Injection work at the Ketzin site has been safe and reliable since June 2008. Storage operations take place consistently all year long. The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences has appointed Verbundnetz Gas AG (VNG) to manage the operations. The plant is staffed around the clock in order to monitor and manage the injection. The experienced VNG personnel monitors the delivery of CO2, its intermediate storage in the tank systems and the entire injection process.
The plant engineers and scientists from GFZ hold weekly meetings to evaluate the progress of the injection. The plant operates under the requirement that the scientific work programs run safe and in agreement with the operating plans approved by the LBGR (Brandenburg State Agency for Mining, Geology and Raw Materials / Landesamt für Bergbau, Geologie und Rohstoffe Brandenburg).
The CO2 that is delivered to Ketzin is kept in two 50-ton storage tanks. It is liquid and has a temperature of about -20°C, and the tanks are pressurized to about 18 bar. In order to inject the CO2 into the well or the storage layer, respectively, it is heated to about 35 °C and compressed to 60 bar.
The primary CO2 source for the Ketzin pilot site is food grade CO2 (purity > 99.9 %) from Linde AG. Since June 2008, more than 57,000 tonnes food-grade CO2 have been injected. Only within an experiment from May 04, 2011 to June 13, 2011 a total amount of 1,515 tonnes CO2 (purity > 99.7 %) from the oxyfuel pilot plant Schwarze Pumpe (Vattenfall) was used. This experiment with CO2 from Schwarze Pumpe was the first one worldwide where technical CO2 captured at a power plant was stored.
The two safety valves installed on and in the injection well, as well as constant around-the-clock pressure monitoring and additional CO2 sensors in each of the three well cellars, guarantee safe operations management. Additional pressure and temperature measurement cables, installed permanently in every well, are also used for monitoring the injection operations. All of the plant and safety technology has been independently reviewed before startup.