UK’s Largest Carbon Capture Project Will Turn 40,000 Tonnes Of CO2 Into Sodium Bicarbonate For Dialysis Machines, Pharmaceutical Tablets And Baking Soda Every Year
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in the Daily Mail.
These bullet points summarise the article.
- A facility that turns carbon dioxide into sodium bicarbonate was opened today
- Tata Chemicals Europe will remove up to 40,000 tonnes of CO2 each year
- The resulting sodium bicarbonate will be used as baking soda and in tablets
- Much of it will be used in haemodialysis to treat people with kidney disease
When I worked at ICI in Runcorn, the company had a facility at Winnington.
- In the 1960s, when I was there the main product was soda ash, which was produced by the Solvay process.
- The plant is now owned by Tata Chemicals Europe, and I suspect the new process is a replacement for the Solvay process.
- The carbon dioxide probably comes from a local 94 MW gas-fired power station on the site.
This ia a good example of Carbon Capture and Use, where a modern process is much better for the environment.
How much better could we protect the environment and the health of everyone, by improving or changing industrial processes?
Memories of the Solvay Process
I went over one of the Solvay processes a couple of times, when I worked at Runcorn.
- I can’t remember why now, but it was probably just to give the newest engineer in the department some experience.
- ICI trained me well at that time, especially in Health and Safety.
- One of the Victorian plants, I went over was built using a framework of oak beams, rather than the steel, we’d use today.
- The thing, that I remember most was the white sodium bicarbonate powder everywhere at the finishing end.
All the grades had uses from baking down to clearing up acid spills. Wikipedia details these uses.
Solvay Process Repurposed
Searching the Internet for more information on Tata Chemicals Europe’s process, I found this article on Scientific American, which is entitled Desalination Breakthrough: Saving The Sea From Salt.
The first paragraph outlines the problem.
Farid Benyahia wants to solve two environmental problems at once: excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and excess salt in the Persian Gulf (aka the Arabian Gulf). Oil and natural gas drive the region’s booming economies—hence the excess CO2—and desalination supplies the vast majority of drinking water, a process that creates concentrated brine waste that is usually dumped back into the gulf.
Benyahia, who is a chemical engineer at Qatar University appears to have solved the problem, by repurposing and simplifying the Solvay process.
I suggest that if you’ve got this far, that you read the Scientific American article all the way through, as it paints a horrific vision of the dangers of water desalination.
Hopefully, though Benyahia has the solution, which turns the problem into baking soda and calcium chloride.
We Can Suck CO2 From The Air And Store It In The Ocean As Baking Soda
The title of this section is the same as that of this article on New Scientist.
I first heard about this process on Radio 5.
It concerns some work by Arup Sen Gupta at LeHigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
He seems the sort of researcher, who does it properly and his research on capturing carbon dioxide and turning it into baking soda, that is stored in the ocean may well be an idea in the right direction.
It further supports my view that research will find new and better ways of reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
SSE Thermal Outlines Its Vision For The UK’s Net Zero Transition
The title of this post is the same as that of this news item from SSE Thermal.
This is the opening statement.
SSE Thermal, part of SSE plc, is calling on government to turbocharge the delivery of low-carbon technologies to help deliver a net zero power system by 2035.
Two paragraphs then outline what the company is doing.
The low-carbon developer is bringing forward multiple low-carbon projects across the UK. This includes Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station in the Humber – which is being developed in collaboration with Equinor and recently became the first power CCS project in the country to receive planning permission – and Aldbrough Hydrogen Pathfinder, which would unite hydrogen production, storage and power generation in one location by the middle of this decade.
These projects would form part of SSE’s £24bn investment programme in the UK, and in addition to supporting the decarbonisation of industrial heartlands and powering a low-carbon future, they would also help to secure a just transition for workers and communities.
The news item then talks about the future.
Now, SSE Thermal has published ‘A vision for the UK’s net zero transition’ which outlines the need for these low-carbon technologies and the potential of carbon capture and hydrogen in providing flexible back-up to renewables.
It also outlines the steps Government should take to facilitate this:
- Progress the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen infrastructure in a minimum of four industrial areas by 2030.
- Support first-of-a-kind carbon capture and storage and hydrogen projects to investment decisions before the end of next year.
