Energy-economic analysis of power plant carbon dioxide capture and pipeline transport in Texas Gulf coast

Abstract

The total investment cost of a pipeline network to transport carbon dioxide (CO2) from power plants for enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) in oil fields in Texas Gulf Coast as CO2 mitigation has been estimated. The impact of the CO2 capture and transport on power generation cost, including the benefits of atmospheric CO2 mitigation has also been determined. 14 power plants comprising 55.7% of installed capacity in Texas Gulf Coast were selected. Geographical-informationsystem was used to optimise the pipeline network. Absorption amine technology was adopted for the CO2 capture. Bernoulli’s equation was used to model the fluid transmission. Cost escalation factors were introduced into existing pipeline models to improve their estimation capability. The analysis shows that cost of the proposed pipeline transport is highly sensitive to escalations in labour, material and right-of-way costs and would range from $1.6-4.6 billion. The percentage incremental generation cost for coal-fired plants ranges from 55-122% whilst that of gas-fired ranges from 9-13%. Some by-products from the capture could be sold to reduce elevated generation costs. The results indicate 3-7% reduction in Texas’ power plant annual emissions which could increase three to fourfold if EOR includes geologic sequestration. Overall, it has the potential to create between 7,000-10,000 new jobs.