The Great Plains Synfuels Plant in North Dakota has now captured 40 million metric tons of CO2, a milestone in the synthetic natural gas production facilities’ 20-year effort to lower the impacts of energy production.
The Basin Electric Power Cooperative facility, which is owned and operated by Basin Electric’s subsidiary Dakota Gasification Company, produces synthetic natural gas near Beulah, North Dakota. It is one of the world’s largest carbon capture facilities and also produces and markets several other useful chemicals and fertilizers. CO2 captured at the plant is used in the oil fields near Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada, for enhanced oil recovery.
“This is a great example of an environmental initiative that is not just economical but actually generates revenue,” said Basin Electric Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Paul Sukut. “This is an exciting achievement, and it has been amazing to see how this project has developed over the years.”
Dakota Gas’ project was the first commercial-scale project to capture CO2 from a coal plant and transport it for beneficial use. For many years this project has drawn worldwide attention and has been a model for the next generations of carbon capture. The facility captures about 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year and reached its milestone on 10 November.
“This has been a great revenue stream for Dakota Gas, and it has provided our Canadian customers with the ability to drastically improve the life and productivity of their oil fields, all the while providing an environmental benefit by permanently and safely sequestering carbon dioxide underground,” said Dakota Gas’ Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dale Johnson.
Recovered from the coal gasification process, the CO2 is captured by washing the synthetic natural gas in the plant’s Rectisol unit and is about 95% pure.