Frequently Asked Questions
- What Is CO2?
- What Is CO2 Management?
- What Is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)?
- What Is CO2 Sequestration?
- Why Sequester CO2?
- What Is the PCOR Partnership?
- What Is the PCOR Partnership Region?
- Who Is in the PCOR Partnership?
- What Did the PCOR Partnership Accomplish in Phase I?
- What Are the PCOR Partnership Phase II Goals and Objectives?
- What Are the Phase II Field Projects?
- What Is the Phase III PCOR Partnership Program?
- What Are the Direct (geologic) Sequestration Projects in the
PCOR Partnership Region?
- What Indirect (terrestrial) Sequestration Activities Are
under Way in the PCOR Partnership Region?
- Are Landowners Willing to Restore Wetlands for Carbon
Sequestration?
- What Can I Do to Manage CO2?
- How Can I Learn More about CO2
Sequestration?
What Is CO2?
Carbon dioxide (CO
2) is a gas composed of one atom of carbon and two atoms of
oxygen. CO
2 occurs naturally in the atmosphere, is essential to plant life and, as
a greenhouse gas, helps create the greenhouse effect that keeps our planet hospitable to life.
We encounter CO
2 in the air we breathe, as the bubbles in soft drinks, as a coolant
(dry ice), and in fire extinguishers. Humans add to the level of CO
2 in the atmosphere
through agriculture, burning fossil fuels, and industrial activity. CO
2 from human
activity is called anthropogenic CO
2.
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What Is CO2 Management?
The goal of CO
2 management is the reduction of the level of CO
2 in
the atmosphere. CO
2 management means removing CO
2 from the atmosphere or
preventing anthropogenic CO
2 from entering the atmosphere. CO
2 management
actions include increasing the efficiency in fossil fuel energy systems, engaging in greater
use of renewable and alternative fuels, and using less energy when possible (energy conservation),
as well as removing CO
2 from the atmosphere and storing it for the long term
(terrestrial sequestration) and/or capturing anthropogenic CO
2 before it enters the
atmosphere and storing it underground for the long term (geologic CO
2 sequestration).
The carbon management area deals with the management of a range of greenhouse gases, including
methane (CH
4: one atom of carbon and four atoms of hydrogen), that contain carbon.
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What Is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)?
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a method of capturing CO
2 before it is
released to the atmosphere and then placing the CO
2 into long-term storage.
Geologic sequestration of CO
2 is
a major option for long-term CO
2 storage. CCS is best suited for use in large
stationary facilities, like power plants or factories.
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What Is CO2 Sequestration?
CO
2 sequestration means capturing CO
2 and putting it into
environmentally sound long-term storage. There are two types of sequestration: direct and indirect.
Direct sequestration involves capturing anthropogenic CO
2 at a source before it can
be emitted to the atmosphere. The most efficient concept would use specialized equipment to
capture anthropogenic CO
2 at large stationary sources like factories or power plants
and then inject the CO
2 into secure storage zones deep underground (geologic
sequestration) or into the deep ocean.
Terrestrial sequestration involves removing CO
2 from the atmosphere. Terrestrial sequestration
uses land management practices that boost the ability of plants to capture CO
2 from the
atmosphere, regardless of its source, and then store it in plant material or soil for a long period of
time. Opportunities for terrestrial sequestration can be found in forests, grasslands, wetlands, and
croplands.
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Why Sequester CO2?
Greenhouse gases, including CO
2, naturally trap a portion of the sun's energy in the
Earth's atmosphere, and this maintains the temperatures needed to keep our planet hospitable to life. However,
human (anthropogenic) activity, including the use of fossil fuels, adds CO
2 and other greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere. There is concern that the anthropogenic greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere are
causing increased warming and that this warming will affect climate on a global scale. This concern is being
addressed by international efforts and by individual countries. The President's Global Climate Change
Initiative, issued in the spring of 2003, calls for an 18% reduction in U.S. CO
2 intensity by
2012. Conservation, more efficient power systems, renewable energy, and sequestration are all tools to help
reduce CO
2 intensity. CO
2 sequestration - the capture and long-term storage of
CO
2 - is one of several actions that would help to control anthropogenic CO
2 emissions
to the atmosphere.
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Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, and CO2
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What Is the PCOR Partnership?
The Plains CO
2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership is a diverse group of over 80 public and
private sector stakeholders working together to better understand the technical and economic feasibility
of capturing and storing CO
2 emissions from stationary sources of CO
2 in the central
interior of North America. The PCOR Partnership is led by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC)
at the University of North Dakota and is one of seven regional partnerships designated by the U.S.
Department of Energy's (DOE's) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (RCSP) Program. Funding comes
from the RCSP program and a broad range of project sponsors.
Phase I activities were completed in September 2005. On June 9, 2005, the EERC was awarded a contract
for Phase II, which began in October 2005. Phase II is a 4-year program focused on demonstrating and
validating promising CO
2 sequestration opportunities in our region. The total value of Phase
II is currently over $21.5 million, with two-thirds of that funding coming from DOE and the balance
contributed by industry and other nonfederal partners, including partners in Canada. New partners are
welcome.
About the PCOR Partnership
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What Is the Extent of the PCOR Partnership Region?
The PCOR Partnership region contains portions of nine states and four Canadian provinces within
the central interior of North America.
PCOR Partnership Region
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Who Is in the PCOR Partnership?
The PCOR Partnership comprises over 80 public and private sector stakeholders that represent
experience and expertise in agriculture, forestry, economics, energy exploration and production,
geology, engineering, and the environment. Partners provide technical services to the PCOR Partnership
by providing data, guidance, and practical experience with direct and indirect sequestration, including
value-added projects.
Complete PCOR Partner Listing
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What Did the PCOR Partnership Accomplish in Phase I?
