Life Cycle Assessment of Post-Combustion CO2 Capture and CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery based on the Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project in Saskatchewan

The environmental performance of a carbon dioxide (CO2) capture project at the Saskatchewan Power Corporation's (SaskPower) Boundary Dam Power Station in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada was evaluated using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Operations of the lignite coal fired electricity generating station with and without post-combustion CO2 capture and CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR) were modelled. The results showed a reduction in global warming and air impact categories. Even though increases in some categories associated with soil and water were observed, the broad distribution associated with atmospheric release was significantly reduced, which provided human health benefits that outweigh the negative of increased emissions. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.