Blue Flint Ethanol produces more than 70 million gallons of ethanol per year, distillers grains for livestock feed, corn oil for renewable diesel production and, as of November 2023, the North Dakota plant injects its fermentation C02 into an underground permanent geologic storage formation. The plant’s capture of C02 has actually been year’s in the making. Since 2007, through a decade and a half of operations prior to the formation of &nbsp;its current parent company, &nbsp;Harvestone Low Carbon Partners, its management team researched, explored and invested time and resources in several carbon dioxide utilization options. An adjacent commercial greenhouse fed by C02 from the plant didn’t pan out. The possibility of an enhanced oil recovery project using C02 to aid in oil recovery with a large oil and gas company (Blue Flint is located on the fringe of a major North American shale oil and gas play) was never realized. Neither was the above-ground irrigation project or the idea of using C02 from the plant for an energized hydraulic fracturing process within the shale oil play to the west of the plant.“We worked on a lot of different projects to put that C02 to a beneficial purpose,” says Adam Dunlop, chief development officer for Harvestone. “We could never make the math work on a project.”Then, in 2018, the stipulations for the 45Q tax credit changed. Carbon producers no longer had to produce 500,000 tons of C02 per year to qualify for the federal incentive designed to provide monetary credit for carbon dioxide that is permanently stored or utilized. Instead, producers in the 100,000-ton-per-year range could be eligible. Knowing Blue Flint could qualify for the 45Q, Dunlop and his small team began the process of researching, exploring and investing in a carbon capture and storage project—right there at, or near, the ethanol plant in Underwood, N.D.For five years, the team worked through project challenges without access to any kind of blueprint from past ethanol plants that had taken the same route. They worked with state regulators that had never permitted any such project before. They had to navigate the temporary shutdown of an adjacent power plant responsible for their power in the middle of their carbon capture quest. Their initial assumptions about the placement of the actual injection well were off, by miles not feet. Dunlop, credited with leading the effort by Blue Flint, puts it this way: if there was a wall out there to run into, they found it.&nbsp;Now, as their multi-year effort to find and enact a way to utilize and benefit from carbon capture shows, the blueprint for capturing and injecting C02 produced via ethanol production, for some, is in hand. What’s taking place at the Underwood facility may be somewhat unique to its location and geology, but there are several takeaways from the project that Dunlop and others believe can, and will, translate across the ethanol industry.Deeply Studied Project&nbsp;&nbsp; Jeff Zueger, CEO of Harvestone, has been in the ethanol industry since 2006. Along with Dunlop, Zueger played an integral role in bringing the project to life. Today, it is one of less than 15 active carbon capture and sequestration projects of its kind in the world. When the team began determining the possibility of the project, Zeuger had to essentially dive into geology. Because the plant is located far enough east of the Williston Basin, there wasn't an abundance of existing wells that could offer geologic insight. To determine the geologic possibilities of a well suitable for permanent C02 “storage,” Zueger and Dunlop set a seismic shoot. They shot a 9-square-mile grid every 60 feet using seismic sensors. They also ran—at a considerable cost—a stratigraphic test well to help determine underground geology. “Even in the early days,” Zeuger says, “there were dollars at risk.”Dunlop says they were ultimately looking to know if the reservoir below the plant had suitable zones for storage. From the seismic shoots to the test well, the process was essentially “a multimillion-dollar science experiment,” Dunlop says. With several geologic experts on their side, including those from the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center and other well-respected state geologists and regulators, the experiment became almost an affirmation process, Dunlop adds. Highly qualified people believed it was viable early on.Other signs seemed to point forward, too. During the process the market was signaling the need to produce low-carbon fuels. And the board was in support of the plant pursuing CCS. “We felt like there was enough of an economic incentive,” Zueger says.The state of North Dakota was very supportive in Blue Flint’s efforts. Any information gained from the well testing near Underwood would benefit the state, the adjacent power plant and other interested C02 parties long-term, according to Zueger. The main issue with the state of North Dakota, however, was that it had never permitted such a project. The whole process was new to everyone involved. Zueger remains appreciative of the state’s engagement on the project—the work, the long-hours helping to ensure the permitting process was clear, and helping Blue Flint develop the clarity it needed to achieve its goal.After performing the seismic testing and drilling the test well, the team found out that capture would work best miles away from the plant site. At that point, Dunlop had to work with landowners to gain easements and then navigate the process of designing, constructing and managing a CO2 flowline infrastructure buildout where the actual injection well would be. Along with that, the company had to build a test well on the identified site that would later be used as the actual injection well.