Assessing risk to fresh water resources from long term CO2 injection- laboratory and field studies

In developing a site for geologic sequestration, one must assess potential consequences of failure to adequately contain injected carbon dioxide (CO2). Upward migration of CO2 or displacement of saline water because of increased pressure might impact protected water resources 100s to 1000s of meters above a sequestration interval. Questions posed are: (1) Can changes in chemistry of fresh water aquifers provide evidence of CO2 leakage from deep injection/sequestration reservoirs containing brine and or hydrocarbons? (2) What parameters can we use to assess potential impacts to water quality? (3) If CO2 leakage to freshwater aquifers occurs, will groundwater quality be degraded and if so, over what time period? Modeling and reaction experiments plus known occurrences of naturally CO2-charged potable water show that the common chemical reaction products from dissolution of CO2 into freshwater include rapid buffering of acidity by dissolution of calcite and slower equilibrium by reaction with clays and feldspars. Results from a series of laboratory batch reactions of CO2 with diverse aquifer rocks show geochemical response within hours to days after introduction of CO2. Results included decreased pH and increased concentrations of cations in CO2 experimental runs relative to control runs using argon (Ar). Some cation (Ba, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, and Sr) concentrations increased over and an order of magnitude during CO2 runs. Results are aquifer dependant in that experimental vessels containing different aquifer rocks showed different magnitudes of increase in cation concentrations. Field studies designed to improve understanding of risk to fresh water are underway in the vicinity of (1) SACROC oilfield in Scurry County, Texas, USA where CO2 has been injected for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) since 1972 and (2) the Cranfield unit in Adams County, Mississippi, USA where CO2 EOR is currently underway. Both field studies are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regional carbon sequestration partnership programs and industrial sponsors. Preliminary results of groundwater monitoring are currently available for the SACROC field study where researchers investigated 68 water wells and one spring during five field excursions between June 2006 and July 2008. Results to date show no trend of preferential degradation below drinking water standards in areas of CO2 injection (inside SACROC) as compared to areas outside of the SACROC oil field.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Assembly of colloidal clusters driven by the polyhedral shape of metal-organic framework particles

Altres ajuts: This work was supported by the CERCA Program/Generalitat de Catalunya.Control of the assembly of colloidal particles into discrete or higher-dimensional architectures is important for the design of myriad materials, including plasmonic sensing systems and photonic crystals. Here, we report a new approach that uses the polyhedral shape of metal-organic-framework (MOF) particles to direct the assembly of colloidal clusters. This approach is based on controlling the attachment of a single spherical polystyrene particle on each face of a polyhedral particle via colloidal fusion synthesis, so that the polyhedral shape defines the final coordination number, which is equal to the number of faces, and geometry of the assembled colloidal cluster. As a proof of concept, we assembled six-coordinated (6-c) octahedral and 8-c cubic clusters using cubic ZIF-8 and octahedral UiO-66 core particles. Moreover, we extended this approach to synthesize a highly coordinated 12-c cuboctahedral cluster from a rhombic dodecahedral ZIF-8 particle. We anticipate that the synthesized colloidal clusters could be further evolved into spherical core-shell MOF@polystyrene particles under conditions that promote a higher fusion degree, thus expanding the methods available for the synthesis of MOF-polymer composites

Laboratory Batch Experiments and Geochemical Modelling of Water-rock-super Critical CO2 Reactions in Gulf of Mexico Miocene Rocks: Implications for Future CCS Projects

