Frequently Asked Questions

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) before it is released into the atmosphere. It is then transported and injected approximately one mile (or more) below the earth’s surface, where it remains permanently trapped.

CCS is a well-established technology that captures carbon from human-produced emissions sources (including agricultural processing, steel and cement production) on a large scale, and is an important factor in reaching net-zero CO₂ emission targets.

No. CCS is a well-established, proven technology that has been in safe operation for over 40 years in the United States and over 30 years globally.

In fact, CCS is being successfully implemented in Decatur, IL, via the Illinois Basin-Decatur Project (IBDP). The IBDP is an integrated industrial CCS system from emissions source to reservoir that stores CO₂ from ADM’s ethanol fermentation plant. Operations consist of a compression and dehydration facility, a delivery pipeline and injection wells into the Mt. Simon formation’s sandstone.

According to the Global CCS Institute’s 2019 Status Report, 40 million metric tons of CO₂ from plants currently in operation or construction are captured and stored each year. There are currently 10 large-scale operational facilities in the US. Globally, there are 51 large-scale CCS facilities in operation or under construction.

Carbon capture and storage technology is a safe, proven technology, and an important component to reducing emissions and meeting important climate goals. Experts from the White House, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency (IEA) all provide opinions that CCS is one of the only available, tested technologies that will enable emissions reductions goals to be achieved.

No. Industrial sectors like agricultural processing, cement production and steel production can leverage proven CCS technology to significantly reduce emissions – without disruption the production of critical products and services. CCS offers the ability to capture and permanently store CO₂, and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere from these industrial processes.

Deploying CCS at a power plant or industrial facility generally entails three major steps: capture, transportation and storage.

Several different technologies can be used to capture CO₂ at the source (the facility emitting CO₂). They fall into three categories: post-combustion carbon capture (the primary method used in existing power plants and industrial facilities), pre-combustion carbon capture (largely used in industrial processes) and oxy-fuel combustion systems. For post-combustion carbon capture, CO₂ is separated from the exhaust of a combustion or industrial process. The Mt. Simon Hub will involve capturing CO₂ released from the fermentation process at ethanol plants, and the ammonia production at fertilizer plants.

Once the CO₂ is captured, it is compressed into a fluid and transported to an appropriate storage site, usually by pipelines and/or ships and occasionally by trains or other vehicles. The Mt. Simon Hub will involve transportation via pipelines to be newly constructed.

Finally, in the third step, the CO₂ is injected into deep, underground geological formations, where it is stored long term, rather than being released into the atmosphere. Storage sites used for CO₂ include former oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline formations, and coal beds. Saline formations are porous formations filled with brine, or salty water, and span large volumes deep underground. The Mt. Simon Hub will involve storage in the deep Mt. Simon sandstone saline formation.

CO₂ injection is accomplished via dedicated injection wells. Wells are permitted through the state agencies and through the US EPA. The injection wells are constructed with multiple layers of steel pipe and cement to ensure that no CO₂ makes its way into freshwater aquifers that are used for drinking or irrigation. The US EPA requires routine tests to make sure the injection wells maintain mechanical integrity.

Trapping refers to the way in which the CO₂ remains underground in the location where it is injected. CO₂ is injected is porous rock (has void space between the grains of the rock) and permeable (allows fluids to move freely through it). Hundreds of rock layers separate the storage formation where the CO₂ is injected from the surface of the earth. The rock layer immediately on top of the formation is called the Eau Claire shale. The Eau Claire shale is thick and impermeable, thereby acting as a seal to prevent CO₂ from moving out of the storage formation. In addition to the Eau Claire shale, the Maquoketa shale and New Albany shale are major, shallower shale formations that act as redundant seals.

Yes. CCS is a proven and effective technology that has been used for more than for over 40 years in the United States and over 30 years globally.

