OPTIMIZATION OF THE TRANSPORT OF CO2 GENERATED FROM THE PRODUCTION OF THE MARCELLUS SHALE GAS IN PENNSYLVANIA
Open Access
- Author:
- Madu, Christian Chidi
- Graduate Program:
- Energy and Mineral Engineering
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- None
- Committee Members:
- Dr Oyewole Samuel, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Samuel Oyewole, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Li Li, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- CO2 transport
Emissions
Greenhouse Gases
Marcellus shale
Pipeline
Wells - Abstract:
- The trapping of radiant heat from the sun in the Earth’s atmosphere, a natural occurring process known as greenhouse effect, is brought about by the presence of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. The most abundant of these greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide (CO2), and as such CO2 always attracts special attention due to its prevalence over other GHGs. GHGs levels have increased tremendously over the years, contributing immensely to the global warming effects that the world is experiencing today. Natural gas exploration and production is one major source of CO2 emissions, taking into consideration all the pre-production and post-production stages. As such the Marcellus shale becomes an area of great interest because of its large gas reserve which is estimated to have a capacity of 30-300 TCF of recoverable gas. The breakthrough in present day exploration technologies, such as hydraulic fracturing, has made gas production in this area more feasible. Increase in CO2 emissions is a direct implication of all these activities and as such requires a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) system that will greatly assist in mitigating CO2 emissions in this region and the world as a whole. This research focuses on the CO2 emissions generated from the Marcellus shale activities, showing how an efficient CO2 transport system will assist greatly in achieving suitable GHG levels for this region. Current CO2 emission levels from the Marcellus shale are taking into consideration, and a CO2 transport system is designed from a number of analytical and statistical methods. This research shows that the best method to transport CO2 in the Marcellus shale region of Pennsylvania will be the pipeline method.