CO2 Sequestration, Values & Markets

by Sam A. Rushing (Advanced Cryogenics/Biofuels Digest) ... The Summit Energy pipeline has been slated to receive CO2 by-product from up to 57 ethanol plants in the 5-state Midwest region is one excellent solution to help tame the CO2 beast; along with smaller ventures, such as the Tallgrass pipeline carrying CO2 from places such as Nebraska and Iowa, and sequestering into Wyoming. With respect to Summit, numerous challenges lie ahead, starting with several states resisting or banning eminent domain, including South Dakota. Further Many legal challenges are underway, along with public opposition – surrounding safety, environmental impact, and the use of eminent domain. There is also regularity uncertainty, such as permit denials, and challenges with complex and shifting regulatory landscapes in multiple states. Therefore, the estimated pipeline completion has been pushed back up to about 2027; and may modify sequestration destinations and pipeline routing – not to mention public hearings in several states with pending permits continuing. Given all of this, Summit may never be completed as originally thought.

To Sequester or sell into the merchant market is one challenge, if the ethanol or other industrial CO2 emitting operation is not already attached to a CO2 plant in some form. Further to this subject, when considering 45Q tax credits, the broad definition for such credits represent $85/metric ton, from industrial and power generation facilities, generally defined as secure geological storage; similar to what the pipelines are doing, or trying to do.

The $85/metric ton value would also apply to other sequestration destinations such as advanced fuels, chemicals and building materials. One such destination would be methanol production. The value for sequestering from DAC ( direct air capture) , is valued at $180/metric ton; however, this process is an outlier, given its place in the CO2 sourcing industry, and is virtually unaffordable in most markets. Then another form of geological sequestration, essentially a recycling of CO2, is EOR (enhanced oil recovery). Recycling in this process is essentially sweeping oil from the small cracks and crevices in the well, as an ongoing process, generally running for many years – and sometimes decades; and adding more CO2 as the process continues. Such CO2 is ultimately sequestered. I had one such EOR project in West Texas recently from a restarted ethanol plant, 500 TPD of CO2 going to EOR; such is an excellent example of this application.

Within the 50% approximate value for food processing, this includes dry ice pressing and utilization; where most of this product is used in the food industry for temperature containment, and reduction of heat generated in the process of grinding and blending various food products, primarily all forms of meat, seafood, and poultry. Then the other uses for CO2 in this sector are cryogenic freezing of a very wide range of food products from more expensive fruits and vegetables such as berries, to all types of meat related products, whether this is IQF (individually quick frozen), or frozen as a convenient meal.

There is also the stunning of cattle & poultry, making it more humaine to further process into edible products. Then, purging of oxygen from packaged food products with CO2, sometimes mixed with another gas, will provide improved appearance and freshness of many food products.

On the industrial side of the merchant applications for CO2, this sector ranges from metallurgical uses – such as liquid CO2 used as a stirring agent in molten metals in steel mills; as well as uses to cool sand cores in foundries, then uses as a shield gas in welding operations; among other uses. READ MORE