Canada's CO₂ Capture and Storage TRM 
Technology Pathways: Section Summary

Each component of CCS (capture, transport and storage) has specific R&D needs and requirements, but ultimately a complete and integrated system needs to be developed, and therefore, the larger systems view cannot be overlooked.

A number of technologies are being studied for capture and compression in post-combustion, pre-combustion, oxy-fuel combustion and industrial process systems. The specific technologies include absorption, adsorption, membranes and cryogenics. Each technology is being researched with specific systems applications in mind, and there is no single solution being proposed for all applications. Some technologies are at a more advanced state today and are commercially proven, but this doesn't necessarily guarantee their future role in CCS.

Capture and compression is the most costly component of CCS today, and ranges from (CDN) $50 to $70/tCO₂ captured for post-combustion systems, (CDN) $20 to $50/tCO₂ captured for pre-combustion, and (CDN) $13 to $80/tCO₂ captured for oxy-fuel combustion. Again, the actual cost of each option is likely to be nearer the bottom end of these ranges (as noted previously). However, capture also has the greatest potential for future cost reductions, which may range from 25 to 30 percent by 2025 (specific components may experience 50 percent cost reductions).

CO₂ is easiest to transport in its dense phase whether by pipeline or tanker. Pipelines already transport CO₂ today using technology and expertise from existing energy pipeline industries. Tankers can be used for land or ocean transport, with the latter enabling the movement of CO₂ from large source opportunities in China, India and the E.U. to storage sites in Russia, the Middle East and elsewhere.

Transportation is less costly than capture at (CDN) $6 per tonne CO₂ for every 650 kilometres transported in a common carrier network with a capacity of 14.5 MtCO₂e/yr, with much of the cost going to upfront capital investment. The transportation component involves relatively mature technology and the potential for cost reductions are low. However, economies of scale are important, and if mass transportation is needed, a large-diameter CO₂ pipeline (or backbone) with many lateral lines would be most economic.

Although storage is the last step in the CCS process it is the first component to be considered, primarily because it is only necessary to capture as much CO₂ as can actually be stored. A number of natural mechanisms are used to store CO₂ in geological formations, including volumetric trapping, residual trapping, solution trapping, mineralization and adsorption. Spanning these possible mechanisms, two categories of geological storage have been identified: value-added and non-value-added opportunities. Value-added opportunities include CO₂-EOR, CO₂-ENGR, CO₂-ECBM and temporary storage, as well as smaller niche opportunities in Canada like acid gas injection and gas over bitumen. Non-value-added options include storage in depleted oil and gas fields and in deep saline aquifers.

Storage is often the least costly component of the CCS system and is estimated to range from (CDN) $3 to $9/tCO₂ captured in Canada. Monitoring costs associated with storage may constitute an additional (USD) $0.1 to $0.3/tCO₂ avoided (note, the distinction between captured and avoided cost was addressed in The Challenges: An Issues Scan). In many of the value-added situations there may even be an economic advantage to storage. The potential for future cost reductions in storage are quite low.

Wide ranging costs are associated with each activity, which is a result of the site specific characteristics in each capture facility, transportation route or storage site. All of these costs should reduce over time, as experience and learning is gained with the technology, and as economies of scale materialize. Economies of scale are a strong force in driving down the cost of large capital investments, especially investments in shared (or common) infrastructure, such as an emissions hub gathering system, a large-diameter backbone pipeline, or distribution systems for multiple storage sites in one local region. However, CCS infrastructure and systems require massive upfront capital investments and it may take a strong CO₂ price signal for such development to begin. The IPCC suggests a price of (USD) $25 to 30/tCO₂ would be sufficient to initiate CCS development around the world (IPCC, 2005).

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