AbstractStorage of CO2 in deep saline formations in a super critical liquid state has been proposed as a way to mitigate the effects of increased atmospheric CO2 levels. The ultimate fate of the CO2 after injection requires an understanding of mineral dissolution/precipitation reactions occurring between the target formation minerals and the existing formation brines at formation temperatures and pressures in the presence of supercritical CO2. In this experiment core material taken from a Miocene age Gulf of Mexico core from a depth of 2806 m was reacted with synthetic brine at varied but high temperatures and pressures in the presence of super critical CO2. XRD and SEM analyses were conducted before and after reaction to identify dissolution of existing minerals and precipitation of authigenic mineral phases. Periodic geochemical analysis of the reaction fluid was used to quantify changes in the elemental composition of the reaction fluid which helps identify potential mineral dissolution/precipitation reactions.Reaction brine (140ml) was loaded into a high pressure reaction vessel with 8g of core sample.Experimental temperature was set to 70, 100 or 130°C; pressure was set to 200 or 300bar, and solution chemistry was changed from de-ionized (DI) water to a 1.88M NaCl solution. After the introduction of CO2 the Ca and alkalinity concentrations showed the largest increases, Ca concentrations increased ∼1000ppm, suggesting carbonate dissolution was the dominant geochemical reaction. Final equilibrium Ca concentrations increased with decreasing reaction temperature because of greater CO2 solubility. In addition, the reactions with the NaCl brine produced higher equilibrium Ca concentrations than the DI water experiment, likely due to the decrease in ion activity with higher ionic strength solutions. Pressure change from 200 to 300bar did not significantly alter reaction rates. Unlike Ca, silicate dissolution reactions appear to be positively correlated with reaction temperature. Silicate dissolution rates are 2 orders of magnitude slower than carbonate dissolution rates.In this study, PHREEQC was used to simulate brine-rock-CO2 interactions in batch experiments under high pressure and high temperature. Generally, the geochemical models reproduced concentration of Ca, Mg, K and Si seen in the water rock experiments suggesting that carbonate and K-feldspar dissolution are the dominant geochemical reactions. In addition, geochemical models show that dawsonite precipitates in higher salinity (higher Na+ concentration) experiments

Negative Mood State Enhances the Susceptibility to Unpleasant Events: Neural Correlates from a Music-Primed Emotion Classification Task

Background: Various affective disorders are linked with enhanced processing of unpleasant stimuli. However, this link is likely a result of the dominant negative mood derived from the disorder, rather than a result of the disorder itself. Additionally, little is currently known about the influence of mood on the susceptibility to emotional events in healthy populations.Method: Event-Related Potentials (ERP) were recorded for pleasant, neutral and unpleasant pictures while subjects performed an emotional/neutral picture classification task during positive, neutral, or negative mood induced by instrumental Chinese music.Results: Late Positive Potential (LPP) amplitudes were positively related to the affective arousal of pictures. The emotional responding to unpleasant pictures, indicated by the unpleasant-neutral differences in LPPs, was enhanced during negative compared to neutral and positive moods in the entire LPP time window (600–1000 ms). The magnitude of this enhancement was larger with increasing self-reported negative mood. In contrast, this responding was reduced during positive compared to neutral mood in the 800–1000 ms interval. Additionally, LPP reactions to pleasant stimuli were similar across positive, neutral and negative moods except those in the 800–900 ms interval.Implications: Negative mood intensifies the humans' susceptibility to unpleasant events in healthy individuals. In contrast, music-induced happy mood is effective in reducing the susceptibility to these events. Practical implications of these findings were discussed.</p

An empirical analysis of FDI and institutional quality on environmental quality and economic growth, evidence from the panel of asian oil-producing and non-oil-producing economies

