LAWRENCE — The Kansas Geological Survey at the University of Kansas has received an $11.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to test the safety of storing carbon dioxide captured from an industrial source deep underground in south-central Kansas. The grant is the largest ever received by the Geological Survey and is the first time CO2 from industrial activities will be captured and injected underground for long-term storage in Kansas. KGS geologist Lynn Watney said CO2 captured from the Abengoa Bioenergy ethanol plant near Colwich north of Wichita, will be transported to an injection well in the Wellington Oil Field south of Wichita in Sumner County. The CO2 will be compressed and injected about a mile underground into the lower part of the Arbuckle aquifer. He said the aquifer contains water that is too salty for human consumption. The Arbuckle aquifer is separated from shallower freshwater aquifers by thousands of feet of water-proof rock. Watney said. The federal government is looking at the storage of CO2, which is a greenhouse gas, in salt-water aquifers as one way to fight climate change. He said a positive result could create a new industry that will boost state and local economies while helping the environment.
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 4 p.m.