- Increase its ambition for power CCS to 7-9GW by 2030, with regular auctions for Dispatchable Power Agreements.
- Set out a policy ambition for hydrogen in the power sector and a strategy for delivering at least 8GW of hydrogen-capable power stations by 2030.
- Accelerate the delivery of business models for hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure, to kickstart the hydrogen economy.
These are my thoughts.
Carbon Capture And Use
There is no mention of Carbon Capture And Use, which in my view, should go hand in hand with Carbon Capture And Storage.
- Sensible uses for carbon dioxide include.
- Feeding it to plants like tomatoes, flowers, salad vegetables, soft fruit and herbs in greenhouses.
- Mineral Carbonation International can convert a dirty carbon dioxide stream into building products like blocks and plasterboard.
- Deep Branch, which is a spin-out from Nottingham University, can use the carbon dioxide to make animal feed.
- Companies like CarbonCure add controlled amounts of carbon dioxide to ready-mixed concrete to make better concrete and bury carbon dioxide for ever.
Surely, the more carbon dioxide that can be used, the less that needs to be moved to expensive storage.
Note.
- There is a lot of carbon dioxide produced in Lincolnshire, where there are a lot of greenhouses.
- At least three of these ideas have been developed by quality research in Universities, in the UK, Australia and Canada.
- I believe that in the future more uses for carbon dioxide will be developed.
The Government should do the following.
- Support research on carbon capture.
- Support Research on finding more uses for carbon dioxide.
Should there be a disposal premium or tax credit paid to companies, for every tonne of carbon dioxide used in their processes? It might accelerate some innovative ideas!
Can We Increase Power CCS to 7-9GW by 2030?
That figure of 7-9 GW, means that around a GW of CCS must be added to power stations every year.
Consider.
- It is probably easier to add CCS to a new-build power station, than one that is a couple of decades old.
- Better and more affordable methods of CCS would probably help.
- In Drax To Pilot More Pioneering New Carbon Capture Technology, I wrote about a promising spin-out from Nottingham University
- In Drax Secures £500,000 For Innovative Fuel Cell Carbon Capture Study, I wrote about another system at Drax, that captures carbon dioxide from the flue gases at Drax.
If we develop more ways of using the carbon dioxide, this will at least cut the cost of storage.
Can We Deliver At Least 8GW Of Hydrogen-Capable Power Stations By 2030?
Do SSE Thermal mean that these power stations will always run on hydrogen, or that they are gas-fired power stations, that can run on either natural gas of hydrogen?
In ‘A vision for the UK’s net zero transition’, this is said about the hydrogen power stations.
Using low-carbon hydrogen with zero carbon emissions at point of combustion, or blending hydrogen into existing stations.
So if these power stations were fitted with carbon capture and could run on any blend of fuel composed of hydrogen and/or natural gas, they would satisfy our needs for baseload gas-fired power generation.
Hydrogen Production And Storage
SSE’s vision document says this about Hydrogen Production.
Using excess renewables to create carbon-free hydrogen, alongside other forms of low-carbon hydrogen, which can then be stored and used to provide energy when needed.
SSE’s vision document also says this about Hydrogen Storage.
Converting existing underground salt caverns or creating new purpose-built caverns to store hydrogen and underpin the hydrogen economy.
This page on the SSE Thermal web site is entitled Aldbrough Has Storage, where this is said about storing hydrogen at Aldbrough.
In July 2021, SSE Thermal and Equinor announced plans to develop one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities at the Aldbrough site. The facility could be storing low-carbon hydrogen as early as 2028.
With an initial expected capacity of at least 320GWh, Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage would be significantly larger than any hydrogen storage facility in operation in the world today. The Aldbrough site is ideally located to store the low-carbon hydrogen set to be produced and used in the Humber region.
From my own experience, I know there is a similar salt structure in Cheshire, which has also been used to store gas.
Earlier, I said, that one of the things, that SSE would like the Government to do is.
Progress the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen infrastructure in a minimum of four industrial areas by 2030.
If Cheshire and Humberside are two sites, where are the other two?
Deciding What Fuel To Use
If you take the Humberside site, it can provide electricity to the grid in three ways.
- Direct from the offshore and onshore wind farms.
