There has been much debate in recent years on the risks of climate change. The majority of experts today believe that such risks are very real and directly related to emissions of greenhouse gases and especially CO2. CO2 emissions have increased dramatically in recent decades, pushing up CO2 levels in the atmosphere. This increased concentration is thought to be responsible for the trend towards global warming already observed and might have far more dramatic consequences in the future if steps are not taken.

Reducing these emissions, in particular by cutting down on all forms of energy consumption and exploiting technologies to capture, transport and store CO₂, is a major challenge for society and one that IFP is addressing by making the reduction of CO₂ emissions a core focus of its research programs.
 

• 1 - The issues at stake in combating the greenhouse effect
   

• 2 - IFP's solutions for combating CO₂ emissions
  
  • IFP's work on engines and fuels
  • IFP's work on the capture and geological storage of CO₂
     
• 3 - From the capture of CO₂ to its geological storage: the different paths open
  
  • CO2 capture solutions
  • CO₂ storage solutions
     

• 4 - The capture and storage of CO₂: IFP's work with partners
  
  • French initiatives
  • European projects
  • International programs
  • Research projects conducted in partnership with industrialists: Joint Industry Projects

 

 

1 - The issues at stake in combating the greenhouse effect

CO₂ emissions have increased by 60% since 1970 and are expected to continue rising, driven by fast-growing world energy consumption. According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the CO₂ content in the atmosphere, after going from 260 ppm to 360 ppm (parts per million) today, will top 1,000 ppm by the end of the century if nothing is done, leading to a rise in temperature of between 2°C and 6°C.

CO₂ is not the only greenhouse gas. The Kyoto Protocol also addresses five others, including methane and nitrous oxide. However, because of the huge quantities of the gas released into the atmosphere, CO₂ is the main contributor to the additional greenhouse effect resulting from human activity. IFP's work today addresses only CO₂.

>> Emissions de CO2 et effet de serre : les grands chiffres (in French, PDF - 180 Ko)

The necessity of creating a European and international regulatory framework

>> La contrainte CO2 en France et en Europe : les chiffres (in French, PDF - 160 Ko)

Growing awareness prompts the European Commission to introduce R&D initiatives

>> P. Dechamps - "Research and Development Actions to Reduce CO₂ Emissions Within the European Union"
Oil & Gas Science and Technology - Rev. IFP, Vol. 59 (2004), No. 3, pp. 323-330

 

 

2 - IFP's solutions for combating CO₂ emissions

Solutions for combating CO₂ emissions fall into three categories:

• Cutting down on energy consumption. Curbing energy consumption is one of the first means of action. A reduction in consumption can result from changes in consumption patterns. It can also be achieved by negotiating commitments in a given economic sector. The automobile industry is a prime case in point: European automobile manufacturers have made commitments that should significantly reduce the amount of CO₂ emitted per kilometer
   
• Using motor and other fuels that emit less CO₂ per unit of energy produced. Substituting natural gas for coal in a conventional power station substantially reduces CO₂ emissions (by approximately a factor of 2). Another possible approach is to make greater use of nuclear power and renewable energies. The use of biomass as fuel can also help improve the CO₂ balance, insofar as the carbon emitted can be regarded as being recycled in the course of biomass production. Each of these approaches has its own limitations, which must be taken into account when analyzing the process as a whole.
   
• Capture and geological storage of CO₂. A third line of action is to capture CO₂ and store it in underground geological formations. This option is applicable to fixed, concentrated energy production facilities (such as refineries and power stations). It can also be applied to fossil fuel-based hydrogen production, in which case the hydrogen can then be used to produce zero-emission energy.

>> "The Sequestration of CO2" (PDF - 370 Ko)
Panorama technical reports - 2004

>> Reducing CO2 emissions: IFP's answers (in French, PDF - 470 Ko)
Presentation by Olivier Appert, IFP's Chairman and CEO, on IFP's solutions for reducing CO₂ emissions, at an October 2003 press conference on the reduction of CO₂ emissions

 

IFP's work on engines and fuels

IFP's diverse skills allow it to work on two different approaches:

• Improving combustion in engines and reducing emissions of pollutants

  Interview with Dominique Herrier, Assistant Director of the Powertrain Engineering Technology Business Unit   How is the R&D conducted by your business unit helping to reduce the greenhouse effect? At IFP, we are working to optimize both spark ignition and diesel engines. One of our main concerns consists in reducing the fuel consumption of these engines and hence the ensuing CO2 emissions. In this respect, our work helps European automobile manufacturers meet the major commitments they have made regarding CO2 emissions. The processes we develop to this end must nevertheless remain compatible with the increasingly stringent anti-pollution regulations. Could you tell us a bit more about the programs being carried out on diesel and gasoline engines? I'll start with the work being done on gasoline engines. They are less efficient than diesel engines: their CO2 emissions are approximately 20% higher. The fuel efficiency of gasoline engines is being improved in three ways: - downsizing, based on a combination of smaller engine displacement and turbocharging; - stratified combustion combined with direct gasoline injection; - the CAI combustion mode based on spontaneous auto-ignition of the charge, which has added benefits in terms of pollutant emissions. Depending on the technology used, these different approaches can yield potential reductions in CO2 emissions of between 15% and 25%. Moreover, we have already been able to confirm the potential of the downsizing process on a 1.8-liter-engine demonstration vehicle, with an improvement of close to 20%, a level comparable to that of a diesel engine. Diesel engines are inherently very efficient, so there is less potential for improvement. Even so, the work we are doing on high supercharging (marked downsizing via dual supercharging, for example) or with highly adjustable, very-high-pressure injection systems (2 000-2 500 bars) is further improving diesel engine performance, step by step. A large part of our work is also aimed at reducing pollutant emissions at the source, for example particulates and nitrogen oxides (NOx). We are developing low-NOx combustion systems such as our NADITM homogeneous combustion process, which reduces them by a factor of 50 to 100 while also cutting down significantly on soot. This process has the advantage of lessening the impact of the post-treatment systems (e.g. particulate filter) required by anti-pollution standards and so minimizes the extra consumption induced by these devices. This low-NOx combustion approach is applied to the engines of both private cars and trucks. Are other approaches being explored? We are also working in the field of hybrid vehicles (in which an internal combustion engine is used in conjunction with an electric motor/generator). The main focus of our approach is on optimizing the internal combustion engines used in hybrid vehicles, hybrid architecture (transmission system) and in-vehicle energy storage and management. This work makes extensive use of the system modeling tools we are developing jointly with our partner LMS. These tools are used, in particular, to estimate the impact of the different components and the architecture of a given hybrid vehicle on its performance and fuel consumption. They also make it possible to optimize in-vehicle energy management so as to attain optimal consumption and thereby the lowest possible emissions of CO2. The potential improvement in fuel economy expected from such a vehicle is between 20% and 40%, depending on the level of hybridization employed. In practice, we are currently developing a demonstrator vehicle for urban use: a Smart equipped with light hybridization ("stop-and-start" system, brake energy recovery with super capacities and "boost" function). This natural-gas-powered vehicle is aimed at achieving a very significant improvement in CO2 emissions.

   
  >> Further information : "Vehgan urban vehicle: achieving low CO2 through downsizing & NGV hybridization" (Press release, 29 April 2008)
   

• The development of alternative fuels

Interview with Xavier Montagne, head of the Fuels - Lubricants - Emissions Department, Energy Applications Techniques Division

What research themes are being explored in the field of fuels?
As part of the drive to reduce fuel consumption - and hence greenhouse gas emissions - and improve air quality, IFP is working on developing and fine-tuning new "advanced" fuels, which allow engine technologies using new combustion modes to operate at their best. The objective is to identify the constituents of the fuels and new base stocks, so that new products can be formulated to provide the best possible operation. Two consortia have been set up for the purpose, comprising, among others, automakers such as PSA, Renault, Ford, VW, Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota, oil companies such as Total and Aramco, and official agencies such as ADEME, Japan Energy, etc.

In the field of alternative fuels, IFP is especially active in NGV (compressed natural gas for vehicles), biofuels (vegetable oil methyl esters and colza or sunflower oil) and GTL (gas to liquids). The objective is to develop special engines by adapting conventional engines.

>> Further information: IFP Research themes > Diversified fuels
>> Specific issue: Biofuels

 

IFP's work on the capture and geological storage of CO₂

Among the measures likely to reduce CO₂ emissions, capture and geological storage are very promising approaches for the years to come. However, major obstacles have yet to be overcome, including the means of storing very large quantities of CO₂, bringing down the costs (which are still high) and ensuring the long-term safety and integrity of this form of storage.

