review of major non-power-related carbon dioxide stream compositions

• Published in: Environmental earth sciences 2015-07, Vol.74 (2), p.1189-1198
• Main Authors: Last, George V, Schmick, Mary T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: air; Biogeosciences; carbon; Carbon dioxide; Carbon sequestration; cement; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Environmental Science and Engineering; Exhaust emissions; feedstocks; Fossil fuels; Geochemistry; Geology; heat; Hydrology/Water Resources; iron; Karst; Mineralogy; Natural gas; nitrogen; Original Article; oxygen; Portland cement; Power plants; risk; steam; steel; Storage reservoirs; streams; Studies; Sulfur dioxide; surface tension; Terrestrial Pollution; viscosity
• ISSN: 1866-6280; 1866-6299
• DOI: 10.1007/s12665-015-4105-4

A critical component in the assessment of long-term risk from geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the ability to predict mineralogical and geochemical changes within storage reservoirs as a result of rock-brine-CO₂ reactions. Impurities and/or other constituents in CO₂ source streams selected for sequestration can affect both the chemical and physical (e.g., density, viscosity, interfacial tension) properties of CO₂ in the deep subsurface. The nature and concentrations of these impurities are a function of both the industrial source(s) of CO₂, as well as the carbon capture technology used to extract the CO₂ and produce a concentrated stream for subsurface injection and geologic sequestration. Most work on CO₂ capture, utilization, and storage has been focused on large fossil-fuel-fired power plants. This article reviews the relative concentrations of CO₂ and other constituents in exhaust gases from other major non-power-related industrial point sources. Assuming that carbon capture technology would remove most of the air (i.e., incondensable gases N₂, O₂, and Ar) from the exhaust gases, the authors summarize the relative proportions of SO₂, NOₓ and other remaining impurities expected to still be present in non-power-related CO₂ source streams that could be targeted for geologic sequestration. The summary is presented relative to the four largest non-power-related sources of CO₂: (1) use of fossil fuels as carbon feedstock, (2) iron, steel, and metallurgical coke production, (3) lime and Portland cement production, and (4) natural gas processing and industrial heat/steam generation.