Why is CO2 sequestration of interest to the coke, coal and steel industries?

25 October 2011

Maria Mastalerz, Ph.D., Indiana Geological Survey for Indiana University will be speaking on CO2 Sequestration in Geologic Formations; Implications for Coke and Steel Making at the Met Coke World Summit 2011. She provided us with an interview preview of her talk:

Why is CO2 sequestration of interest to the coke, coal and steel industries?

Emissions of CO2 from large volume, point sources are of great concern because of their contribution to climate change. The iron and steel industry emits significant amounts of CO2 so like the coal-based electrical generation industries, they are being targeted for reductions of emissions by the EPA. Geological sequestration of CO2 offers a potential solution to mitigate these emissions in a safe and manageable manner.

How would you describe these technologies? Are they costly?

The combination of technologies that comprise the carbon capture and storage system (CCS) are complex and potentially very costly. As observed in the both the IPCC and the MIT reports on CCS, the preponderance of the costs will lie in the capture portion of the process. The technologies associated with compression, transportation, injection and reservoir management in the deep subsurface geological environment are all less costly and more proven. The challenge of separating and concentrating a pure stream of CO2 out of a flue gas stream is a difficult and expensive challenge being actively explored by numerous process engineering firms worldwide.

Are there any role models for the industry (i.e., steel, coke or coal companies currently practicing CO2 sequestration activities)?

Models of the activities associated with the assessment and implementation of these emission control technologies include the strategies that the electrical utilities used when retrofitting their generation facilities with air pollution control technologies. These included technologies to capture particulate matter, SOX and NOX from waste gas streams. How these various technologies evolved, including how research, engineering design and operational practices all contributed to their deployment all have lessons on how CCS systems could be implemented by the industries. In addition to the engineering and technological sides of implementation, there are clearly models of how the implementation of these practices interacted with the regulatory community.

Is there any U.S. legislation on the horizon that could drive the adoption of CO2 sequestration technologies / processes?

Although efforts in the Congress to pass CO2 emission legislation did not take place in the last session, the EPA is moving ahead with controlling CO2 emissions under aspects of the existing statutes associated with the Clean Air Act. Additionally, recently promulgated rules under the Safe Drinking Water Act have created a regulatory environment for the controls on injection and containment in the subsurface of CO2 under the Underground Injection Control program. Also, numerous states are considering and implementing renewable energy portfolios and other statutes that will ultimately place a value on carbon and create incentives to reduce the amount of CO2 that is emitted.