AU2011101411A4

AU2011101411A4 - Carbon sequestration via exporting renewable LNG

Info

Publication number: AU2011101411A4
Application number: AU2011101411A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bretton Anthony Cooper
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-11-01
Filing date: 2011-11-01
Publication date: 2012-01-12
Anticipated expiration: 2019-11-01

Abstract

Patents Act 1990 CARBON SEQUESTRATION VIA EXPORTING RENEWABLE LNG The present invention relates generally to a methodology of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas involving the following steps: 1. generating hydrogen from renewable energy; 2. feeding such hydrogen into a Sabatier reactor together with a source of carbon dioxide from a domestic or overseas emitter so as to generate methane and water; 4. transporting such methane to an Australian LNG plant from which ships can export it to overseas LNG customers.

Description

1 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION CARBON SEQUESTRATION VIA EXPORTING RENEWABLE LNG The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it as known to me: 2 CARBON SEQUESTRATION VIA EXPORTING RENEWABLE LNG FIELD OF THE INVENTION (01) The present invention relates broadly to a method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION (02) Because of its heavy reliance on electricity generated from fossil fuels, Australia has one of the worlds' highest per capita levels of greenhouse gas emissions. (03) Australia also enjoys some of the worlds' best resources of renewable energy including wind, solar, biomass and geothermal. (04) Australia is also emerging as one of the world's leading exporters of LNG from existing plants and new plants being built on both its west and east coasts. Australia's LNG industry commands a high level of commercial and political support and is seen as a key contributor to Australia's future economic well being. (05) Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal or biomass can be used to generate hydrogen through methods such as electrolysis, photocatalytic water splitting, fermentative hydrogen production, enzymatic hydrogen generation and biocatalysed electrolysis. (06) Using carbon capture techniques it is possible to collect and harness a stream of carbon dioxide emitted from a source such as a fossil fuelled power station, an aluminium smelter, a biomass energy plant or an LNG plant. (07) Via a chemical process which uses a Sabatier reactor, hydrogen and carbon dioxide can be combined to produce methane gas capable of feeding LNG plants. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION (08) According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas, said method comprising the steps of: a. generating hydrogen in Australia from a facility using a source of renewable energy such as wind, solar, biomass or geothermal; b. collecting carbon dioxide from an Australian emission source such as a fossil fuelled power station, an aluminium smelter, a biomass energy plant or an LNG plant; 3 c. combining the carbon dioxide and the hydrogen in a Sabatier reactor in Australia to generate methane gas which can be delivered to an Australian LNG plant for export overseas. (09) According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas, said method comprising the steps of: a. generating hydrogen in Australia from a facility using a source of renewable energy such as wind, solar, biomass or geothermal; b. collecting carbon dioxide emissions from an overseas source such as a power station, aluminium smelter or biomass energy plant where the carbon dioxide is compressed and shipped to Australia where it is decompressed for feeding into a Sabatier reactor; c. combining the overseas sourced carbon dioxide with the locally produced hydrogen in a Sabatier reactor in Australia to generate methane gas which can be delivered to an Australian LNG plant for export overseas, thereby exporting both LNG and sequestration services. (10) Preferably where the hydrogen is generated via electrolysis the renewable electricity generating facility is connected to the grid to enable delivery of power to the grid connected electrolysis plant and Sabatier reactor. More preferably the hydrogen producing plant and the Sabatier reactor are closely located to each other to overcome the difficulty of storing and transporting hydrogen. (11) Preferably the Sabatier reactor and the source of carbon emission or decompression are closely located to reduce the costs of transporting carbon dioxide. More preferably the Sabatier reactor is closely located either to an LNG plant directly or to an existing gas pipeline network feeding into an LNG plant so as reduce the costs of methane transportation. Even more preferably the hydrogen generating plant, the Sabatier reactor, the source of carbon dioxide emission or decompression and the LNG plant are all closely located near a port facility such as Gladstone in Queensland. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES (12) In order to achieve a better understanding of the nature of the present invention, a preferred embodiment of a method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 4 (13) Figure 1 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas where carbon dioxide is sourced locally in Australia; and (14) Figure 2 is a schematic view of another embodiment of a method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas where carbon dioxide is sourced from and overseas emitter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT (15) As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a preferred methodology of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas involves the following general steps: a. generating electricity from a renewable source 1; b. using such electricity to power an electrolysis plant 2 to produce hydrogen and oxygen; c. feeding such hydrogen into a Sabatier reactor 3 together with a source of carbon dioxide from a local or overseas emitter 4 so as to generate methane and water; d. transporting such methane to an LNG plant 5 where ships 6 can transport it to an overseas LNG customer 7. (16) In this embodiment, the LNG produced and exported can be considered as renewable LNG because the manufacture of the LNG consumes the same amount of carbon dioxide as is emitted when the LNG is consumed in the overseas power station. (17) In this embodiment the renewable LNG can be considered to be part of an energy system with a closed carbon loop. (18) In this embodiment the renewable LNG can be considered as a way of transporting hydrogen produced from renewable sources. Via the Sabatier process, carbon molecules are being bonded to the hydrogen for ease of storage and transport in the form of methane and then once the hydrogen in the methane is consumed, resulting in the release of carbon dioxide, this carbon dioxide is effectively being captured and recycled to be bonded to yet more hydrogen in the form of methane. (19) In this embodiment the gas handling infrastructure both in Australia and overseas which has been and is being established to transport, store and consume methane can be used to store and export Australia's renewable energy resources whilst also being harnessed as a tool for carbon sequestration.

