Managing Emissions from

Fossil Energy Resources

Klaus S. Lackner

Columbia University

March 6th, 2009

Must provide low cost, plentiful and clean energy for all

Energy is central to all other endeavors

Energy overcomes other sustainability limits

Sustainable energy development is not about limiting access

Energy

Food Water Minerals

Environment

Fossil Fuels Are Plentiful

• Coal resources alone could be 3000 to 5000 Gt of carbon– Compared with 300 Gt carbon consumed

since the year 1800

– Compared with annual production of 7 Gt per year of fossil carbon

• Beware of the debate on resource vs. proven reserve

Curve fitting of past production does not make the known

resources go away

Refining

Carbon

Diesel

Coal

Shale

Fossil fuels are fungible

Tar

Oil

NaturalGas

Jet Fuel

Heat

Electricity

Ethanol

Methanol

DME

Hydrogen

SynthesisGas

Growth in Energy Consumption

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 2090 2100

Year

Fra

cti

on

al

Ch

an

ge

Constant Growth 1.6% Plus Population Growth to 10 billion Closing the Gap at 2%

Energy intensity drop 1%/yr Energy Intensity drop 1.5%/yr Energy Intensity drop 2% per year

Constant per capita growth

Plus Population Growth

Closing the Gap

1% energy intensity reduction

1.5% energy intensity reduction

2.0% energy intensity reduction

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1900 2000 2100 2200

Continued

Exponential

Growth

Constant

Emissions

after 2010

100%

of 2010 rate

33%

10%

0%Preindustrial Level

280 ppm

Hazardous Level

450 ppm

Stabilize CO2 concentration not CO2 emissionsCO

2(p

pm

)

year

A Triad of Large Scale Options

• Solar

– Cost reduction and mass-manufacture

• Nuclear

– Cost, waste, safety and security

• Fossil Energy

– Zero emission, carbon storage and interconvertibility

Efficiency, conservation and alternative energy will help, but not solve the problem

Small Energy Resources

• Hydro-electricity– Cheap but limited

• Biomass– Sun and land limited, severe competition with food

• Wind– Stopping the air over Colorado every day?

• Geothermal– Geographically limited

• Tides, Waves & Ocean Currents– Less than human energy generation

For every ton of carbon extracted from under the groundanother ton of carbon

must be returned

Schematic diagram of possible CCS systems

SRCCS Figure TS-1

Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 + 3CO2(g) 3MgCO3 + 2SiO2 +2H2O(l)+63kJ/mol CO2

Initially Air Capture is tied to Carbon Dioxide Storage

Dividing The Fossil Carbon Pie

900 Gt C

total

550 ppm

Past

10yr

Removing the Carbon Constraint

5000 Gt C

totalPast

Net Zero Carbon Economy

CO2 from

distributed

emissions

Permanent &

safe

disposal

CO2 from

concentrated

sources

Capture from power

plants, cement, steel,

refineries, etc.

Geological Storage

Mineral carbonate disposal

Capture from air

Net Zero Carbon Economy

CO2 from

distributed

emissions

Permanent &

safe

disposal

CO2 from

concentrated

sources

Capture from power

plants, cement, steel,

refineries, etc.

Geological Storage

Mineral carbonate disposal

Capture from air

Underground Injection

statoil

Rockville Quarry

Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 + 3CO2(g) 3MgCO3 + 2SiO2 +2H2O(l)+63kJ/mol CO2

Belvidere Mountain, Vermont

Serpentine Tailings

Oman Peridotite

Net Zero Carbon Economy

CO2 from

distributed

emissions

Permanent &

safe

disposal

CO2 from

concentrated

sources

Capture from power

plants, cement, steel,

refineries, etc.