- Using natural gas in the gas-fired power stations.
- Using hydrogen in the gas-fired power stations.
SSE might even add a battery to give them a fourth source of power.
In the 1970s, I used dynamic programming with Allied Mills to get the flour mix right in their bread, with respect to quality, cost and what flour was available.
Finance For SSE Thermal Plans
The news item says this.
These projects would form part of SSE’s £24bn investment programme in the UK.
£24bn is not the sort of money you can realise solely from profits or in sock drawers or down sofas, but provided the numbers add up, these sorts of sums can be raised from City institutions.
Conclusion
I like SSE Thermal’s plans.
Raven SR And Chart Industries To Work Together On Hydrogen And CO2 Capture
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Carbon Herald.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Renewable fuels company Raven SR and Chart Industries announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on the liquefaction, storage, and transportation of hydrogen as well as pure CO2 produced from Raven SR’s non-combustion Steam/CO2 Reformation process that converts waste to renewable fuel.
Raven SR uses local waste as feedstock to produce transportation-grade H2 and synthetic fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The carbon dioxide, which is a byproduct of the process, when liquefied is used for food and beverage production, fertilizer production, and other consumer needs and as a feedstock for concrete or alternative fuels.
Note.
- It appears like I do, that the companies feel it is better to use carbon dioxide, rather than store it.
- It also looks like they have improved the steam reforming process for making hydrogen.
- An advantage of the process is that it doesn’t need pure water.
There is a video in the article, which I suggest you watch.
It may be one of those processes that dies a premature and messy death, but my knowledge of catalysts and strange ways to produce gases like hydrogen and acetylene from working at ICI in the early 1970s, tells me that someone will develop a viable route to create hydrogen, that is better than the methods used today,
Green Groups Furious As New Coalmine In Cumbria Is Approved
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
These two paragraphs outline the story.
Michael Gove has approved the first deep coalmine in 30 years, despite calls from environmental activists and Labour to turn down the project.
The levelling-up secretary’s planning approval for the mine in Cumbria comes after two years of opposition. Critics said that it would increase emissions and 85 per cent of the coking coal would be exported to produce steel.cumbria
In March 2019, I wrote Whitehaven Deep Coal Mine Plan Moves Step Closer, when local councillors unanimously backed the plan.
In that post, I speculated about the possibility of using the coal from Cumbria with the HIsarna ironmaking process and wrote this.
In Wikipedia, there is an entry for the HIsarna ironmaking process.
This process is being developed by the Ultra-Low Carbon Dioxide Steelmaking (ULCOS) consortium, which includes Tata Steel and the Rio Tinto Group. Reduction in carbon-dioxide produced by the process compared to traditional steel-making are claimed to be as high as fifty percent.
This figure does not include carbon-capture to reduce the carbon-dioxide still further.
However, looking at descriptions of the process, I feel that applying carbon-capture to the HIsarna steelmaking process might be a lot easier, than with traditional steelmaking.
If you are producing high quality steel by a process like HIsarna, you want to make sure that you don’t add any impurities from the coal, so you have a premium product.
So is Cumbrian metallurgical coal important to the HIsarna process?
I originally heard that the coal from Whitehaven was very pure carbon and I felt as the HIsarna process uses powdered coal, there might be a connection between the two projects. Reading today in The Times article, it seems that the Cumbrian coal has some sulphur. So either the HIsarna project is dead or the Dutch have found a way to deal with the sulphur.
The HIsarna process is a continuous rather than a batch process and because of that, it should be easier to capture the carbon dioxide for use elsewhere or storage in a depleted gas field.
There’s more to come out on the reason for the approval of the project.
I shall be digging hard to see what I can find. But I do believe a steel-making process, that uses a much smaller amount of coal, not coke, could lead to a more economic way of making zero-carbon steel than using hydrogen created by electrolysis.
Carbon capture would need to be used to deal with carbon dioxide produced, but progress is being made with this technology.
Increased CCS Can Decarbonise GB Electricity Faster On Route To Net Zero
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item on the SSE web site.
This is the first paragraph.
Building more power carbon capture and storage plants (Power CCS) could significantly accelerate the UK’s plans to decarbonise the GB electricity system on route to net zero, according to new analysis commissioned by SSE.
