Sustainable Energy Options: Maintaining access to abundant fossil fuels Klaus S. Lackner Columbia University November 2007

Sustainable Energy Options:

Maintaining access to abundant fossil fuels

Klaus S. Lackner

Columbia University

November 2007

Sustainable energy development is not about limiting access to energy

• low cost, plentiful, and clean energy for all• Energy is central to sustainable growth• Energy can overcome all other limits

Environment

MineralsWater

Food

Energy

0.01

0.1

1

10

100

100 1000 10000 100000

GDP ($/person/year)

Pri

ma

ry E

ne

rgy

Co

ns

um

pti

on

(k

W/p

ers

on

)

Norway USA France UK

Brazil

Russia

India

China

$0.38/kWh (primary)

Energy, Wealth, Economic Growth

EIA Data 2002

IPCC Model Simulations of CO2 Emissions

Growth in Energy Consumption

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 2090 2100

Year

Fra

cti

on

al

Ch

an

ge

Constant Growth 1.6% Plus Population Growth to 10 billion Closing the Gap at 2%

Energy intensity drop 1%/yr Energy Intensity drop 1.5%/yr Energy Intensity drop 2% per year

Constant per capita growth

Plus Population Growth

Closing the Gap

1% energy intensity reduction

1.5% energy intensity reduction

2.0% energy intensity reduction

Carbon as a Low-Cost Source of Energy

H.H. Rogner, 1997

Lift

ing

Cost

Cumulative Gt of Carbon Consumed

US1990$ per barrel of oil equivalent

Cumulative

Carbon

Consumption as

of1997

Refining

Carbon

Diesel

Coal

Shale

Fossil fuels are fungible

Tar

Oil

NaturalGas

Jet Fuel

Heat

Electricity

Ethanol

Methanol

DME

Hydrogen

SynthesisGas

The Challenge:Holding the Stock of CO2 constant

Constant emissions at 2010

rate

33% of 2010 rate

10% of 2010 rate

0% of 2010 rate

Extension of Historic

Growth Rates

450 ppm

280 ppm

The Mismatch in Carbon Sources and Sinks

43

1

2

5

1800-

2000

Fossil Carbon Consumption to

date

180ppmincrease in

the air 30% ofthe Oceanacidified

30% increase inSoil Carbon

50%increase

inbiomass

A Triad of Large Scale Options

• Solar– Cost reduction and mass-manufacture

• Nuclear– Cost, waste, safety and security

• Fossil Energy– Zero emission, carbon storage and

interconvertibility

Markets will drive efficiency, conservation and alternative energy

Small Energy Resources

• Hydro-electricity– Cheap but limited

• Biomass– Sun and land limited, severe competition with

food

• Wind– Stopping the air over Colorado every day?

• Geothermal– Geographically limited

• Tides, Waves & Ocean Currents– Less than human energy generation

Net Zero Carbon EconomyNet Zero Carbon Economy

CO2 from distributed emissions

Permanent & safe disposal

CO2 from concentrated

sources

Capture from power plants, cement, steel,

refineries, etc.

Geological Storage Mineral carbonate disposal

Capture from air

Dividing The Fossil Carbon Pie

900 Gt C

total

550 ppm

Past

10yr

Removing the Carbon Constraint

5000 Gt C

totalPast



Permanent & safe

disposal

CO2 from concentrated sources

Capture from power plants, cement,

steel, refineries, etc.

Geological Storage Mineral carbonate

disposal

Capture from air

Storage Life Time

5000 Gt of C

200 years at 4 times current rates of emission

Storage

Slow Leak (0.04%/yr)

2 Gt/yr for 2500 years

Current Emissions: 7Gt/year

Underground Injection

statoil

Gravitational TrappingSubocean Floor Disposal

Energy States of Carbon

Carbon

Carbon Dioxide

Carbonate

400 kJ/mole

60...180 kJ/mole

The ground state of carbon is a mineral

carbonate

Rockville Quarry

Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 + 3CO2(g) 3MgCO3 + 2SiO2 +2H2O(l)+63kJ/mol CO2

Bedrock geology GIS datasets – All U.S. (Surface area)120°W130°W

110°W

110°W

100°W

100°W 90°W

90°W

80°W

80°W

70°W

25°N 25°N

30°N 30°N

35°N 35°N

40°N 40°N

45°N 45°N

$0 1,000,000

Meters

Legend

ultramafic rock

67°W

67°W

66°W

66°W

65°W

18°N

18°N19°N

0 140,000

Meters

Puerto Rico

8733 km2

920 km2

166 km2Total = 9820 ±100 km2

Belvidere Mountain, Vermont

Serpentine Tailings

Oman Peridotite





sources

Capture from power plants, cement, steel,

refineries, etc.