“What I learned is that every day is going to be a challenge. But we had to approach those challenges with an open mind,” he says. “Communication and collaboration with project partners and the community was really important.”Along with UND’s EERC, Zueger and Dunlop worked with several other big-name contractors known in the ethanol and &nbsp;carbon capture sectors. To help design, select and build the capture, compression and transport infrastructure, Blue Flint chose Salof Corp., which manufactures modular C02, LPG and LNG liquefaction plants, along with low-temperature process refrigeration systems. Zueger says Salof’s history on 40-plus projects similar to the liquefaction efforts needed at the ethanol plant helped Harvestone decide on teaming with the Texas-based firm.Fagen Inc. was brought on to help with the buildout. The project required adding blowers and compressors to take the C02 off the scrubbers and route it to a compressor system capable of taking it to pipeline-grade, liquefied critical CO2.They also had to double the electrical usage requirements at the plant to handle the new CO2 capture and injection needs. That required the installation of a combined heat and power system, largely because the adjacent power plant that had been supplying power to Blue Flint temporarily halted operations amid a transition of ownership. Along with the utility infrastructure, the new C02 infrastructure required the demolition of an existing maintenance shop. According to Dunlop, space at the Blue Flint site was at a premium. “A lot of work went into putting it all into a confined space,” he says.Verifying the geologic properties underground was the biggest challenge, Dunlop says, noting the process stretched out over four years. Zueger says acquiring medium voltage electricity equipment was a challenge. The flowline ended up stretching roughly three miles and, in addition to the final injection well, Blue Flint drilled an additional monitoring well roughly 900 feet below the surface.During the carbon capture and sequestration efforts, Zueger also helped guide the organization through an ownership transition; Blue Flint Ethanol and Dakota Spirit AgEnergy in Spiritwood, North Dakota, previously owned by Midwest AgEnergy Group, were acquired by Harvestone Low Carbon Partners, which was formed to “participate in the decarbonization of the U.S. industrial landscape.” Along with Blue Flint and Dakota Spirit AgEnergy, Harvestone also owns Iroquois Bio-Energy Co., an ethanol plant in Indiana. The potential of carbon capture at each site, it turns out, is tied to the formation of the new parent company.&nbsp;“We saw the potential for carbon capture at all three ethanol facilities,” Zueger says, explaining that the creation of Harvestone helped create the necessary capital to pursue the endeavors. Zueger and Dunlop are already busy researching, exploring and investing in carbon capture projects at the Dakota Spirit and Iroquois ethanol locations. At Iroquois, a drilling crew is now onsite performing work on a stratigraphic test well. At the Dakota Spirit site, seismic testing and shoots are already underway. “It is a really important part of our long-term strategy,” he says of adding carbon capture capabilities at multiple ethanol facilities.Lessons Captured&nbsp;&nbsp; The addition of carbon capture capabilities has changed the operations at Blue Flint. Extra operating staff has been added, along with the addition of a couple new people on the maintenance support team. What was first a novel and unfamiliar addition, has been effectively folded into the regular operation of the plant, Zueger says.Zueger and Dunlop both understand that providing a detailed blueprint to the industry might not be effective given the geologic differences inherent in every plant’s location, but they do think there are high-level takeaways. With projects like these, you have to follow what the science is telling you and be able to adjust, Zueger says. Initially, the plan was never to build an injection well miles from the plant, but that is what the seismic testing told them to do.It's also important to engage the right partners. They chose experience above all else, Dunlop says. They also relied on an established process for making go-forward decisions. “When you get to a decision point, you want to be familiar with the variables of risk and reward. You want to be familiar with your sensitivity analysis and from there, you will get the right answers,” Zueger adds.It's also not just about your internal capabilities. In the case of a new-to-the-team project, it's important to realize early on that outside counsel and help will be beneficial, if not crucial.Heading into its first full year of capture at Blue Flint—and with Harvestone studying CCS at its other plants—Zueger is modest about the accomplishment, but also proud. He believes his work is a long way from done. He envisions Harvestone being a leader in the carbon capture and sequestration space. And he also thinks the U.S. ethanol industry itself will be a global leader in CCS.Since completing the carbon project at Blue Flint, Zueger believes the view of ethanol producers has changed. “For a long time in the industry, it felt like we were always pushing uphill and fighting for a spot for our fuel at a rack. Now it feels like we are finally getting recognition,” he says, adding, “even though we’ve been doing this for a long time.” He pauses and adds, “It feels really good to be in ethanol production right now.”For Dunlop, a key takeaway of Blue Flint’s successful implementation of CCS is that transformative change can be accomplished by relatively small companies, and on development paths that are anything but linear.“I think it is important for ethanol producers to remember how resilient and innovative we can be,” he says. “This represents a true win for the little guys and for ethanol in general,” he adds. “We took an enormous project with no blueprint and managed it, took it from concept to design to commissioning, and now into operation.”The Blue Flint Carbon and Capture site is currently capturing 100 percent of the CO2 produced during ethanol fermentation. Approximately 600 metric tons of CO2 is now being injected into a natural underground geologic storage formation every day.“It is a big win for ethanol,” Dunlop says.Author: Luke Geiver&nbsp;&nbsp; Contact: writer@bbiinternational.com

2024-01-03 - Drilling Into The Future (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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Harvestone Low Carbon Partners’ Blue Flint Ethanol plant in North Dakota has brought its carbon capture and storage operation online—and with it, it’s vision for what’s to come.

Drilling Into The Future

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