>> More information on IFP's research on CO₂

 

• CO₂ : the focus of IFP International Conferences

"IFP International Conferences" are conferences organized by IFP on themes that lie within the confines of IFP's scientific research and expertise. They address scientific spheres (academics, researchers, industrialists, etc.), both in France and abroad.
IFP International Conferences are held once or twice a year, as a forum for exchanging viewpoints, experience and information, and presenting the progress or results of the participants' research work to the French and international scientific community.
In 2003, IFP organized an International Conference on the theme: Gas-Water-Rock Interactions Induced by Reservoir Exploitation, CO₂ and other Geological Storage. Full conference proceedings are available on the IFP web site (see link below).
 
+ Les Rencontres Scientifiques de l'IFP: Deep Saline Aquifers for Geological Storage of CO2 and Energy (27-29 May 2009, IFP/Rueil-Malmaison)

• IFP publications on the theme of CO₂

- Special Report: CO₂ Capture and Geological Storage: State-of-the-Art (This report was produced by the CO₂NET Thematic Network, with partial funding from the European Commission under the 5th Framework Programme.)
OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2005, Vol. 60/n°03

- Special Report: IFP International Workshop "Gas-Water-Rock Interactions Induced by Reservoir Exploitation, CO₂ Sequestration, and other Geological Storage"
OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2005, Vol. 60/n°01 & 02

- Special Report: Which Fuels for Low-CO₂ Engines?
OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2004, Vol. 59/n°06

- Research and Development Actions to Reduce CO₂ Emissions within the European Union
P. Dechamps, P.A. Pilavachi - OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2004, Vol. 59/n°03

- Allocation of the CO₂ and Pollutant Emissions of a Refinery to Petroleum Finished Products
D. Babusiaux - OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2003, Vol. 58/n°06

- Energy Conservation and CO₂ Emission in the Processing and Use of Oil and Gas
D. Decroocq - OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2003, Vol. 58/n°03

- Downsizing of Gasoline Engine: an Efficient Way to Reduce CO₂ Emissions
P. Leduc, B. Dubar, A Ranini - OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2003, Vol. 58/n°01

- Refining Clean Fuels for the Future
P. Courty, J. F. Gruson - OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2001, Vol. 56/n°05

- A Reappraisal of Energy Supply and Demand in 2050
P.R. Bauquis - OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2001, Vol. 56/n°04

- Thermodynamic Properties of Acid Gas Containing Systems: Literature Review
J. C. De Hemptinne, E. Behar - OGST-Revue de l'IFP - 2000, Vol. 55/n°06

 

 

3 – From the capture of CO₂ to its geological storage: the different paths open

Today CO₂ is clearly identified as the main greenhouse gas behind global warming. Apart from transport, which is thought to account for 22% of CO₂ emissions in Europe, the main human-related sources are electricity generating facilities (39%) and industry (22%). Despite the uncertainty surrounding ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, the European Commission has committed itself to reducing emissions by 8% between 1990 and 2012. In the longer term, a number of industrialized countries (excluding the United States) have even announced their intention to achieve a four- if not fivefold reduction in their CO₂ emissions by 2025-2030. Industrialists are all the more concerned following the introduction in 2005 of a system of CO₂ emissions trading in Europe, which establishes penalties for exceeding emission quotas.
Pending clean technological solutions such as renewable energies, there is at present only one solution that looks likely to achieve these objectives, namely to capture the CO₂ emitted by fixed industrial facilities and store it in underground geological formations. CO₂ is a stable, non-toxic, non-explosive gas and the technology for its capture and storage is known. The crux of the problem lies rather in the quantities involved, which, on a global scale, are considerable (23 billion tons emitted per year).

 

CO₂ capture solutions

In existing industrial facilities, the only solution for capturing the CO₂ emitted in combustion flue gases is solvent cleaning. While this is a known technique, it needs to be adapted to large volumes of flue gases, often at low pressure and diluted in CO₂. The problem is that this is still a very costly technique.
In new facilities, the solution might be to design boilers in which it was easier to capture the CO₂: combustion would occur in pure oxygen rather than in air. The combustion gases would therefore have a higher concentration of CO₂ and be easy to separate. However liquid oxygen is expensive to produce and innovative processes are under study.
A third possibility would be to capture the CO₂ prior to combustion by converting the fuel into syngas (a mixture of CO₂ and hydrogen), as is already the case in certain factories. The CO reacts with the water to form CO₂ and hydrogen, which are easily separated. Hydrogen is also a solution for producing CO₂-free energy.
IFP is working on all three of these solutions.

