April 7, 2010
Report

A Brief Technical Critique of Economides and Ehlig-Economides 2010 "Sequestering Carbon Dioxide in a Closed Underground Volume"

Abstract

In their 2010 paper, “Sequestering Carbon Dioxide in a Close Underground Volume,” authors Ehlig-Economides and Economides assert that “underground carbon dioxide sequestration via bulk CO2 injection is not feasible at any cost.” The authors base this conclusion on a number of assumptions that the peer reviewed technical literature and decades of carbon dioxide (CO2) injection experience have proven invalid. In particular, the paper is built upon two flawed premises: first, that effective CO2 storage requires the presence of complete structural closure bounded on all sides by impermeable media, and second, that any other storage system is guaranteed to leak. These two assumptions inform every aspect of the authors’ analyses, and without them, the paper fails to prove its conclusions. The assertion put forward by Ehlig-Economides and Economides that anthropogenic CO2 cannot be stored in deep geologic formations is refuted by even the most cursory examination of the more than 25 years of accumulated commercial carbon dioxide capture and storage experience.

Revised: May 10, 2010 | Published: April 7, 2010

Citation

Dooley J.J., and C.L. Davidson. 2010. A Brief Technical Critique of Economides and Ehlig-Economides 2010 "Sequestering Carbon Dioxide in a Closed Underground Volume" Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.