I am not surprised, as in my time, I have built several production, storage and distribution mathematical models for products and sometimes bringing things forward has beneficial effects.
These three paragraphs summarise the findings.
The UK Government’s proposed emissions reductions from electricity for 2035 could be accelerated to 2030 by combining its 50GW offshore wind ambition with a significant step up in deployment of Power CCS. This would require 7-9GW (equivalent to 10-12 plants) of Power CCS compared to the current commitment of at least one Power CCS plant mid-decade, according to experts at LCP Delta.
Replacing unabated gas with abated Power CCS generation will deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis suggests that adding 7-9GW Power CCS to the UK’s 2030 offshore wind ambition will save an additional 18 million tonnes of CO2 by 2040, by preventing carbon emissions during periods when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing.
Gas consumption for electricity generation would not significantly increase, given the 7-9GW Power CCS would displace older and less efficient unabated gas power stations already operating and reduce importing unabated gas generation from abroad via the interconnectors. Importantly, Power CCS can provide a safety net to capture emissions from any gas required to keep the lights on in the event of delays to the roll out of renewables or nuclear.
The report is by LCP Delta, who are consultants based in Edinburgh.
The report says this about the transition to hydrogen.
Power CCS also presents significant opportunities to kickstart, then transition to, a hydrogen economy, benefitting from the synergies between CCS and hydrogen, including proximity to large-scale renewable generation and gas storage facilities which can support the production of both electrolytic and CCS-enabled hydrogen.
And this about the reduction in carbon emissions.
The existing renewables ambition and the accelerated Power CCS ambition are expected to save a total of 72 million tonnes of CO2 by 2040 compared to commitments in the UK’s Net Zero Strategy from October 2021.
I don’t think there’s much wrong with this analysis.
But of course the greens will trash it, as it was paid for by SSE.
I have a few thoughts.
Carbon Capture And Use
I believe we will see a great increase in carbon capture and use.
- Carbon dioxide is already an ingredient to make Quorn.
- Carbon dioxide is needed for fizzy drinks.
- Carbon dioxide can be fed to tomatoes, salad plants, herbs and flowers in giant greenhouses.
- Carbon dioxide can be used to make animal and pet food.
- Carbon dioxide can be used to make building products like plasterboard and blocks.
- Carbon dioxide can be added to concrete.
- Carbon dioxide can be used as a refrigerant and in air-conditioning. There are one or two old Victorian systems still working.
Other uses will be developed.
Carbon Capture Will Get More Efficient
Carbon capture from power stations and boilers, that use natural gas is a relatively new process and its capture will surely get better and more efficient in the next few years.
Gas From INTOG
I explain INTOG in What Is INTOG?.
One of INTOG’s aims, is to supply electricity to the oil and gas rigs and platforms in the sea around the UK.
Currently, these rigs and platforms, use some of the gas they produce, in gas turbines to create the electricity they need.
- I have seen reports that ten percent of the gas that comes out of the ground is used in this way.
- Using the gas as fuel creates more carbon dioxide.
Decarbonisation of our oil and gas rigs and platforms, will obviously be a good thing because of a reduction of the carbon dioxide emitted. but it will also mean that the gas that would have been used to power the platform can be brought ashore to power industry and domestic heating, or be exported to countries who need it.
Gas may not be carbon-neutral, but some gas is more carbon-neutral than others.
SSE’s Plans For New Thermal Power Stations
I have taken this from SSE’s news item.
SSE has deliberately chosen to remain invested in the transition of flexible thermal electricity generation due to the key role it plays in a renewables-led, net zero, electricity system and is committed to decarbonising the generation.
Together with Equinor, SSE Thermal is developing two power stations equipped with carbon capture technology. Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station is based in the Humber, the UK’s most carbon-intensive industrial region, while Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station is located in the North East of Scotland. Combined, the two stations could capture around three million tonnes of CO2 a year.
Studies have shown that Keadby and Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Stations could make a lifetime contribution of £1.2bn each to the UK economy, creating significant economic opportunity in their respective regions. Both will be vital in supporting the huge amount of renewables which will be coming on the system.
SSE Thermal and Equinor are also collaborating on Keadby Hydrogen Power Station, which could be one of the world’s first 100% hydrogen-fuelled power stations, and Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage, which could be one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities.
