Executive Summary:
Researchers at Texas A&M University (TAMU) have prepared this report as a meta-study that consolidates existing research and field experiences on the safety of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the United States (U.S.). The report intends to explain safety risks, concerns, U.S. regulations, and operational experience for the non-technical reader.
This work was supported by the Greater Houston Partnership’s Houston Energy Transition Initiative, a coalition of energy and industrial companies, academic institutions, community-based organizations, and local government entities dedicated to advancing an energy-abundant, low-carbon future as well as the Houston CCS Alliance, an effort among some of the world’s most innovative energy, petrochemical, and power generation companies to advance the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the greater Houston industrial area. TAMU conducted an initial critical analysis of the CCS value chain in the United States using publicly available data. As the lead author of this independent report, TAMU retains the right to disseminate it broadly. This work was jointly developed by the TEES Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center, Texas A&M Energy Institute, and the TEES Gas and Fuels Research Center.
Key Findings:
• Deploying CO2 capture systems has clear environmental benefits. On average, current technologies can capture around 90% of CO₂ emissions from industrial sources, but not all applications are economical. In addition to reducing CO₂ emissions, these technologies help reduce pollutants (e.g., particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx)).
• Key safety concerns about CO₂ sequestration include CO₂ leakage through faults and fractures, legacy wells (abandoned wells from past activities constructed to the standards of the day without consideration of future CCS deployment), induced seismicity, and caprock seal failure at permanent sequestration sites. After a review of existing operational and scientific literature, these risks were found to present a low probability of occurrence. There are control, monitoring, and management measures available to effectively mitigate these risks as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or state regulatory authority.
• CO₂ is transported to a sequestration site via pipeline. While CO₂ pipeline incidents are rare, risks such as unintended releases due to impurities, corrosion, or mechanical failure exist. However, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in the U.S. Department of Transportation and state regulations enforce strict design, monitoring, and maintenance standards, including regular inspections, corrosion-resistant materials, and emergency response protocols to ensure safe and reliable CO₂ transport.
• To protect public health and underground sources of drinking water (USDWs) from the unique nature of CO₂ injection for geologic sequestration, owners or operators are required to meet U.S. EPA requirements on strict site selection procedures, continuous monitoring/reporting during site selection, well construction, injection operation, and post-injection.
Authors:
Tanjin Amin – Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.
Jafaru Egieya – Texas A&M Energy Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
Shayan Niknezhad – Texas A&M Energy Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
Konstantinos Pappas – Texas A&M Energy Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
Mahmoud El-Halwagi – TEES Gas and Fuels Research Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering
Faruque Hasan – Texas A&M Energy Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering
