Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who funds the Partnership?

The Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership is one of seven partnerships funded by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the National Energy Technology Laboratory Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program. Funding for the Partnership is distributed into three phases (Phase I: 2003-2005; Phase II: 2005-2009; Phase III: 2009-2016). DOE recently announced the BSCSP Phase III award of $66.9 million. To read more about this grant, click here.

Q: Who is part of the Partnership?

The Partnership is comprised of a nationwide network of key stakeholders, including universities, national laboratories, private companies, state agencies, and Native American tribes. Members of the Partnership meet annually to discuss the latest CCS research efforts, developments, and projects. To view a complete list of BSCSP partners, click here.

Q: Where are your research projects?

The BSCSP is involved in a number of both geologic and terrestrial carbon sequestration projects located throughout the Partnership’s region. Our research projects are located in eastern Washington, north central Montana, and Wyoming. To view a map of BSCSP current project sites, click
here.

Q: Where are you located?

The BSCSP administrative office is located in Bozeman, Montana on the Montana State University campus. Our mailing address is:

Q: What are greenhouse gases?

Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. The gases are both naturally occurring and caused by human activities. When sunlight hits the earth's surface, some of it is re-radiated back to space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation and the heat is trapped within the earth's atmosphere. Rising levels of greenhouse gases is contributing to what is known as the greenhouse effect.

Q: What is the greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that helps regulate the earth’s temperature. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, act like an insulating blanket, trapping solar energy that would otherwise escape into space. Without this natural "greenhouse effect," temperatures would be about 60ºF lower than they are now, and life as we know it today would not be possible. However, human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, have enhanced the natural greenhouse effect, causing the earth’s average temperature to rise.

Q: What are the effects of global warming?

The immediate and future effects of global warming are currently being researched. Predicted changes due to global warming include:

• Severe weather including an increase in hurricanes, drought and wildfires, and intense rainstorms that may cause rivers to flood;
• Health risks caused by heat waves, increased pollution leading to allergies and asthma, mosquito related disease outbreaks advanced by an increase of standing water, drinking water contamination caused by flooding of agricultural lands, and an increase of injuries related to extreme weather events;
• Change in wildlife and plant distribution which could lead to 20-30% extinction levels of all species of life, shift of agricultural lands towards the poles causing famine, and destruction of almost all coral reefs that could disrupt the entire ocean ecosystem;
• Sea level rise as a result of the melting of glaciers and ice caps causing massive flooding of the world’s coast lines where most of the human population lives on Earth. The IPCC report predicts sea level to rise 10 -23 inches (~ 1-2 ft) or more by 2100.

Q: What strategies could prevent global warming?

There are a suite of strategies that could potentially stabilize atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Scientists at Princeton University have proposed a stabilization model composed of seven “wedges,” with each wedge representing a carbon-cutting strategy to reduce carbon emissions in the short term future. The wedges include ways in which energy is made and/or used. In addition to carbon sequestration technologies, increased transportation efficiency, increased efficiency of electricity production, and renewable energies are ways in which atmospheric CO₂ levels can be reduced and potentially stabilized.

Q: What is the IPCC?

In 1988 the United Nations formed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to evaluate the risk of climate change brought on by humans based upon peer reviewed and published scientific literature. The IPCC released its Fourth Assessment Report in February 2007 (IPCC, 2007), which had over 450 authors and 2500 expert reviewers from 130 countries. The following are some of the key findings of their report:

• “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal”
• “Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely (90%) due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.”
• “Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values."

Learn more...

Q: What is CO₂?

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a gas made up of one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen. CO₂ is both naturally occurring and caused by human activities. CO₂ moves through the earth’s atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and oceans in a naturally occurring process known as the carbon cycle. Humans and animals breath in oxygen and breath out CO₂; plants take in CO₂ during photosynthesis and release oxygen. Since the industrial revolution, the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere has increased due to human activity, such as burning of fossil fuels and land use conversion. CO₂ is a greenhouse gas and contributes to global warming.

Q: What are the human sources of CO₂?

In the United States, the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas is the primary source of CO₂ emissions. CO₂ is also released to the atmosphere when land is converted from natural ecosystems to anthropogenic land uses.

Q: What is the carbon cycle?

The carbon cycle is the process in which carbon is exchanged between living things, the earth's crust, the oceans and the sky; or the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and the atmosphere. Carbon is continuously cycled through these systems by being taken up and released in several ways. Carbon is taken up from the atmosphere by plants during photosynthesis and by the cooling of the oceans. Carbon is released to the atmosphere by decomposition of living things, volcanic eruptions, and the heating of the oceans and burning fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels has knocked the carbon cycle out of balance, resulting in increasing levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Q: How do scientists measure the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere?