These enormous quantities of CO₂ (a thermal power plant produces 2-3 million tons of CO₂ per year) then have to be transported to a storage location. This sort of solution has been in widespread use for many years in the United States, where thousands of kilometers of gas pipelines supply CO₂ to the oilfields in Texas (for enhanced oil recovery). However it takes huge investments and decades of work to build such infrastructure. Innovative solutions, such as refrigerated transport by gas pipeline in the liquid phase are also under study.

The trickiest problem, finally, concerns storage, not so much in terms of cost or technology but in terms of the choices society must make: the main uncertainties to be raised touch on the long-term viability and reliability of the storage solution. It is commonly held that storage solutions must be safe and free of massive leakage on a time scale of several centuries. Moreover, nature has already demonstrated this, for example in natural CO₂ reservoirs (present mainly in France), where CO₂ has been confined for millions of years.
It nevertheless requires prediction tools on a thousand-year time scale: IFP has developed the COORES software program to simulate the future state of CO₂ in the subterranean environment and predict its course, on the scale of a region, in the event of leakage. Geophysical techniques such as 4D seismics are also expected to be used to monitor and control storage. In addition, innovative measuring tools will need to be developed to measure the CO₂ after dissolution and monitor storage.

 

CO₂ storage solutions

Three storage solutions are currently under consideration: depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline aquifers, and unmined coal seams. Each has benefits and drawbacks.

1. Depleted oil and gas reservoirs are geologically well known. They have an admittedly high but finite capacity (920 billion tons) and are located only in oil-producing areas. While their leak-tightness is well established, the reactivity of the CO₂ remains to be studied (CO₂ forms an acid solution when dissolved in water).
    
2. Saline aquifers offer substantial storage capacity and are found around the world. Confined aquifers have similar configurations and confinement properties to oil reservoirs. In open aquifers, the CO₂ can migrate, albeit slowly (several centimeters per year). The main problem with such sites is that they are as yet little known.
    
3. Coal-seam storage leverages CO₂'s inherent affinity with coal – a mechanism that triggers the release of potentially recoverable methane. The main problem here lies in the low permeability of this type of formation, which is liable to make it difficult to inject large quantities of CO₂.
    

 

 

4 - The capture and storage of CO₂: IFP's work with partners

IFP's work spans the entire sequence of the capture, transport and geological storage of CO₂.
Most of this work is being done within the framework of French and European joint projects.

 

IFP - ADEME - BRGM International Symposium:   Capture and geological storage of CO2 Innovation, industrial stakes and achievements 3-5 October 2007 - Paris

 

French initiatives

 

• Club CO₂

Club CO₂ was set up in 2002 at the initiative of the ADEME (Agency for the Environment and Energy Management) to act as an umbrella organization for French research on CO₂ capture and geological storage. It brings together industrial players (Total, Air Liquide, ARCELOR, Lafarge, Alstom Technologie, Electricité de France, Gaz de France, etc.) and public research bodies and institutions (ADEME, BRGM, CNRS and IFP).

Club CO₂ has set itself three main tasks:
- to identify directions and strategies for French scientific programs;
– to defend the French position and technology offering in European and international bodies;
– to initiate and coordinate joint work by public-sector and corporate research teams.

 

• PICOREF project

The PICOREF Project was conducted in 2004 and 2005 with support from the RTPG (Réseau des technologies pétrolières et gazières, a network of oil and gas technologies) and has continued in 2006 and 2007 with funding from the ANR. The aim of the project is to identify CO₂ entrapment sites in the French subsoil (and specifically in the Parisian basin) and develop a dedicated methodological approach to study one particular site. This includes technical aspects and, examined here in the French context, economic, environmental and regulatory aspects and considerations of societal acceptability.

 

 

European projects

 

• From CO₂ capture to storage:

IFP's decisive role in the ZEP technology platform

Technology Platforms were established by the European Commission with the aim of involving industry, the public sector and NGOs in joint research. The projects are in fields considered strategic by Brussels and are charged with making recommendations and coordinating research across Europe.

