The Blue Flint ethanol plant near Underwood has begun sequestering and storing carbon dioxide underground.
It’s the second ethanol plant in North Dakota to adopt carbon sequestration – the other being the Red Trail Energy plant at Richardton.
Blue Flint is owned by Harvestone. At a ceremony marking the start of CO2 sequestration, Harvestone CEO Jeff Zueger said the company’s goal is part of a larger initiative, dubbed “Vision Carbon Zero.”
"Our objective has us focused on the production of renewable fuel, with a 'zero lifecycle carbon intensity," Zueger said. "We do this so we can provide minimal impact to the environment, and carbon capture and storage is a key part of that mission."
Zueger said the plan is to store 200,000 tons of CO2 every year.
"That's the equivalent of removing emissions from 43,000 vehicles," Zueger said.
Zueger said the plan so far is to permanently store the CO2 – but he said the door is open for potential commercial use.
In an interview, Zueger also said having this process of “de-carbonizing” ethanol could open opportunities to produce aviation fuel.
"In order for us to be a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuels, we have to do things like carbon capture and storage, to continue to lower the carbon intensity for the ethanol that we produce," Zueger said.
The CO2 will be stored in the Broom Creek formation, about a mile below the surface.