5 (20) In this embodiment where the exported renewable LNG is manufactured from carbon dioxide sourced from an overseas emitter there is created the opportunity to export both LNG and sequestration services. (21) In this embodiment where an overseas carbon dioxide emitter, rather than capturing and transporting its own direct emission. has met the costs of capturing the equivalent of its emissions from an Australian source and that carbon dioxide has been transported to the Australian Sabatier rector, there is created the opportunity to export both LNG and sequestration services. (22) In this embodiment the problem of intermittency which attaches to some forms of renewable energy such as wind and solar is addressed by effectively storing the energy in the gas infrastructure. (23) Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. For example, depending on access to electricity grid and gas pipelines, some components of the methodology could be located quite distant from each other as in an instance where the C02 source, the hydrogen generating plant and the Sabatier reactor are located at one inland location, whilst the renewable electricity generator is located at a distant alternative inland location and the LNG plant is placed at yet another location being a coastal port. (24) All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope of the present invention, the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.

Claims

1. A method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas, said method comprising the steps of: generating electricity in Australia from a facility powered by renewable energy such as wind, solar, biomass or geothermal; using this renewably generated electricity to power an electrolysis plant in Australia to split water into hydrogen and oxygen; collecting carbon dioxide from an Australian emission source such as a fossil fuelled power station, an aluminium smelter, a biomass energy plant or an LNG plant; combining the carbon dioxide and the hydrogen in a Sabatier reactor in Australia to generate methane gas which is delivered to an Australian LNG plant for export overseas.

2. A method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas as defined in claim 1 where both Liquid Natural Gas and sequestration services are exported because the carbon dioxide will be sourced from an overseas emitter and transported to the Australian Sabatier reactor or the overseas emitter will meet the costs of capturing the equivalent of its carbon dioxide emissions from an Australian source and that carbon dioxide will be transported to the Australian Sabatier rector.

3. A method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas as defined in claim 1 where the hydrogen is generated via the application of a renewable energy source using a process such as photocatalytic water splitting, fermentative hydrogen production, enzymatic hydrogen generation or biocatalysed electrolysis.

4. A method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas as defined in claim 3 where both Liquid Natural Gas and sequestration services are exported because the carbon dioxide will be sourced from an overseas emitter and transported to the Australian Sabatier reactor or the overseas emitter will meet the costs of capturing the equivalent of its carbon dioxide emissions from an Australian source and that carbon dioxide will be transported to the Australian Sabatier rector.

5. A method of sequestering carbon dioxide via the manufacture and export of renewable Liquid Natural Gas by publicising an actual or potential supply contract between a producer or potential producer of renewable Liquid Natural Gas and an operator of an LNG exporting plant as a means to attract financial and political support for the development in Australia of a plant to produce renewable Liquid Natural Gas. BRETTON ANTHONY COOPER 1 NOVEMBER 2011