCS technologies in order to make it possible to take a large step towards reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Since 2001, Vattenfall has been working on developing methods for capturing CO2 from large coal-fired power plants and storing it underground. We work to develop safe, cost-efficient and viable technologies that can contribute to drastic reductions of CO2-emissions. This work includes all parts of the chain – capture, transport and storage. Another important part of the project is to identify and assess the environmental impact that capture, transport and storage of CO2 entails.
Capture
There are three main technology options for capturing the CO2 produced in large power plants.
- Oxyfuel combustion, where CO2 is practically the only product following combustion in almost pure oxygen and recycled flue gas, instead of air.
- Postcombustion, where CO2 is washed from the flue gas after conventional combustion.
- Precombustion, where a gasification process removes the carbon from the fuel before the resulting hydrogen gas H2 is combusted.
Transport
A functional infrastructure for transporting carbon dioxide is the key component that ties the capture at power plants together with storage at suitable sites. One single 1 600 MW lignite-fired power plant, like our power plant in Schwarze Pumpe, produces around 10 million tonnes of CO2 each year. Transports through pipelines or by ship are the most suitable alternatives for such large amounts of CO2.
Storage
In many parts of the world, natural carbon dioxide is found in geological formations where it has been trapped in sedimentary rock types in much the same way as oil and gas. The intention is to make the conditions for geological storage resemble the conditions in these natural CO2 storage sites.
Depleted oil and gas fields have demonstrated an ability to hold oil and gas over millions of years. They have great potential to function as long-term storage sites for CO2. Another alternative is to inject CO2 into active oil and gas fields to enhance the recovery of oil and gas.
There are also geological formations that are filled with salty water that can be suitable as storage sites. CO2 partially dissolves in the water and can in some cases slowly react with minerals and form carbonates.
Regardless of the option that is selected, the storage site will be covered with an impermeable layer of rock, known as cap rock, that prevents leakage. When the storage site has been filled, it will be permanently sealed and put under constant surveillance.
Pilot plant in Schwarze Pumpe
In Schwarze Pumpe, Germany, we have built a pilot plant connected to one of our lignite-fired power plants. The purpose of the pilot plant is to validate and improve the technology relating to the Oxyfuel method of capturing CO2. So far, this technology has only been tested on a smaller scale. During the summer of 2008, we have begun performing tests in Schwarze Pumpe. A wide range of tests will be performed at the pilot plant during a first test period of three years. The concentrated carbon dioxide from the pilot plant will be injected for permanent storage in a gas field in Altmark in northern Germany.
Vattenfall’s plans for demonstration plants
A demonstration plant is the link between the pilot plant and a fully-developed commercial concept. In the pilot plant, the technology itself and the process will be validated, whereas in a demonstration plant the commercial abilities of the technology will be proven. Initial studies for demonstration plants have already begun within the Vattenfall Group and two sites have been chosen so far. In northern Denmark, we are investigating the possibility of storing CO2 at the Vedsted structure, a geological reservoir between one and two kilometres below the Earth’s surface. If the site proves suitable for CO2 storage, the Nordjylland Power Station will be equipped with a full-scale unit for CO2 capture using Postcombustion. The carbon dioxide will be transported through a pipeline across the 30 kilometres between the plant and the storage site. The CCS demonstration plant at Nordjylland Power Station could be ready and operational by 2013. In Germany, we will turn the Jänschwalde power plant into a demonstration plant. Parts of the existing plant will be equipped with units for CO2 capture and we are currently investigating the possibilities of implementing both Oxyfuel and Postcombustion technology at Jänschwalde. It has not yet been decided where the captured carbon dioxide is to be stored. This demonstration plant can be realised by the year 2015.
The goal of our CCS project
ur CCS project aims to provide commercially-available technology for the capture and storage of CO2 by the year 2020. We believe in the CCS technology and consider 2020 to be a fully realistic goal. Our ambition is to be able to capture more than 95 % of the carbon dioxide in the emissions from power plants. To reach our goals, the technology must gain acceptance from the general public. There is also a need for financial and political support and for a legal framework for CO2 storage.
For information on the CCS project, please contact:
Göran Lindgren, Project Manager, Vattenfall’s CCS project
Staffan Görtz, Information contact, Vattenfall’s CCS project
Damian Müller, Press contact for Vattenfall’s CCS project, Germany
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