Geological Storage

Mineral carbonate disposal

Capture from air

CO2 N2

H2OSOx, NOx and

other Pollutants

Carbon

Air

Zero Emission Principle …

Solid Waste

Power Plant

… leads to advanced power plant designs

C + O2 CO2

no change in mole volume

entropy stays constant

G = H

2H2 + O2 2H2O

large reduction in mole volume

entropy decreases in reactants

made up by heat transfer to surroundings

G < H

Carbon makes a better fuel cell

Boudouard Reaction

PCO2CO2O2-

CO32- CO3

2-CO32- CO3

2-

O2- O2- O2-CO2

Phase I: Solid Oxide

Phase II: Molten Carbonate

CO2 Membrane

Jennifer Wade

High partial

pressure of CO2

Low partial pressure of CO2

Net Zero Carbon Economy

CO2 from

distributed

emissions

Permanent &

safe

disposal

CO2 from

concentrated

sources

Capture from power

plants, cement, steel,

refineries, etc.

Geological Storage

Mineral carbonate disposal

Capture from air

GRT to demonstrate air capture in Tucson

Allen WrightGary Comer

Deliver proof of principle

I helped co-found the company and I am a member of the LLC

The Substitution Principle

• All CO2 is equal

• Combustion and capture cancel out

– No need to co-locate

• Air is a perfect transport system

– Mixing times are fast, weeks to months

• Air is an excellent storage buffer

– Annual emissions are 1% of stored CO2

Air Capture: A Different Paradigm

• Leave existing infrastructure intact

• Retain quality transportation fuels

• Eliminate shipping of CO2

• Open remote sites for CO2 disposal

• Enable fuel recycling with low cost electricity

Separate sources from sinks in space and time

CO2

1 m3of Air40 moles of gas, 1.16 kg

wind speed 6 m/s

0.015 moles of CO2

produced by 10,000 J of

gasoline

2

20 J2

mv

Volumes are drawn to scale

CO2 Capture from Air

Wind area that carries 22 tons of CO2 per year

Wind area that carries 10 kW of wind power

0.2 m2 for CO2

80 m 2

for Wind Energy

How much wind?(6m/sec)

50 cents/ton of CO2

for contacting

Sorbent Choices

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

100 1000 10000 100000

CO2 Partial Pressure (ppm)

Bin

din

g E

ne

rgy

(k

J/m

ole

)

350K

300KAir Power plant

Air Capture is competitive with flue gas scrubbing

• Air contactor is small

• Sorbents regeneration is comparable

Dominant costs are the same for air capture and flue gas scrubbing

15 km3/day of air

As

electricity

producer

the tower

generates

3-4MWe

15 km3/day of air

9,500t of CO2

pass through

the tower

daily.

Half of it

could be

collected

450 MWe

NGCC plant

300m

115m

Cross section

10,000 m2

air fall velocity

~15m/s

Water sprayed into the air at

the top of the tower cools

the air and generates a

downdraft.

Air Extraction can compensate for CO2

emissions anywhere

Art Courtesy Stonehaven CCS, Montreal

2NaOH + CO2 Na2CO3

Single Unit

60m by 50m3kg of CO2 per second90,000 tons per year4,000 people or15,000 cars

Would feed EOR for 800 barrels a day.

250,000 units for worldwide CO2

emissions

GRT’s Vision

Small factory produced units can be packed into a standard 40 foot

shipping container

A First Attempt

Air contactor:2Na(OH) + CO2 Na2 CO3

Calciner:CaCO3CaO+CO2

Ion exchanger:

Na2CO3 + Ca(OH)2

2Na(OH) + CaCO3

250 kJ/mol of CO2

Choice of Sorbent• Calcium Hydroxide

• Sodium Hydroxide

• Weak Base vs. Strong Base

• Catalysis (aqueous limits)

Solids vs. Liquids

A matter of surface area

Anionic Ion Exchange Resin

• Basic carbonate chemistry on resin surface– CO3

-- + CO2 + H2O 2HCO3-

(Carbonate Bicarbonate)

• Ion exchange resin provides:– Positive countercharge (like Na+ in sodium carbonate)