Note.
- SSE appear to think that gas-fired power stations with carbon capture are an ideal backup to renewables.
- If gas is available and it can be used to generate electricity without emitting any carbon dioxide, then why not?
- Hydrogen is coming.
Things will get better.
Is A Virtuous Circle Developing?
Consider.
- Spare wind electricity is turned into hydrogen using an electrolyser or perhaps some world-changing electro-chemical process.
- The hydrogen is stored in Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage.
- When the wind isn’t blowing, hydrogen is used to backup the wind in Keadby Hydrogen power station.
- The other Keadby power stations can also kick in using natural gas. The carbon dioxide that they produce, would be captured for storage or use.
- Other users, who need to decarbonise, can be supplied with hydrogen from Aldbrough.
Note.
- Gas turbines are throttleable, so if National Grid wants 600 MW to balance the grid, they can supply it.
- As time progresses, some of the gas-fired power stations at Keadby could be converted to hydrogen.
- Rough gas storage is not far away and could either store natural gas or hydrogen.
- Hydrogen might be imported by tanker from places like Africa and Australia, depending on price.
Humberside will be levelling up and leading the decarbonisation of the UK.
If you have an energy-hungry business, you should seriously look at moving to Humberside.
Carbon-Neutral Concrete Prototype Wins €100k Architecture Prize For UK Scientists
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Architect’s Journal.
Under a picture of two white-coated scientists with their protective boots on concrete samples, the story and their invention is outlined.
A pair of PhD students at Imperial College London have won a global architecture prize for devising a groundbreaking method of creating carbon-neutral concrete
Material scientists Sam Draper and Barney Shanks landed the €100,000 2022 Obel Award with their ‘simple way’ to capture carbon from industrial production processes and create an end product that can eliminate the CO₂ footprint of concrete.
The prototype technology, dubbed Seratech, takes industrial CO₂ emissions directly from flues and produces a carbon-negative cement replacement material (silica). According to the scientists, when this is used in combination with Portland cement, the carbon capture associated with producing the silica means the concrete products can be zero carbon.
One of the products, we will need in the world is concrete and if we can make it in a carbon-neutral manner, then that will surely reduce worldwide carbon emissions.
The Technology Explained
This page on the Seratech website is entitled Our Technology.
It gives this description of the technology.
Seratech has developed a process that consumes olivine and waste CO₂ from flue gases and produces two products which both have significant value in construction.
Silica is produced which can be used as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in concrete meaning the amount of Portland cement in the concrete can be reduced by up to 40%. As the silica comes from a process that captures CO₂ it is “carbon negative” and the concrete can become carbon neutral.
Magnesium carbonate is produced that can be used to make a range of zero carbon construction materials and consumer products, including alternatives to building blocks and plasterboard.
The aim is for humanity to be able to continue building robust cities and infrastructure, but without the climate cost of traditional cement mixes and with the Seratech technology this goal is achievable!
Note that olivine in Europe is generally mined in Norway.
Replacement Of Steel By Concrete
Could we also replace steel in some applications with concrete?
In UK Cleantech Consortium Awarded Funding For Energy Storage Technology Integrated With Floating Wind, I talked about some of ground-breaking methods used by a company called RCAM Technologies to create infrastructure using 3D printing of concrete.
If Imperial’s concrete, which is called Seratech can be 3D printed, I can see lots of applications for the technology.
So you could kill two sources of large carbon emissions with one technology.
Conclusion
I have said on this blog before, that we will have to keep or even build more gas-fired power stations, as they can be an efficient source of pure carbon dioxide, that will be needed as a feedstock to create an increasing number of agricultural and building products.
Is Twelve The Answer To Carbon Emissions?
Everybody knows that The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42.
I’ve just been digging around the Internet, where I started in the Wikipedia entry for the Electrochemical Reduction Of Carbon Dioxide, which says this about the process.
The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide, also known as electrolysis of carbon dioxide, is the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to more reduced chemical species using electrical energy. It is one possible step in the broad scheme of carbon capture and utilization, nevertheless it is deemed to be one of the most promising approaches.
This led me to the Wikipedia entry for a company called Twelve.
