DOE的常规能源办公室宣布:美国能源部在阿拉巴马与当地合作开始现场试验，对地质二氧化碳存贮的潜力与提高煤层甲烷开采率相结合。
FEO说：东南部碳的深埋隔离合作(Secarb)的成员在Tuscaloosa县，正在把二氧化碳注入到一个CBM的井里，以确定精心设计的水库是否能接受和吸附大容量的二氧化碳。参加者在实地试验，这是以黑战士命名的二氧化碳存贮项目，包括南部的公司、帕索探险&生产公司、阿拉巴马的地质勘测、和阿拉巴马的大学。
参加者在6月15日开始灌注二氧化碳，根据DOE,计划在45-60天内灌注240吨。据报道帕索管理的井为了二氧化碳注入，E&P早被转换了，并且为了监测水库压力、气体构成、水质和二氧化碳流动情况又钻了四口井。
DOE认为选择该场地，因为它是代表了阿拉巴马西北部和密西西比东北部23,000平方英里的黑色战士盆地。DOE说盆地中的煤炭有潜力深埋1.1-2.3GT的二氧化碳，或者深埋阿拉巴马的燃煤电厂在约20年期间的排放总额。DOE并建议提高CBM开采率结合二氧化碳存贮可能另外挤出1.5tcf煤层气。
该项目将在表面及表面之下监测被注入的二氧化碳，确保二氧化碳的存贮是安全和永久的，DOE说。三口深表层下面的监视井将使用压力传感器和流动性取样管监测各组煤炭。如果二氧化碳保持在原始的煤层中，当二氧化碳被注射入一个煤层时，其它组应该有一个最小的压力反应。
井内的压力也将被监测，以确保没有泄漏，DOE说。并指出浅层地水和土壤气体的监视将提供重要信息，可以用于评估黑战士盆地碳的深埋和提高CBM开采率对于环境是安全的。
2003年DOE创造它的地区性碳深埋隔离项目，以确定在许多碳存贮方法中，对于国家的不同的地区哪种是最适合的。2005年合作项目完成了它的特性化阶段，并且是在它的检验阶段，从2005年到2010年经营Sunoco，并一般包括小规模实地试验，例如黑战士盆地二氧化碳存贮项目。最后阶段，介入发展期，从2007年到2018年，并且包括大容量的碳存贮测试。国家能量技术实验室为FEO管理合作项目。
DOE project tests combining carbon dioxide storage, CBM recovery
Jun 21, 2010 (2010-01-21)
Nick Snow
OGJ Washington Editor
WASHINGTON, DC, June 21 -- A US Department of Energy regional partnership has begun field testing the potential for combining geologic carbon dioxide storage with enhanced coal-bed methane recovery at an Alabama site, DOE’s Fossil Energy Office announced.
FEO said members of the Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (Secarb) are injecting CO2 into a CBM well in Tuscaloosa County to determine if mature CBM reservoirs are capable of receiving and adsorbing significant CO2 volumes. Participants in the field test, known as the Black Warrior CO2 Storage Project, include Southern Co., El Paso Exploration & Production Co., the Geological Survey of Alabama, and the University of Alabama.
The participants began injecting CO2 on June 15, and plan to inject 240 tons over 45-60 days, according to DOE. It said that a well operated by El Paso E&P had been converted earlier for CO2 injection, and four wells were drilled to monitor reservoir pressure, gas composition, water quality, and the CO2 plume.
DOE said the site was selected because it was representative of the 23,000-sq-mile Black Warrior basin in northwestern Alabama and northeastern Mississippi. Coal in the basin has the potential to sequester 1.1-2.3 GT of CO2, or about the amount emitted by Alabama’s coal-fired power plants over 20 years, it said. Enhanced CBM recovery combined with CO2 storage could squeeze another 1.5 tcf of gas from these coal seams, it suggested.
The project will monitor injected CO2 at and below the surface to ensure that storage is safe and permanent, DOE said. Three deep subsurface monitoring wells will use pressure transducers and fluid sampling tubes to monitor the coal groups. While CO2 is injected into one coal seam, the others should display a minimal pressure response if the CO2 remains in the original coalbed.
Pressures will also be monitored inside the well to ensure that there are no leaks, DOE said. Shallow groundwater and soil gas monitoring will provide important information which can be used to evaluate whether Black Warrior basin carbon sequestration and enhanced CBM recovery is environmentally safe, it indicated.
DOE created its regional carbon sequestration program in 2003 to determine which of numerous carbon storage approaches are best suited for different regions of the country. The partnership program completed its characterization phase in 2005 and is in its validation phase, which runs from 2005 to 2010 Sunoco and generally includes small-scale field tests such as the Black Warrior Basin CO2 Storage Project. The final phase, involving development, will run from 2007 to 2018 and include large-volume carbon storage tests. The National Energy Technology Laboratory manages the partnership program for FEO.
Contact Nick Snow at nicks@pennwell.com.