Phase I occurred between the fall of 2003 and the fall of 2005. During that period, the Partnership
assessed and prioritized the opportunities for sequestration in the PCOR Partnership region and helped
to resolve the technical, regulatory, and environmental barriers to the most promising sequestration
opportunities. At the same time, the PCOR Partnership informed policy makers and the public
regarding CO
2 sources, sequestration strategies, and sequestration opportunities.
Phase I products include:
- A comprehensive regional assessment of CO2 sources and terrestrial and
geologic sinks (storage sites) for CO2.
- The development of the PCOR Partnership Decision Support System (DSS, © 2007
EERC Foundation), a geographic information system (GIS)-based database trust providing
the PCOR Partnership sponsors with a tool to evaluate CO2 sequestration
opportunities in the PCOR Partnership region.
- Identification, ranking, and action plans for promising sequestration validation projects.
- Key GIS products for CO2 sources and sinks, infrastructure, and regulatory issues.
- Recommendations for terrestrial and geologic sequestration monitoring and verification systems.
- Outreach materials including five fact sheets on key regional sequestration topics, a Web
site, and a 30-minute public television documentary entitled "Nature in the
Balance - CO2 Sequestration."
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What Are the PCOR Partnership Phase II Goals and Objectives?
The 4-year PCOR Partnership Phase II program is scheduled to run from the fall of 2005 to the fall of
2009. Phase II is focused on the validation of sequestration technologies and the identification of prime
locations in the partnership region that can support future full-scale geological and terrestrial
sequestration opportunities. Phase II is designed to broker working relationships between industries that
generate CO
2, industries that can use it for value-added sequestration activities such as enhanced
oil recovery and the government agencies that oversee such activities. Phase II partners have a voice in
determining the direction of the PCOR Partnership and early access to the results of the program. Participation
in Phase II will also provide partners with unique opportunities to develop working relationships with
stakeholders that represent a diverse cross section of CO
2 producers, end users, and regulators.
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What Are the Phase II Field Projects?
There will be one terrestrial sequestration field trial and three geologic field trials in
Phase II.
Field projects and their respective
key partners include:
- Injection of acid gas into a depleted oil reservoir in Alberta, Canada, for acid gas
disposal, enhanced oil recovery, and carbon sequestration.
- Injection of CO2 into a deep carbonate reservoir in North Dakota for
enhanced oil recovery and carbon sequestration.
- Injection of CO2 into a lignite coal seam for enhanced methane production
and carbon sequestration.
- Restoration of prairie pothole wetlands for carbon sequestration.
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What Is the Phase III PCOR Partnership Program?
In the fall of 2007, the PCOR Partnership was selected for a 10-year, multimillion dollar Phase III
program focused on implementing a commercial-scale geologic carbon sequestration demonstration project in
the region.
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What Are the Direct (geologic) Sequestration Projects in the PCOR
Partnership Region?
CO
2 has been sequestered in the subsurface at the Weyburn oil field in Saskatchewan since the
late 1990s, and the PCOR Partnership is planning geologic sequestration projects in depleted oil reservoirs,
unminable coal seams, and a saltwater reservoir layer deep underground.
The Weyburn oil field is the site of an active CO
2 flood, a technique of displacing oil by
pumping CO
2 into oil-bearing formations to improve oil production. Weyburn is also the site of a
major international effort, coordinated by the Petroleum Technology Research Centre, located in Regina,
Saskatchewan, to assess geologic sequestration practices. The results from Weyburn have demonstrated the site
to be safe and secure for sequestration. It is expected that more than 20 million metric tons of CO
2
will be successfully sequestered in the Weyburn oil field by 2025.
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What Indirect (terrestrial) Sequestration Activities Are under Way in the PCOR
Partnership Region?
Depending on how humans use the land, soils can trap carbon (CO
2 sink) or release carbon
(CO
2 source). Agricultural practices like no-till and low-till keep more carbon in the soil than
conventional practices. Current research activities in the central interior of NOrth America include
determining the amount of CO
2 that can be sequestered in different settings like forests,
grasslands, croplands, or wetlands; developing monitoring practices to determine the amount of carbon
staying in place; and determining optimal land management practices for carbon storage in different
ecoregions and settings.
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Projects
One such setting is the prairie pothole wetlands. Scientific studies suggest that restoration of prairie
wetlands has great potential to sequester carbon. Over the next decade, scientists have estimated that
restoration of cropland wetlands would result in the sequestration of more than 72 million metric tons of
soil organic carbon in the prairie pothole wetland region in the United States. Restored wetlands also
provide benefits such as wildlife and fish habitat enhancement, water quality improvement, sediment and
chemical filtration, erosion and nutrient transport reduction, floodwater retention, groundwater recharge,
biological diversity conservation, and increased opportunities for education, scientific research, and
recreation.
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Are Landowners Willing to Restore Wetlands for Carbon Sequestration?
Prairie potholes have only been recently recognized as an important avenue for carbon sequestration,
and as a result, CO
2 emitters are only beginning to understand the potential for sequestration
offered by wetlands for CO
2 emission offsets. However, numerous wetland and grassland habitats
on private lands have been restored in the Prairie Pothole Region through programs sponsored by federal,
state, and private entities. The most notable restoration programs include the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Farm Bill Conservation Reserve Program and Wetlands Reserve Program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Partners for the Fish and Wildlife Program, and conservation activities of Ducks Unlimited
Canada. Collectively, these programs have enabled the restoration of 2 million hectares of
habitats in the U.S. portion of the region. This demonstrates that, given proper incentives,
private landowners have been willing to restore wetlands and grasslands.
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What Can I Do to Manage CO2?
Individuals, government agencies, and businesses can take a variety of actions.
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How Can I Learn More about CO2 Sequestration?