– Plenty of hydrophilic surfaces for water

– Easy diffusion paths for bicarbonate into the volume

– Faster reaction than sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate

– Improved equilibrium conditions• Bicarbonate is stable in the presence of ambient air

Collector chemistry is analogous to that of

a sodium carbonate solution

Air Capture: Collection & Regeneration

Courtesy GRT

Synthetic Tree

Options for Regeneration

• Pressure Swing

• Thermal Swing

• Water Swing

– Liquid water – wet water swing

– Water vapor – humidity swing

• Carbonate wash is a water swing

– With CO2 transfer

– Salt splitter for CO2 recovery

Collection and Regeneration

Collection• Wind or air current carries

CO2 to collector

• CO2 binds to surface on ion exchange sorbent materials

Moisture Driven Regeneration

• CO2 is recovered with:○ liquid water wash

○ or carbonate solution wash

○ or low-temperature water vapor

○ plus optional low grade heat

• Regenerated sorbent is reused many times over

Novel Regenerator Chemistry

Water changes the structure of the resin, releasing excess CO2

and reverting from bicarbonate to carbonate

Low absolute humidityin ambient air

High absolute humidityair has been removed

Resin collects CO2

Carbonate Bicarbonate

Bicarbonate Carbonate

REGENERATOR BOX COMPRESSION TRAIN

Water vapor condenses under compression(< 2.5 kJ/mol of CO2)

CO2 is compressed to liquid (22 kJ/mol of CO2)

Heat release is harnessed (40 kJ/mol)

AirCO2

+H2O

COLLECTOR

Resin releases CO2

Air Capture: Collection & Regeneration

Courtesy GRT

Synthetic Tree

CO2 polishing and storage

Vacuum System – Regenerator Train

Air collectorconveyor system

Air Collector

Compression Train

Pump

Power Plant

Air – 75 kg/s Air – 75 kg/s

385 ppm CO2 280 ppm CO2

Resin Filters

Resin Filters residual air

0.0 – 3.5 g/s of CO2

Re-emitted

11.5 g/s

of CO2

6 – 12 g/s

of H2O

5 kW of low grade heat

10 kPaH2O + CO2

Total Electricity

< 12 kW

Brackish Water ~ 100 g/s

8 kW< 1 kW

< 1 kW

2 kW

< 1 kW

CO2

H2O

One ton per day unit

The Carbon, Energy and Water Balance

Eliminated all theoretical roadblocksEngineering will minimize remaining inefficiencies

– Energy used in sorbent regeneration and CO2 compression

– Electric energy consumption is less than 50 kJ per mole of CO2 in contrast to the combustion energy of gasoline at 700 kJ per mole of CO2 produced

○ Process-related emissions dominate over indirect life cycle emissions

○ Input water can be dirty or salty

○ Output water is clean and fresh

○ 5 – 15 tons of water per ton of CO2

(corn: 1000 tons of water per ton on a life cycle basis)

○ Relatively clean energy sources allow units to operate with extreme carbon efficiency

○ Even coal plants generating enough power for a unit to capture 1 ton of CO2 would emit at most 0.3 tons of CO2

Carbonate Wash:high water penaltyhigh energy penalty

Water Wash:high water penaltyvery low energy penalty

Water Vapor Swing:low water penaltylow energy penalty

Indirect emissions during construction are negligible

Carbon balance of GRT technology is positive with

any source of electricity

Energy consumption of all GRT processes is small

GRT uses water as a cheap substitute for energy

The evolution of GRT’s technologies

Collecting CO2 with Synthetic Trees

Development Future PlansPrototypes

CO2 Market Consumers

Market Basis

Addressable Share %

Price Point $/ton CO2

Annual Prodn. Mt CO2

Market Size

M$/yr

Horticulture/Greenhouses Glasshouse (world) 40,000ha 10% 100-200 1.2 200 Plastic (world) 1.5 Mha 1% 100-200 4.5 600

