Techno‐economic assessment of carbon capture, utilization and storage for coal‐fired power generation, and CO2‐enhanced oil recovery in the USA: an Ohio case study

The economic feasibility of carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to offset CO2 capture costs from a coal‐fired power plant are evaluated for 36 source‐sink scenarios in Ohio; one of the top ten states for fossil‐fuel use and CO2 emissions in the United States. Six capture scenarios are examined for a representative 550 megawatt (MW) coal‐fired power plant, and three CO2‐EOR injection scenarios are evaluated for both East Canton oil field and Gore consolidated oil field. The potential costs and credits associated with CO2 storage related tax incentives are also considered. Power plant capture performance and costs integrated with field‐scale CO2‐EOR techno‐economics suggest that there are potentially feasible scenarios for capture, transport, and CO2‐EOR storage of 25%, 50%, and 90% of CO2 emissions, respectively, from a 550 MW power plant. Economically feasible outcomes exhibiting net present values of $2191, $1380, and $1940 million are estimated for the 25%, 50%, and 90% capture scenarios, respectively. On average, the 45Q tax credit for CO2 storage affords a $3–$7 per barrel decrease in the minimum oil price required to break‐even on the project. In all source‐sink scenarios qualifying as feasible, the CO2 capture costs incurred by the power plant are offset by revenue from CO2‐EOR and are not passed on to ratepayers during the 30‐year analysis time frame. The most economical outcome for supporting a commercial carbon capture, utilization, and storage project in Ohio is also identified, and the potential impact of CO2‐EOR operational strategy on source‐sink feasibility is discussed. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.