Geological Storage Mineral carbonate disposal

Capture from air

Many Different Options

• Flue gas scrubbing– MEA, chilled ammonia

• Oxyfuel Combustion– Naturally zero emission

• Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle– Difficult as zero emission

• AZEP Cycles– Mixed Oxide Membranes

• Fuel Cell Cycles– Solid Oxide Membranes

CO2 N2

H2OSOx, NOx and

other Pollutants

Carbon

Air

Zero Emission Principle

Solid Waste

Power Plant

Steam Reforming

Boudouard Reaction

C + O2 CO2

no change in mole volume

entropy stays constantG = H

2H2 + O2 2H2O

large reduction in mole volumeentropy decreases in reactantsmade up by heat transfer to

surroundings G < H

Carbon makes a better fuel cell

PCO2CO2O2-

CO32- CO3

2-CO32- CO3

2-

O2- O2- O2- CO2Phase I: Solid Oxide

Phase II: Molten Carbonate

CO2 Membrane

Jennifer Wade

High partial

pressure of CO2

Low partial pressure of CO2

CO2

extraction from air



sources


Relative size of a tank

Electrical, mechanical

storage

Batteries etc.

hydrogen

gasoline

Challenge: CO2 in air is dilute

• Energetics limits options– Work done on air must be small

• compared to heat content of carbon• 10,000 J/m3 of air

• No heating, no compression, no cooling

• Low velocity 10m/s (60 J/m3)Solution: Sorbents remove CO2 from

air flow

CO2

1 m3of Air40 moles of gas, 1.16 kg

wind speed 6 m/s

0.015 moles of CO2

produced by 10,000 J of gasoline

2

20 J2

mv

Volumes are drawn to scale

CO2 Capture from Air

Air Capture: Collection & Regeneration

Ion exchange resin as sorbent, regeneration with humidity

Regeneration• CO2 is recovered with:

○ low-temperature water vapor○ plus optional low-grade heat

• Regenerated solid sorbent is reused over and over for years

Collection• Natural wind carries CO2 through

collector • CO2 binds to surface of proprietary

sorbent materials

1

2

Collecting CO2 with Synthetic Trees

Current GRT Development

Mass-Manufactured Air Capture Units

GRT Pre-Prototype Air Capture Modules - 2007

From Technology Validation to Market-Flexible Products to Scalable Global Solutions

Courtesy GRT*

*K. S. Lackner is a member of GRT

Carbon, Water & Energy Balance

• Life Cycle contributions are small• Energy consumption dominates

– 50kJ of mechanical energy per mole of CO2

– Gasoline releases 700 kJ of heat per mole

• CO2 balance is excellent

– Coal plant would release 30% of captured CO2

• Plant consumes saltwater, produces fresh water– 10 tons of saltwater consumed per ton of CO2

– 1 ton of fresh water produced per ton of CO2

Comparison to Flue Stack Scrubbing

• Much larger collector• Similar sorbent recovery• Cost is in the sorbent recovery

Hydrogen or Air Extraction?

Coal,Gas Fossil Fuel Oil

Hydrogen Gasoline

Consumption Consumption

Distribution Distribution

CO2 Transport Air Extraction

CO2 Disposal

Cost comparisons

Wind area that carries 22 tons of CO2 per year

Wind area that carries 10 kW

0.2 m 2

for CO2 80 m 2

for Wind Energy

How much wind? (6m/sec)

50 cents/ton of CO2 for contacting

Sorbent Choices

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

100 1000 10000 100000

CO2 Partial Pressure (ppm)

Bin

din

g E

ne

rgy

(k

J/m

ole

)

350K

300KAir Power plant

EnergySource

EnergyConsumer

H2O H2O

O2

O2

H2

CO2

CO2

H2 CH2

Materially Closed Energy Cycles

C H

O

Fuels

Oxidizer

Combustion products

Biomass

CO

Fischer Tropsch Synthesis GasMethanol

EthanolNatural Gas

Town Gas

PetroleumCoal

GasolineBenzeneCarbon Hydrogen

CO2 H2O

Oxygen

Increasing Hydrogen Content

Incr

easi

ng O

xid

ati

on S

tate

Methane

Free

O2

Free C

- H

C H

O

Fuels

Oxidizer

Combustion products

Biomass

CO


EthanolNatural Gas

Town Gas

PetroleumCoal


CO2 H2O

Oxygen


Incr

easi

ng O

xid

ati

on S

tate

Methane

Free

O2

Free C

- H

C H

O

Fuels

Oxidizer

Combustion products

Biomass

CO


EthanolNatural Gas

Town Gas

PetroleumCoal


CO2 H2O

Oxygen


Incr

easi

ng O

xid

ati

on S

tate

Methane

Free

O2

Free C

- H

Refining

Carbon

Gasoline

Diesel

Fossil

Nuclear

Fischer Tropsch:-- Connecting Sources to Carriers

-- Carriers to Consumers

Solar

Biomass

Wind ,Hydro

Jet Fuel

Heat

Electricity

Ethanol

Methanol

DME

Hydrogen

SynthesisGas

Chemicals

Geo

CO2

Carbon Capture and Storagefor

Carbon Neutral World

• CCS simplifies Carbon Accounting– Ultimate cap is zero– Finite amount of carbon left

• Air Capture– Can turn the clock back– Maintain access to liquid

hydrocarbons– Close the carbon cycle

Private SectorCarbon Extraction

CarbonSequestratio

n

Farming, Manufacturing, Service, etc.

Certified Carbon Accounting

certificates

certification

Public Institutionsand Government

Carbon Board

guidance

Permits

&

Credits

Documents

Sustainable Energy Options: Maintaining access to abundant fossil fuels Klaus S. Lackner Columbia University November 2007