Direct measurements of the atmosphere have been taken from Mauna Loa, Hawaii since 1958. These measurements record the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere as well as many other meteorological data. In addition, scientists use indirect measurements (called proxy data) to measure the Earth’s historic temperatures. Indirect measurements have been gathered from ice cores in Antarctica and Greenland and date as far back as 800,000 years. Scientists can use the air bubbles to measure atmospheric content and changing CO₂ levels over time.

Q: What is a ton of CO₂?

A balloon with a diameter of 10 yards (30 feet) filled with CO₂ would weigh approximately one ton (2,000 lbs). However, CO₂ is often measured in larger units, such as Megatons (a million tons) or Gigatons (a billion tons).

Q: What is supercritical CO₂?

CO₂ often exists as a gas in the air or as a solid in dry ice. However, if the temperature and pressure are both increased to above 88ºF (31.1ºC) and 73 Atmosphere (1073 psi), it adopts properties midway between a gas and a liquid, such that it fills a container like a gas, but has a density like that of a liquid. When supercritical CO₂ is injected below 2500 feet, as would be in the case of geologic carbon sequestration, the pressure and temperature of the subsurface maintain the CO₂ in the supercritical state.

Q: What is carbon sequestration?

Carbon sequestration is the removal and long-term storage of CO₂ from the atmosphere into carbon reservoirs or carbon sinks. There are two types of carbon sequestration, terrestrial sequestration and geologic sequestration -- also know as carbon, capture and storage or CCS. In terrestrial sequestration, the carbon can be stored in forests or in the soils of farmland and rangeland. In geologic sequestration, the carbon can be stored underground in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, coal seams, basalt rocks and saline aquifers.

Q: When will we see commercial scale carbon sequestration?

Since 1997, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Sequestration Program, including the BSCSP and Regional Partnerships, has focused on developing and implementing cost-effective carbon sequestration technologies for the long term storage of large amounts of CO₂. While the first ten years were important in the characterization and understanding of carbon sequestration science, current research efforts are focused on the initiation, deployment, and validation of large-scale carbon sequestration. The Carbon Sequestration Program aims to develop “fossil fuel conversion systems that offer 90 percent CO₂ capture with 99 percent storage permanence at less than a 10 percent increase in the cost of energy services” by 2012 (NETL, U.S. Dept. of Energy). To view the complete U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Sequestration Program timeline, click here.

Q: Is the United States the only country involved in CCS?

No. In addition to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Partnerships, there are several existing international carbon capture and storage programs. Some of the largest sequestration projects are located in Europe, such as in Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands. Other CCS projects have been implemented in Australia, Canada, and Algeria and sequestration opportunities are being explored in China and India. To view a map and list of carbon sequestration projects around the world, click here.

Q: What are the environmental concerns related to carbon sequestration?

Scientists are evaluating the potential risks associated with the geological sequestration of large volumes of CO₂. Common concerns include contamination of drinking aquifers and the consequences of CO₂ leakage from underground repositories. Extensive research efforts are undergone in the selection of sequestration sites. Project sites are assessed and selected by a team of geologists, engineers, and researchers in order to prevent and minimize these risks.

Q: What is geologic sequestration?

Geologic sequestration of CO₂ involves a three step process that includes capturing the CO₂, transporting the CO₂, and storing it into a deep underground reservoir. The three different components of the process are explained below:

• Capture: CO₂ that is produced by power plants is captured by three main methods: 1) Flue-gas (or exhaust gas) separation removes CO₂ with a solvent, strips off the CO₂ with steam, and condenses the steam into a concentrated stream. Flue gas separation renders commercially usable CO₂, which helps offset its price; 2) Oxy-fuel combustion burns the fuel in pure or enriched oxygen to create a flue gas composed primarily of CO₂ and water ; 3) Pre-combustion capture removes the CO₂ before it's burned as a part of a gasification process.
• Transportation: The captured CO₂ is transported via pipelines to a suitable storage location selected by a team of geologists, engineers, project managers, and many others.
• Storage: The CO₂ is injected into deep underground rock formations that have high porosity and permeability. Porosity refers to the amount of pore space between rock particles. The CO₂, once injected, will be located within these spaces. Permeability describes how well connected the pores are to each other. High permeability allows injected CO₂ to ‘flow’ through the rock, making the injection process much faster, and thus less expensive. The rock formation that the CO₂ is injected into is called the reservoir. The reservoir also must have a low porosity rock formation, called a cap rock, directly above it to keep the CO₂ from escaping. There are many types of reservoirs that can hold CO₂ such as deep saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and unmineable coal seams. The well is properly sealed after the CO₂ is injected into the reservoir and the area is monitored long term to detect CO₂ leaks of any kind.

Q: What is MMV?

