MGSC starts carbon disposal well

Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium has started drilling a well in Decatur, Ill., for a full-scale test of carbon dioxide sequestration in the Mount Simon sandstone at a depth of 6,000 to 7,000 feet below the surface. MGSC is one of seven regional partnerships that the U.S. Department of Energy has created to investigate the relative merits of various techniques for carbon capture and storage.

DOE launched its Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership program through the Office of Fossil Energy in 2003 and the Decatur test forms part of the development phase of that program.

The carbon dioxide to be used for the test will come from the Archer Daniels Midland ethanol production facility in Decatur.

“Starting in early 2010, up to 1 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide from the ADM ethanol facility will be compressed into a liquid-like dense phase and injected over a three-year period,” DOE said.

A monitoring program to ensure that the injected carbon dioxide does not escape from the reservoir will include tracking of the underground carbon dioxide plume.

MGSC’s mission involves investigating carbon capture and storage options for the Illinois basin that underlies most of Illinois, southwestern Indiana and western Kentucky. Carbon dioxide emissions in the region exceed 304 metric tonnes per year, with most of those emissions attributed to the region’s 126 coal-fired power stations.

—Alan Bailey