A Framework for CO2 Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) Supply Chain Network Optimization

Web Published:
8/20/2014
Description:

A Novel Tool for CO2 Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) Optimization

Docket # 14-3004

Stationary CO2 sources, including coal and natural gas power plants, iron and steel mills, and agricultural production, emit about 3 billion tons CO2 each year in the U.S. alone, which is released into the atmosphere where it contributes to global climate change. Meanwhile, CO2 demand for utilization options such as enhanced oil recovery is satisfied by producing CO2 from natural sources. CO2 capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) is a promising technology to manage CO2 emissions by extraction from industrial sources and utilization or sequestration in saline formations or unmineable coal areas. For CCUS to be cost-effective, it is crucial to select the best capture technologies to recover CO2 from the best sources and utilize or sequester the CO2 in the best sites.

 

Researchers in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University have developed a framework for designing a CCUS supply chain network with minimum cost to reduce stationary CO2 emissions. Source plants, capture technologies, capture materials, CO2 pipelines, locations of utilization and sequestration sites, and amount of CO2 storage are selected simultaneously. The method considers all plausible CCUS network topologies and selects the most cost-effective topology for CO2 management. Utilization opportunities such as enhanced oil recovery are exploited to offset the cost of CO2 capture or even turn a profit. The researchers demonstrated the potential of nationwide, statewide, and regional CCUS management in the United States. In addition, the methodology is applicable to other countries and regions.

 

Applications:

·         Design CCUS supply chain networks to reduce stationary CO2 emissions in the US and around the world

 

·         Formulate governmental or corporate policies regarding CO2 taxes or trading credits

 

·         Identify which CO2 sources are best candidates to develop enhanced oil recovery

 

·         Select the most cost-effective CO2 capture technologies for diverse emission scenarios

 

Advantages:

·         Determines topology of CCUS network for minimizing CO2 emissions or maximizing CO2 utilization

 

·         Selects best technologies and materials for CO2 capture

 

·         Identifies oil and gas reservoirs for CO2 enhanced oil recovery

 

·         Selects the most suitable locations for CO2 sequestration in the saline formations and unmineable coal areas

Background

Technologies for CCUS are historically developed independently of one another. Previous studies considered CO2 capture and sequestration in isolation, and failed to take advantage of utilization options. Such standalone development makes the design of an integrated CCUS supply chain network a complex and challenging task. Diverse emission scenarios also preclude a simplistic study toward the design of a cost-effective CCUS. Since not all stationary sources have the same CO2 compositions in their CO2 containing streams or flue gases, there is no single capture technology that is the best for all cases.

 

Publication

Hasan, M. M. Faruque, Fani Boukouvala, Eric L. First, and Christodoulos A. Floudas. “Nationwide, Regional, and Statewide CO2 Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration Supply Chain Network Optimization.” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 53(18):7489-7506, 2014.

Inventors

Christodoulos A. Floudas is Stephen C. Macaleer '63 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science and Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University.  Professor Floudas is a world-renowned authority in mathematical modeling and optimization of complex systems at the macroscopic and microscopic level.  His research interests lie at the interface of chemical engineering, applied mathematics, and operations research, with principal areas of focus including chemical process synthesis and design, process control and operations, discrete-continuous nonlinear optimization, local and global optimization, and computational chemistry and molecular biology.  Among Professor Floudas’ numerous honors and awards are Member of National Academy of Engineering (2011), Princeton University Graduate Mentoring Award (2007), AIChE Computing in Chemical Engineering Award (2006) and AIChE Professional Progress Award for Outstanding Progress in Chemical Engineering (2001).

 

M.M. Faruque Hasan is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University. He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is interested in a spectrum of technical challenges that overlap process systems engineering and energy research. His research at Princeton is focused on the computer-aided design and optimization of carbon capture and hybrid energy processes.   

 

 

 

Fani Boukouvala is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the National Technological University of Athens, Greece and completed her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers University. Her research interests lie in multiscale reduced-order modeling, model identification and grey-box global optimization. Her research at Princeton is focused on the development of algorithms for constrained global optimization of computationally expensive systems, such as carbon capture processes.

Eric L. First is a fifth-year Ph.D. Student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellow at Princeton University. He graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Computer Science. His thesis work at Princeton focuses on developing algorithms to elucidate physical properties of microporous materials, such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks, by studying the geometry of their underlying crystal structures. His research is driven by the goal of discovering novel material for applications in separations and catalysis. 

 

Intellectual Property and Technology Status

Patent protection is pending.

Industrial collaborators are sought for the further development and commercialization of this opportunity.  

 

Contact

Laurie Tzodikov

Princeton University Office of Technology Licensing • (609) 258-7256• tzodikov@princeton.edu

Laurie Bagley

Princeton University Office of Technology Licensing • (609) 258-5579• lbagley@princeton.edu

 

 

Patent Information:
For Information, Contact:
Laurie Tzodikov
Licensing Associates
Princeton University
tzodikov@Princeton.EDU
Inventors:
Christodoulos Floudas (DECEASED) See Fotini P. Baba
M. M. Faruque Hasan
Fani Boukouvala
Eric First
Keywords:
computers/software
earth science
energy
gas sensing
natural gas
process optimization