Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Impact of Carbon Capture and Sequestration on Water Demand


Impact of Carbon Capture and Sequestration on Water Demand for Existing &
Future Power Plants

Not only does Carbon Capture and Sequestration use more COAL - it also uses MORE of our most precious resource - WATER! You will want to click on the link below to read the full article and look at their example of the amount of water used.



"Impacts of Operation on Water:

Capture & Compression: Increased power consumption for capture and compression directly reduces the facility power output -- results in increased water consumption above that for a similar facility without capture

Pipeline Transport: Pumping power required to boost carbon dioxide pressure during pipeline transport to maintain supercritical conditions further diminishes power generation facility output -- results in increased water consumption

Underground Injection: Additional power may be required for injection operations -- indirectly increases water consumption; water may be produced by sequestration operations which displace reservoir fluids"

"Conclusions

• Extreme variability exists in water production rates associated with geological sequestration operations

- The viability of potential sequestration locations requires assessment of the geological features of each specific site

• In some cases, water production during sequestration activities can be greater than water consumption during power generation and carbon capture

- Water generated during sequestration is often re-injected into a reservoir to aid continued oil/gas production

- Water produced during sequestration activities may require extensive remediation to make it potable or acceptable for agricultural uses

• Water production/usage during sequestration operations can dramatically effect the economic"

Click here to read the entire article