Injection of CO2 started at the Nesjavellir power plant
The injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) at the Nesjavellir power plant has started as the new Carbfix´s pilot plant for carbon capture and disposal at ON Power´s geothermal power plant at Nesjavellir was put into operation.
The pilot plant that was developed and constructed for the project is movable, which opens up the possibility of moving it to different locations for other Carbfix pilot projects in the future. The pilot plant was designed and constructed in collaboration with Verkís Consulting Engineers, Mannvit Consulting Engineers and Héðinn.
Verkís was in charge of the project management, design coordination, tender documents for construction as well as final design and project supervision of the civil engineering part of the project (structural elements, concrete work, earthwork, pipes in the ground and outside the building, landscaping) and the electrical engineering part of the project (electrical wiring, sensors and building´s electrical systems).
The mission of the project is to lay the foundation for the full capture and disposal of CO2 and H2S from the Nesjavellir power plant, with a permanent capture and disposal plant that is scheduled to be operational in 2030 – as well as increasing CO2 capture efficiency of the Carbfix technology.
The pilot plant at Nesjavellir captures all H2S that flows through it and up to 98% of CO2. It has an annual capture capacity of 3.000 tons of CO2 and 1.000 tons of H2S, which represents approximately 20% of the power plant’s annual emissions.
At the pilot plant the captured CO2 is dissolved in water, and the gas-laden water is then injected into the basaltic rock layers. When the injection fluid flows out into the basaltic bedrock it reacts with the bedrock and forms stable carbonate minerals.
The project is part of the GECO project (Geothermal Emission Control), and funded by Horizon 2020, the research and innovation program of the European Union.
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