Operational safety of CCS infrastructure is Wolf Carbon Solutions’ first priority. Our comprehensive safety programs will be designed in tandem with the design of the pipeline responsible for transporting CO₂ to the Mt. Simon formation for permanent storage. Safety programs and processes are well outlined in the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) regulations, will be rigorously deployed, and will be included in detail in our applications to the state agencies required to permit, build and operate the Mt. Simon Hub.

The potential risks associated with geological storage of carbon dioxide CO₂ – such as seismicity and storage security – have proven to be minimal and manageable. In fact, underground storage of CO₂ has been a naturally occurring process for hundreds of millions of years. Studies have found that geological CO₂ storage can be a safe option and, when managed properly, is unlikely to induce seismicity.

Wolf Carbon Solutions will be operating under the conditions of a Class VI injection permit.

The permit requires that the injection of CO₂ be conducted at pressures that are less than the hydraulic fracture gradient, which essentially eliminates the potential for causing earthquake or seismic activity because of operating these wells.

Wells permitted as Class VI CO₂ injection wells have extremely rigorous construction and reporting requirements to ensure the protection of sources of drinking water and the permanent storage of CO₂ deep within the earth.

No. CO₂ injection sites are chosen because of their geologic impermeability to ensure CO₂ is permanently trapped. The storage sites are located nearly one mile or more under the earth’s surface.

The Mt. Simon formation is a world-class sequestration reservoir, estimated to have enough storage capacity to permanently sequester at least 100 years of emissions from the entire state of Illinois.

Yes. 24 hours per day, 365 days a year, our Operations Control Centers will monitor and manage our CCS infrastructure from inside the pipe, on the ground and in the air. As part of our pipeline integrity program, our CO₂ pipeline will undergo: internal inspection tool (or smart pig) runs, right-of-way aerial and ground surveys, flow restriction valve inspections, relief valve testing, hydrostatic water testing and a comprehensive geohazard identification and monitoring program.

Safety is our first priority, and it is defined by the comprehensive set of programs and processes Wolf Carbon Solutions designs and implements to prevent an incident from occurring in the first place.

Yes. Wolf will file a risk assessment, plume modeling and EMS plan.

Wolf is responsible for deploying a public awareness program that includes the training and education of:

• Local elected officials
• Landowners
• Pipeline contractors and excavators
• Emergency response professionals

Additionally, we are working with a company that specializes in emergency response training and public awareness, and we are committed to ongoing training and support programs.

Building and managing relationships with landowners is important to us and critical to our success.

While application for the right of eminent domain or condemnation is part of our formal process to permit, build and operate CCS infrastructure, in our collective careers, no Wolf Carbon Solutions employee has ever used eminent domain or condemnation. We don’t intend to start now.

In the event there are property damages, under Iowa law, Wolf Carbon Solutions is responsible for reclamation after construction of the pipeline and for monitoring and repair post-construction, plus appropriate crop damages and inconvenience costs provided to the landowner. See generally Iowa Code Chapter 479B Hazardous Liquid Pipelines and Storage Facilities and Iowa Administrative Code 199-9 Restoration of Agricultural Lands During and After Pipeline Construction.

Questions regarding potential impacts to property values are often raised during pipeline project development. While these concerns are understandable, they are largely unsupported by factual evidence. Recent and historical studies have almost universally concluded that pipeline infrastructure has no impact on property values.

Multiple independent studies have been completed on the subject including a study published by the International Right of Way Association in which researchers were unable to “identify a systematic relationship between proximity to the pipeline and sale price or value.”

No.

While all land parcels are unique and require specific operation and construction plans, the pipeline will be buried at least five feet underground at all points along the route. The line will be constructed of heavy wall carbon steel.

The line will operate between 1400 and 2160 PSI.

The Mt. Simon Hub is expected to generate $2.8 billion in total impact and support thousands of jobs across Iowa and Illinois.

The Mt. Simon Hub will lower the carbon intensity of ethanol, bolstering its position as a premier alternative fuel. It also positions ethanol for attractive export markets and alternative uses like Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).