I then looked at the Twelve web site.
The Mission Statement
Most companies have them and their’s is.
We Are The Carbon Transformation Company
Which is backed up by the following.
We make the world’s most critical chemicals, materials and fuels from air, not oil with our revolutionary carbon transformation technology.
We’re reinventing what it means to be a chemical company in the climate era, on a mission to eliminate global emissions and build a fossil-free future.
I have explored the web site and it looks good for me.
See what you think!
Significant Step Forward For Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from SSE.
These three paragraphs outline the project.
A landmark project in the Humber which could become the UK’s first power station equipped with carbon capture technology has taken a major leap forward following an announcement by the UK Government today.
Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station, which is being jointly developed by SSE Thermal and Equinor, has been selected to be taken forward to the due diligence stage by the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) as part of its Cluster Sequencing Process.
This process will give the project the opportunity to receive government support, allowing it to deploy cutting edge carbon capture technology, and to connect to the shared CO2 pipelines being developed through the East Coast Cluster, with its emissions safely stored under the Southern North Sea. The common infrastructure will also supply low-carbon hydrogen to potential users across the region.
The press release also says this about the power station.
- Keadby 3 power station could have a generating capacity of up to 910MW.
- It could be operational by 2027.
- It would capture up to one and a half million tonnes of CO2 a year.
It would provide low-carbon, flexible power to back-up renewable generation.
The H2H Saltend Project
The press release also says this about the H2H Saltend project.
Equinor’s H2H Saltend project, the ‘kick-starter’ for the wider Zero Carbon Humber ambition, has also been taken to the next stage of the process by BEIS. The planned hydrogen production facility could provide a hydrogen supply to Triton Power’s Saltend Power Station as well as other local industrial users. In June, SSE Thermal and Equinor entered into an agreement to acquire the Triton Power portfolio.
I wrote about H2H Saltend and the acquisition of Triton Power in SSE Thermal And Equinor To Acquire Triton Power In Acceleration Of Low-Carbon Ambitions.
In the related post, I added up all the power stations and wind farms, that are owned by SSE Thermal and it came to a massive 9.1 GW, which should all be available by 2027.
Collaboration Between SSE Thermal And Equinor
The press release also says this about collaboration between SSE Thermal and Equinor.
The two companies are also collaborating on major hydrogen projects in the Humber. Keadby Hydrogen Power Station could be one of the world’s first 100% hydrogen-fuelled power stations, while Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage could be one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities. In addition, they are developing Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station in Aberdeenshire, which would be a major contributor to decarbonising the Scottish Cluster.
This collaboration doesn’t lack ambition.
I also think, that there will expansion of their ambitions.
Horticulture
Lincolnshire is about horticulture and it is a generally flat county, which makes it ideal for greenhouses.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a large acreage of greenhouses built close to the Humber carbon dioxide system, so that flowers, salad vegetables, soft fruit, tomatoes and other plants can be grown to absorb the carbon dioxide.
It should also be noted that one of the ingredients of Quorn is carbon dioxide from a fertiliser plant, that also feeds a large tomato greenhouse.
We would have our carbon dioxide and eat it.
Other Uses Of Carbon Dioxide
Storing carbon dioxide in depleted gas fields in the North Sea will probably work, but it’s a bit like putting your rubbish in the shed.
Eventually, you run out of space.
The idea I like comes from an Australian company called Mineral Carbonation International.
- I wrote about their success at COP26 in Mineral Carbonation International Win COP26 Clean Energy Pitch Battle.
- The company has developed the technology to convert carbon dioxide into building products like blocks and plasterboard.
- Their mission is to remove a billion tonnes of CO2 by 2040 safely and permanently.
We would have our carbon dioxide and live in it.
I also think other major uses will be developed.
A Large Battery
There is the hydrogen storage at Aldbrough, but that is indirect energy storage.
There needs to be a large battery to smooth everything out.
In Highview Power’s Second Commercial System In Yorkshire, I talk about Highview Power’s proposal for a 200MW/2.5GWh CRYOBattery.
This technology would be ideal, as would several other technologies.
Conclusion
Humberside will get a giant zero-carbon power station.