Merchant CO2 US 8Mt/yr 10% 100-300 0.8 200

World 30Mt/yr 10% 100-300 3.0 1,000

Enhanced Oil Recovery Current Use 44 Mt/yr 1% 20-50 0.4 20 World Oil 90Mbbl/day 3% 50-200 136 10,000

CO2 Reductions

14 Wedges 1Gt CO2/yr2 7%* 30-50 14 Wedges in 2015 10Gt CO2/yr 7%* 30-50 700 35,000

Applications for Air Capture

20552005

14

7

Billion of Tons of

Carbon Emitted / Year

1955

0

Currently

pro

jecte

d path

Flat path

Historical

emissions

1.9

14 Gt

7 Gt

Seven “wedges”

20552005

14

7

Billion of Tons of

Carbon Emitted / Year

1955

0

Currently

pro

jecte

d path

Flat path

Historical

emissions

1.9

14 Gt

7 Gt

Seven “wedges”

Pacala & Socolow

Falling prices create a rapidly growing market for CO2

even before there is a climate-based carbon price

* 7% represents one wedge

Socolow 2004

CO2 Market Consumers

Market Basis

Addressable Share %

Price Point $/ton CO2

Annual Prodn. Mt CO2

Market Size

M$/yr

Horticulture/Greenhouses Glasshouse (world) 40,000ha 10% 100-200 1.2 200 Plastic (world) 1.5 Mha 1% 100-200 4.5 600

Merchant CO2 US 8Mt/yr 10% 100-300 0.8 200

World 30Mt/yr 10% 100-300 3.0 1,000

Enhanced Oil Recovery Current Use 44 Mt/yr 1% 20-50 0.4 20 World Oil 90Mbbl/day 3% 50-200 136 10,000

CO2 Reductions

14 Wedges 1Gt CO2/yr2 7%* 30-50 14 Wedges in 2015 10Gt CO2/yr 7%* 30-50 700 35,000

Hydrogen or Air Extraction?

Coal,Gas Fossil Fuel Oil

Hydrogen Gasoline

Consumption Consumption

Distribution Distribution

CO2 Transport Air Extraction

CO2 Disposal

Cost comparisons

EnergySource

EnergyConsumer

H2O H2O

O2

O2

H2

CO2

CO2

H2 CH2

Materially Closed Energy Cycles

The Next Step

Air Capture Economics

Launch: Single Mobile Units• Unit cost: ~$200k / unit

• Operating Costs*: ~$125 / ton of CO2

• CO2 Delivery Price: ~$250 / ton of CO2

• CO2 Output: ~ 1 ton / day / unit

• Units are mass-manufactured

• Delivered in standard shipping containers

Maturity: Air Capture Parks• Unit cost: < $20k / unit

• Operating Costs*: < $20 / ton of CO2

• CO2 Delivery Price: ~ $30 / ton of CO2

• CO2 Output: ~ 1-3 tons / day / unit

• Range of collector styles, recovery systems

* Operating costs include all electrical, water, labor and material inputs

Cost Items Cost Impacts

Raw materials Low

Energy Low

Manufacturing High

Maintenance High

CO2 Storage Initially None

Ongoing R&D and learning-by-doing drive cost reductions in manufacture of ACCESS™ Units

Private SectorCarbon Extraction

Carbon

Sequestration

Farming, Manufacturing, Service,

etc.

Certified Carbon Accounting

certificates

certification

Public Institutionsand Government

Carbon Board

guidance

Spot the low cost power plant

Computers

Cray supercomputer (from NASA)

ElectrodialysisBipolar

membrane

Cl-Na+

H+ OH-

Cl-Na+ Cl-Na+

H+ OH- H+ OH-

base

salt salt salt

acidbase acidacid

Bipolar membrane

cationic anionic membrane

anionic membrane

cationic anionic membrane

ElectrodialysisBipolar

membrane

Na+

H+ OH-

Na+ Na+

H+ OH-

basebaseweakacid

Bipolar membrane

cationic membrane

cationic membrane

cationic membrane

weakacid

CO2 CO2 CO2