Emission capture study funded for pape...( WALLULA Wash. Battelle and Boise In...)

WALLULA, Wash. Battelle and Boise Inc. (NYSE: BZ) will conduct the first-ever feasibility study of new carbon capture and storage technology in the $140 billion pulp, paper and paperboard industry, under a $500,000 project announced by the Department of Energy (DOE).

This project will focus on capture technology developed by Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) and will take place at Boise's pulp and paper mill near Wallula, Wash. The seven-month study was funded by the DOE's Office of Fossil Energy and managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. It was one of 12 projects totaling $21.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding that DOE awarded recently for large-scale industrial carbon capture and storage.

Successful completion of the study could pave the way for pulp, paper and other industries to use technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2).

"This study provides us an opportunity to assess the feasibility of safely and permanently storing CO2 in deep underground basalt formations for a commercial-scale operation," said Pete McGrail, Laboratory Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and chief scientist for the project. Battelle operates PNNL for DOE.

In Phase One, the team will develop a conceptual design for a sequestration system integrated with Fluor's capture system technology that could support injecting about 720,000 tons a year of CO2 into a deep flood basalt formation.

"This project will evaluate the potential for an enhanced competitive position for our Boise Wallula mill, and this feasibility study fits squarely within our broader companywide strategy to reduce carbon emissions," said Nick Nachbar, Boise's Wallula mill manager. The company has made voluntary commitments to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

Coupling the capture system with permanent geologic sequestration of the CO2 represents an opportunity for Boise and the pulp and pap
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