EERC Research Takes International Stage
Two Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) staff
members recently attended the Carbon
Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) Mid-Year Meeting in Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates. The CSLF works with 26 member governments across six continents
to address key technical, economic, and environmental obstacles in the
development and deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. CCS
technology can capture carbon dioxide emissions produced from the use of fossil
fuels in electricity generation and industrial processes, and deposit them in
an underground geologic formation, preventing emissions from entering the
atmosphere.
EERC Principal Engineer John Hamling presented an update on
the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Brine
Extraction and Storage Test projects. Two of these field projects are in the
United States—one in Florida and one in North Dakota. The North Dakota location
is led by the EERC and involves field-testing brine extraction as a means of
improving storage potential of a geologic formation.
John Harju, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships,
participated on a panel of experts from across the globe entitled Carbon
Utilization Challenges and Opportunities. He discussed enhanced oil recovery in
unconventional shale plays, such as those found in the Bakken Formation in
North Dakota. The EERC leads a number of major carbon capture, utilization, and
storage programs, including the Plains CO2
Reduction Partnership and the Partnership
for CO2 Capture.

“Despite the significantly different environment in North
Dakota compared to the Middle East, there are a lot of synergies in energy
research being conducted between these locations,” says Hamling. “The research
being conducted at the EERC in areas such as CO2 capture and
utilization, water treatment, and enhanced oil recovery has global impact.”