Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) — Validation Phase
Project # 42589

Primary Performing Organization:
Battelle Memorial Institute

The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) is one of the seven Regional Partnerships created in 2003 by DOE, as part of a national effort to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. After years of fact finding across the United States, the Partnerships are now engaged in individual carbon sequestration validation projects.  Each partnership project is distinct in its geology, land use, and population base.  The MRCSP region consists of eight contiguous states:  Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.  The MRCSP validation project is a four-year effort devoted to validating promising carbon dioxide (CO₂) sequestration opportunities within the MRCSP region.  See Map.

MRCSP will evaluate the feasibility of sequestering CO₂ in both geological formations and terrestrial ecosystems in the eight-state region.  This Validation Phase project will take the first steps in demonstrating cost-effective ways to reduce CO₂ emissions from high-emission sources (power plants, cement plants, and refineries).

MRCSP’s research estimated over 121.4 billion metric tons of potential CO₂ storage capacity in the region’s deep geologic formations, which could accommodate hundreds of years worth of CO₂ emissions; 2.5 billion metric tons of potential capacity in existing depleted oil and natural gas fields, which could lead to hundreds of millions of barrels of additional oil production; 0.9 billion metric tons of potential unmineable coal bed storage; and 118 billion metric tons of storage potential in saline formations.

The MRCSP objectives are to:

• Identify, characterize, and map greenhouse gas sources and assess the viability and cost of capturing and sequestering emissions
• Engage  public and elected officials at all levels in dialogue on issues affecting implementation of sequestration and the potential values associated with geologic and terrestrial sequestration identifying factors that might contribute to enhanced public acceptance of sequestration technologies
• Validate the potential for implementation of geological sequestration in the region by first conducting three small-scale CO₂ injection field tests into selected deep geologic reservoirs to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of geologic sequestration systems
• Corroborate the potential for terrestrial sequestration in the region by conducting three small-scale terrestrial field tests to demonstrate enhanced carbon uptake and validate measurement techniques used to quantify terrestrial carbon storage

The results from pursuing these objectives will provide an essential knowledge base for carbon sequestration strategies to advance economic growth and environmental protection by all the Partnerships.