The Massive Hydrogen Project, That Appears To Be Under The Radar
This page on the SSE Thermal web site, is entitled Aldbrough Gas Storage.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The Aldbrough Gas Storage facility, in East Yorkshire, officially opened in June 2011. The last of the nine caverns entered commercial operation in November 2012.
This page on Hydrocarbons Technology is entitled Aldbrough Underground Gas Storage Facility, Yorkshire.
It gives these details of how Aldbrough Gas Storage was constructed.
The facility was originally planned to be developed by British Gas and Intergen in 1997. British Gas planned to develop Aldbrough North as a gas storage facility while Intergen planned to develop Aldbrough South.
SSE and Statoil became owners of the two projects in 2002 and 2003. The two companies combined the projects in late 2003. Site work commenced in March 2004 and leaching of the first cavern started in March 2005.
The storage caverns were created by using directional drilling. From a central area of the site, boreholes were drilled down to the salt strata located 2km underground.
After completion of drilling, leaching was carried out by pumping seawater into the boreholes to dissolve salt and create a cavern. Natural gas was then pumped into the caverns and stored under high pressure.
Six of the nine caverns are already storing gas. As of February 2012, dewatering and preparation of the remaining three caverns is complete. Testing has been completed at two of these caverns.
The facility is operated remotely from SSE’s Hornsea storage facility. It includes an above ground gas processing plant equipped with three 20MW compressors. The gas caverns of the facility are connected to the UK’s gas transmission network through an 8km pipeline.
Note.
- The caverns are created in a bed of salt about two kilometres down.
- It consists of nine caverns with the capacity to store around 370 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas.
- Salt caverns are very strong and dry, and are ideal for storing natural gas. The technique is discussed in this section in Wikipedia.
As I worked for ICI at Runcorn in the late 1960s, I’m very familiar with the technique, as the company extracted large amounts of salt from the massive reserves below the Cheshire countryside.
This Google Map shows the location of the Aldbrough Gas Storage to the North-East of Hull.
Note.
- The red-arrow marks the site of the Aldbrough Gas Storage.
- It is marked on the map as SSE Hornsea Ltd.
- Hull is in the South-West corner of the map.
This Google Map shows the site in more detail.
It appears to be a compact site.
Atwick Gas Storage
This page on the SSE Thermal web site, is entitled Atwick Gas Storage.
This is said on the web site.
Our Atwick Gas Storage facility is located near Hornsea on the East Yorkshire coast.
It consists of nine caverns with the capacity to store around 325 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas.
The facility first entered commercial operation in 1979. It was purchased by SSE in September 2002.
This Google Map shows the location of the Atwick Gas Storage to the North-East of Beverley.
Note.
- The red-arrow marks the site of the Atwick Gas Storage.
- It is marked on the map as SSE Atwick.
- Beverley is in the South-West corner of the map.
This Google Map shows the site in more detail.
As with the slightly larger Aldbrough Gas Storage site, it appears to be compact.
Conversion To Hydrogen Storage
It appears that SSE and Equinor have big plans for the Aldbrough Gas Storage facility.
This page on the SSE Thermal web site is entitled Plans For World-Leading Hydrogen Storage Facility At Aldbrough.
These paragraphs introduce the plans.
SSE Thermal and Equinor are developing plans for one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities at their existing Aldbrough site on the East Yorkshire coast. The facility could be storing low-carbon hydrogen as early as 2028.
The existing Aldbrough Gas Storage facility, which was commissioned in 2011, is co-owned by SSE Thermal and Equinor, and consists of nine underground salt caverns, each roughly the size of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Upgrading the site to store hydrogen would involve converting the existing caverns or creating new purpose-built caverns to store the low-carbon fuel.
With an initial expected capacity of at least 320GWh, Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage would be significantly larger than any hydrogen storage facility in operation in the world today. The Aldbrough site is ideally located to store the low-carbon hydrogen set to be produced and used in the Humber region.
Hydrogen storage will be vital in creating a large-scale hydrogen economy in the UK and balancing the overall energy system by providing back up where large proportions of energy are produced from renewable power. As increasing amounts of hydrogen are produced both from offshore wind power, known as ‘green hydrogen’, and from natural gas with carbon capture and storage, known as ‘blue hydrogen’, facilities such as Aldbrough will provide storage for low-carbon energy.
