Stéphane Thomas, head of the capture-transportation-storage project
He offers a peek at a far-reaching project.
Claye-Souilly Plant
CO2: 2 pilot projects moving into a concrete phase
After an exploratory phase, Veolia Environment has consolidated its partnerships and begun two pilot operations intended to combine several research programs.
The first operation aims to recover CO2 from the smoke produced by an industrial waste incinerator in order to recycle it.
The second involves capturing CO2 from the smoke produced by a thermal heat plant and storing it in a geological reservoir.
Stéphane Thomas, head of the capture-transportation-storage project, offers a peek at this far-reaching project.
CO2 storage : a important research and development challenge
Since 2005, Veolia Environnement has initiated a research program on the capture, transportation, storage and recovery of CO2.
Which capture technique did you choose?
"We concentrated on CO2 capture techniques that could be adapted to Veolia Environment's various installations of all sizes in both the waste management and energy sectors. We first looked to post-combustion capture techniques that we could adapt to existing installations. We chose capture via a chemical process that uses improved amines, along with a gas cooling process. The first pilots are serving as laboratory tests to get us close to actual conditions. They will be used for various research programs."
How will the CO2 captured from the waste incinerator smoke be reused?
"It will be reused in the manufacturing process of a nearby chemical industry. The recovered CO2 can be substituted for industrial gases that are supplied by other operators. This is one example of the opportunities for recycling that can be taken advantage of everywhere the group runs small plants. Still, it's a niche. The key in limiting CO2 emissions is to find viable storage solutions."
Which storage solution are you focusing your research efforts on?
"After examining several solutions for storage abroad, including depleted former gas reservoirs and coal mines that are not being worked, we looked for geological structures that now recognized as a possible planetary reservoir for CO2: saline aquifers. At 2,000 feet deep, they provide optimal conditions to contain the CO2. We identified a site in the Ile-de-France region that could serve as a geological reservoir, Claye-Souilly, where our program will reproduce the complete capture-transportation-storage chain with CO2 emitted by a thermal heat plant fueled with waste. Our objective is to have the entire system operating by 2014 according to a yet-to-be-confirmed scale."
What precautions are taken before launching a life-size test like this one?
"The techniques for re-injecting CO2 into the subsurface have been in practice for a good twenty years now in the hydrocarbon production sector. For example, to sell their natural gas on the European market, Norwegian and Algerian producers must reduce its CO2 content. The CO2 collected through this process is stored in geological reservoirs. We drew on these practices for inspiration. We also brought in experts, geologists and specialists in storage engineering to run technical feasibility studies. The preliminary feasibility study concluded that it was possible to store CO2 in the Parisian basin under certain conditions. The feasibility study, which is currently underway, takes into account all potential risks in terms of the subsurface, its structure and its other uses. For example, it is verified that the saline aquifer layers are indeed watertight and do not communicate with the neighboring aquifers, including superficial ones used to produce potable water. In total, the preliminary feasibility of the project will have been studied for a year and a half. This group of experts is also responsible for making proposals as to how we will use the reservoir (its proportions, speed of injection, etc.).
If their positive conclusions are confirmed, we will develop our storage observation program to verify that the operation is in fact being carried out under the conditions previously modeled with a long-term time scale in mind."