This study applies the augmented mean group (AMG) estimation technique to investigate whether institutional quality and FDI contribute to economic growth and environmental quality in emerging Asian oil-producing and non-oil-producing countries during the period 1975–2020. The estimation of AMG strategy indicates that for every 1% increase in FDI, institutional quality and carbon emissions can significantly boost economic growth by 0.882%, 0.659%, and 0.605%, respectively. Likewise, trade liberalization, transport infrastructure and urbanization can significantly boost economic growth. Long-term variable elasticity coefficients based on carbon emissions model suggest that FDI can stimulate carbon emissions, thereby validating the Pollution Heaven Hypothesis (PHH) in selected panel of countries. Institutional quality has a significant negative impact on carbon emissions, while GDP, trade openness, urbanization, and investment in transport infrastructure contribute significantly to carbon dioxide emissions. Country wise estimates of the AMG strategy show that the institutional quality of oil-producing countries has no significant impact on economic growth, but does boost economic growth in non-oil producing countries. The quality of institutions in both non-oil and oil-producing countries can significantly reduce carbon emissions. FDI stimulates economic growth in oil-producing countries compared to non-oil-producing countries. However, FDI contributes significantly to both oil and non-oil-producing CO2 emissions, thus validating PHH. Controlling factors such as economic growth increase significantly to CO2 emissions in oil-producing countries, while, CO2 emissions from petro-states stimulate more to economic growth than non-petroleum states. The impact of trade liberalization on economic growth is significantly positive in both oil and non-oil-producing countries, but the contribution of non-oil-producing economies is higher than that of oil-producing countries. Compared with non-oil producing countries, trade liberalization in oil-producing countries contributes more to carbon emissions. Investment in transportation infrastructure significantly boosted economic growth in both oil and non-oil producing countries, but oil producing countries contributed more than non-oil producing countries. A range of policy proposals were discussed to achieve economic and environmental sustainability

Single- and Multimagnon Dynamics in Antiferromagnetic α\alpha-Fe2_2O3_3 Thin Films

Understanding the spin dynamics in antiferromagnetic (AFM) thin films is fundamental for designing novel devices based on AFM magnon transport. Here, we study the magnon dynamics in thin films of AFM $S=5/2$ $\alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ by combining resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, Anderson impurity model plus dynamical mean-field theory, and Heisenberg spin model. Below 100 meV, we observe the thickness-independent (down to 15 nm) acoustic single-magnon mode. At higher energies (100-500 meV), an unexpected sequence of equally spaced, optical modes is resolved and ascribed to $\Delta S_z = 1$, 2, 3, 4, and 5 magnetic excitations corresponding to multiple, noninteracting magnons. Our study unveils the energy, character, and momentum-dependence of single and multimagnons in $\alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ thin films, with impact on AFM magnon transport and its related phenomena. From a broader perspective, we generalize the use of L-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering as a multispin-excitation probe up to $\Delta S_z = 2S$. Our analysis identifies the spin-orbital mixing in the valence shell as the key element for accessing excitations beyond $\Delta S_z = 1$, and up to, e.g., $\Delta S_z = 5$. At the same time, we elucidate the novel origin of the spin excitations beyond the $\Delta S_z = 2$, emphasizing the key role played by the crystal lattice as a reservoir of angular momentum that complements the quanta carried by the absorbed and emitted photons.Comment: Accepted in Physical Review

Geochemical characterization of shallow groundwater at the Cranfield aquifer and numerical simulation: Can pH and carbonate parameters be used to detect potential CO2 leakage at geological CO2 sequestration sites?

Bureau of Economic Geolog

The association between social media use and well-being during quarantine period: testing a moderated mediation model

ObjectivesSocial media use (SMU) increased dramatically during COVID-19 due to policies such as long-term quarantine. Given that SMU has complex effects on individuals’ well-being, this study aimed to explore the relationship between SMU and subjective well-being and the influencing factors in the context of the pandemic in China.MethodsA total of 895 adults (413 males) in different risk areas across China participated in this study. They provided self-reported data on subjective well-being, social media use, adaptive humor, and other demographic variables.ResultsIt revealed that SMU was positively associated with individual well-being, an effect partially mediated by the score of adaptive humor. Furthermore, the effect of SMU on adaptive humor was moderated by trait optimism, with the effect more robust in high (vs. low) optimistic individuals.ConclusionThis study explored the positive effects of SMU on individuals’ well-being, suggesting that individuals may better cope with negative experiences and maintain well-being under quarantine by showing more adaptive humor on social media