I have a few thoughts.
Will Both Aldbrough and Atwick Gas Storage Facilities Be Used?
As the page only talks of nine caverns and both Aldbrough and Atwick facilities each have nine caverns, I suspect that at least initially only Aldbrough will be used.
But in the future, demand for the facility could mean all caverns were used and new ones might even be created.
Where Will The Hydrogen Come From?
These paragraphs from the SSE Thermal web page give an outline.
Equinor has announced its intention to develop 1.8GW of ‘blue hydrogen’ production in the region starting with its 0.6GW H2H Saltend project which will supply low-carbon hydrogen to local industry and power from the mid-2020s. This will be followed by a 1.2GW production facility to supply the Keadby Hydrogen Power Station, proposed by SSE Thermal and Equinor as the world’s first 100% hydrogen-fired power station, before the end of the decade.
SSE Thermal and Equinor’s partnership in the Humber marks the UK’s first end-to-end hydrogen proposal, connecting production, storage and demand projects in the region. While the Aldbrough facility would initially store the hydrogen produced for the Keadby Hydrogen Power Station, the benefit of this large-scale hydrogen storage extends well beyond power generation. The facility would enable growing hydrogen ambitions across the region, unlocking the potential for green hydrogen, and supplying an expanding offtaker market including heat, industry and transport from the late 2020s onwards.
Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage, and the partners’ other hydrogen projects in the region, are in the development stage and final investment decisions will depend on the progress of the necessary business models and associated infrastructure.
The Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage project is the latest being developed in a long-standing partnership between SSE Thermal and Equinor in the UK, which includes the joint venture to build the Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm, the largest offshore wind farm in the world.
It does seem to be, a bit of an inefficient route to create blue hydrogen, which will require carbon dioxide to be captured and stored or used.
Various scenarios suggest themselves.
- The East Riding of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are agricultural counties, so could some carbon dioxide be going to help greenhouse plants and crops, grow big and strong.
- Carbon dioxide is used as a major ingredient of meat substitutes like Quorn.
- Companies like Mineral Carbonation International are using carbon dioxide to make building products like blocks and plasterboard.
I do suspect that there are teams of scientists in the civilised world researching wacky ideas for the use of carbon dioxide.
Where Does The Dogger Bank Wind Farm Fit?
The Dogger Bank wind farm will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world.
- It will consist of at least three phases; A, B and C, each of which will be 1.2 GW.
- Phase A and B will have a cable to Creyke Beck substation in Yorkshire.
- Phase C will have a cable to Teesside.
Creyke Beck is almost within walking distance of SSE Hornsea.
Could a large electrolyser be placed in the area, to store wind-power from Dogger Bank A/B as hydrogen in the Hydrogen Storage Facility At Aldbrough?
Conclusion
SSE and Equinor may have a very cunning plan and we will know more in the next few years.
Thoughts On The Cambo Oil Field
There is an article in The Times today which is entitled Sturgeon Faces Backlash After Shell Pulls Out Of North Sea Oilfield.
I have been following the technology of Carbon Capture and Use and some very good ideas have come forward in the last couple of years.
- Carbon dioxide is becoming increasingly important in the growing of flowers, salad vegetables, soft fruits and tomatoes in greenhouses.
- At COP26, Australian company, Mineral Carbonation International won an award for their process that turns carbon dioxide into building materials like blocks and plasterboard.
- A big investment was also made recently in an Italian company, who are using the properties of liquid and gaseous carbon dioxide to store energy.
- Carbon dioxide has for years made a good fire extinguisher, which can’t be said for some chemicals currently used.
- I suspect that some clever chemists are working on using carbon dioxide to create sustainable aviation fuel.
If the number of ideas for the use of carbon dioxide continues to increase, I can see gas-fired power stations being built, that are also used to produce much-needed high-quality carbon dioxide.
It should also be noted, that many like me, live in houses that are unsuitable for the fitting of heat pumps at an economical cost.
So we must wait for better technology or for hydrogen to be piped into our houses.
In the meantime, we will have to rely on gas. Or freeze!
I don’t know whether Cambo will produce any gas, but if it doesn’t, I can’t see much point in developing it.
Perhaps, Shell would prefer to develop a gas field.
The Anonymous Widower 