IFP is currently a key partner in a platform on CO₂-free fossil fuel-based electricity generation. Named ZEP (Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants) and chaired by Vattenfall, it held its first general meeting in 2006. Olivier Appert, IFP Chairman and CEO, is the organization's vice-chair. On 12 and 13 September 2006, all of Europe's specialists on the subject (RWE, EON, EDF, Alstom-Siemens, BP, Statoil, IFP, etc.) met in Brussels to decide on the main focal areas for research and draw up an industrial deployment plan, aimed at making thermal power plants more efficient and implementing solutions for CO₂ capture, transport and geological storage.

>> Further information : European technology platforms

 

IFP as leader of the European CASTOR project

The objective of the European CASTOR project (CO₂ from CApture to STORage), financed by the European Commission under FP6 (the sixth Framework Program for Research and Technical Development) and coordinated by IFP, is to develop technologies for the capture and geological storage of 10% of European CO₂ emissions, equivalent to 30% of the CO₂ emitted by large industrial facilities (mainly thermal power plants). CASTOR is the first project in the world to address the problems of both capture and storage, and to validate its recommendations by setting up pilot test sites.

>> Start-up of the largest installation in the world to capture CO₂ in the flue gases of a coal-fired power station - European Castor Project, Denmark (Press file - 15/03/2006)
 
>> www.co2-castor.com (CASTOR project website)
 
>> CO₂ capture and storage: The IFP-steered European Castor project is a tremendous success (Press release - 30/06/2008)

 

IFP plays a central role in CACHET, a European research program on CO₂ capture

A European research program on CO₂ capture was launched in October 2006 under the name of CACHET (Carbon Capture via Hydrogen Energy Technology). The three-year, European Commission-funded project aims to develop technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power stations by 90%.

More specifically, the CACHET project will strive to develop innovative technologies for producing hydrogen from natural gas, with zero emissions and at half the cost. The hydrogen produced can be used to provide energy, with water as the only by-product.

The project will focus on four pre-combustion CO₂-capture technologies, considered the most promising avenues for converting natural gas into hydrogen with simultaneous CO₂ capture. One of these is the HyGenSys process developed and patented by IFP (methane steam reforming and electricity generation). The aim is to co-produce hydrogen and electricity with improved thermal efficiency, while at the same time capturing the CO₂. This approach may prove to be a cost-effective solution for the combined production of electricity and fuel for transport.

 

• IFP on the front line of the European fight against CO₂: FP6 and FP7 projects

The various projects on CO₂ capture and geological storage initiated by the European Union under the 6th and 7th Framework Programs for Research and Technical Development have given IFP opportunities to engage all its skill areas, which cover all of the issues concerned, and to participate in high-level international cooperation with industrialists and other research organizations.
IFP is a stakeholder in a number of European projects on CO₂.

 

• Europe's role in the international drive to develop CO₂ capture and storage: the INCA-CO₂ project

InCA-CO₂ (International Co-operation Actions in CO₂ Capture & Storage) is a strategic support initiative for the European Commission in its international relations.
This IFP-coordinated initiative serves a dual purpose:
- organize Europe's contribution to international forums such as the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF)
- identify ways and means to cooperate with other research programs on CO₂ capture and storage, such as those being conducted by the United States, Australia and Japan.

 

 

International programs

 

• CSLF

The CSLF is an American initiative, open to international cooperation, for research and development in CO₂ capture, transport and storage.
Its objectives are:
- to promote the development of improved, cost-effective technologies for the separation and capture of CO₂, for its transport and long-term safe storage;
- to make these technologies broadly available internationally;
- to facilitate the development of this concept through a suitable political and regulatory environment.
Members of this international forum include South Africa, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, the United Kingdom, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Russia, the United States and the European Commission.
The CASTOR European integrated project received CSLF endorsement in Melbourne in September 2004.

IFP hosted the March 2007 CSLF workshop.

 

• GHG (IEA)

The IEA's program on greenhouse gases is aimed at evaluating technologies to reduce greenhouse gases, disseminating the results of studies and identifying targets for R&D programs. It is supported by 15 countries (Australia, Canada, Korea, Denmark, Finland, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States and Venezuela), as well as by the European Commission and leading industrial corporations. France is represented by the ADEME. Executive Committee meetings are attended jointly by the BRGM and IFP.

>> www.ieagreen.org.uk ("IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme" website)

 

Research projects conducted in partnership with industrialists: Joint Industry Projects

As well as taking part in various European projects, IFP has initiated research projects designed to be carried out in partnership with other players, in particular industrialists, through Joint Industry Projects (JIPs).
 

+ Research themes > Controlled CO2