Monitoring, mitigation and verification (MMV) is a component of carbon sequestration that ensures the permanence and safety of carbon dioxide storage. Monitoring and verification encompasses the ability to: measure the amount of CO₂stored at a specific site; monitor it for leaks; track the location of the CO₂ underground; and verify that the CO₂is stored in a way that is permanent and not harmful to the environment. Mitigation is the ability to respond to risks such as CO₂leakage or any damage in the unlikely event that a leak should occur. Read more...

Q: What is clean coal?

Clean coal is a term used to describe the methods and technologies that seek to reduce the environmental impacts of using coal as an energy sources. Some of these methods include:
a) Gasifying coal removes pollutants like sulphur, nitrogen and soot, thus reducing the production of acid rain. Coal is mixed with water and oxygen, and converted into a gas made up of a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (syngas). The gas mixture is then burned and the hot combustion gases are used to spin a gas turbine to generate electricity.
b) Coal washing removes unwanted minerals by mixing crushed coal with a liquid and allowing the impurities to separate and settle. This technology reduces ash content, lowers particulate emissions, reduces sulfur dioxide emissions and improves efficiency. In addition, by lowering the level of sulphur and mineral constituents, coal washing increases the heating value and the quality of the coal.
c) Geologic carbon capture and storage involves injecting CO₂, captured from power plants or other large industrial sources into underground reservoirs such as unmineable coal seams, basalt formations, oil and gas reservoirs, or deep saline formations.

Q: What is terrestrial sequestration?

Terrestrial carbon sequestration is the process through which carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is absorbed by trees, plants and crops through photosynthesis, and stored as carbon in biomass (tree trunks, branches, foliage and roots) and soils. The term "sinks" is also used to refer to forests, croplands, and grazing lands, and their ability to sequester carbon. Agriculture and forestry activities can also release CO₂to the atmosphere. Therefore, a carbon sink occurs when carbon sequestration is greater than carbon releases over some time period.

Q: What types of terrestrial activities sequester CO₂?

Terrestrial sequestration can be enhanced by land use practices and land management decisions that increase the amount of carbon stored in croplands, soils, and forest environments. Diversified rotation cropping, no-till farming, reducing summer fallow, planting cover crops (i.e. wheat, rye) or high residue crops (i.e. corn, grain sorghum), and vegetation buffers are ways in which carbon is stored in cropland environments. Additional terrestrial sequestration activities include converting marginal agricultural lands to grasslands or forests, selecting hybrid crops with high carbon storage capacities, and other land use practices that minimize soil tillage, erosion, and the removal of carbon from the land.

Q: Who regulates CCS?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Underground Injection Control Program (UIC) regulates underground injection of CO₂ and other fluids under the Safe Water Drinking Act (SWDA). Regulations are put in effect by state and federal regulators. In addition, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the government to notify the public through hearings about projects that could have major environmental impacts.

Q: Are policies in place for CCS?

A national policy limiting greenhouse gas emissions does not currently exist. In 2007, a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts v. EPA , determined that carbon dioxide and other GHGs are pollutants and should be regulated under the Clean Air Act. No rules have been adopted to date, although an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) is likely to be issued by EPA in response to an endangerment under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act. Furthermore, several attempts in Congress to adopt a national policy through climate change legislation have failed. In general, legislative efforts have attempted to place a cap on existing emissions and then reduce emissions over time to levels equal to that of 1990.

Q: Is there a risk of sequestered CO₂ leaking?

Proper site selection, extensive modeling, long-term monitoring, verification procedures, and a regulatory framework minimize this risk. As with all large-scale engineering projects, there is no absolute assurance that the sequestered CO₂ will not leak. However, underground geologic formations have naturally stored CO₂ for millions of years. Geologic sequestration sites are selected by a team of researchers, scientists, program managers, and state officials to ensure the safe and permanent storage of the injected CO₂. Appropriate project sites are located deep underground and have an impermeable caprock that blocks the CO₂ from rising to the surface. In addition, remote sensing data and tracers are used to monitor the injection wells for any leaks. Tracers, composed of non-toxic carbon and fluorine compounds (PFCs), are added to the injected CO₂ at the wellhead before it is pumped underground. Tracers allow scientists to track the path and fate of the injected CO₂ and are very precise (to the parts per quadrillion), making it a valuable monitoring technique.

Q: Can released CO₂ harm people?

Modest amounts of CO₂ (below 5,000 ppm) will not harm people and is essential for life on earth (see carbon cycle process). Health concerns develop when concentration levels are above 5,000 ppm and there is an extended period of exposure. CO₂ levels between 5,000 ppm and 30,000 ppm can cause minor headaches, dizziness, and other reversible side effects. Concentration levels near 50,000 ppm can cause unconsciousness and concentration levels at or above 100,000 ppm can be fatal. To see how carbon dioxide compares to other gases, click here.