Permanent Carbon Capture and Storage in Geologic Reservoirs via Mineral Carbonation

The storage of large volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep geological formations is one of the most promising climate mitigation options. The long-term retention time and environmental safety of CO2 storage are defined by the interaction of the injected CO2 with formation fluids and rocks. Finding storage solutions that are permanent, thermodynamically stable and environmentally benign would be desirable. Today, underground storage of CO2 is being conducted in depleted oil and gas reservoirs or in deep saline aquifers. To meet the potentially dramatic increase in demand for storage of CO2, unconventional formations and storage concepts must be explored. Storage in unconventional formations includes injection of CO2 into formations with particularly favorable containment properties. When injected into basalt or mantle peridotite, CO2 is expected to react with the calcium, magnesium silicate minerals of these rocks to form carbonate precipitate, permanently fixing the CO2 at depth. This talk aims to provide an overview of unconventional CO2 capture and storage techniques in geologic reservoirs with focus on on-going pilot CO2 injection and storage studies in Iceland and the Sultanate of Oman. In the CarbFix pilot project in Iceland, we developed a storage approach that accelerates the mineral carbonation in basaltic rocks. Approximately 2,200 tons of CO2 from a geothermal power plant are injected fully dissolved in water into a permeable basalt formation in SW Iceland for the purpose of permanent storage. In the Sultanate of Oman, we study the natural carbonation of mantle peridotites as an analog for mineral carbonation, and evaluate the feasibility of engineering such a system

Relative Permeability Experiments of Carbon Dioxide Displacing Brine and Their Implications for Carbon Sequestration

To mitigate anthropogenically induced climate change and ocean acidification, net carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere must be reduced. One proposed option is underground CO2 disposal. Large-scale injection of CO2 into the Earth’s crust requires an understanding of the multiphase flow properties of high-pressure CO2 displacing brine. We present laboratory-scale core flooding experiments designed to measure CO2 endpoint relative permeability for CO2 displacing brine at in situ pressures, salinities, and temperatures. Endpoint drainage CO2 relative permeabilities for liquid and supercritical CO2 were found to be clustered around 0.4 for both the synthetic and natural media studied. These values indicate that relative to CO2, water may not be strongly wetting the solid surface. Based on these results, CO2 injectivity will be reduced and pressure-limited reservoirs will have reduced disposal capacity, though area-limited reservoirs may have increased capacity. Future reservoir-scale modeling efforts should incorporate sensitivity to relative permeability. Assuming applicability of the experimental results to other lithologies and that the majority of reservoirs are pressure limited, geologic carbon sequestration would require approximately twice the number of wells for the same injectivity

New insights into lithology and hydrogeology of the northern Newark Rift Basin

The marginal facies of the Triassic rift basins in the eastern United States are poorly documented, particularly on the hinge or hanging wall margins. This study presents a lithological description and multiscale petrophysical analysis of basement rocks, overlying marginal facies of the early synrift strata, and the basal contact of the Palisade Sill that were drilled and cored in the northeastern part of the Newark Basin, near its terminus. The expression of the Stockton Formation differs from that in the central basin in having thinner layers, with uncertain temporal relationship to the type area. The bottom 50 m is lithologically distinct with brick-red to dark-purple mudstones and sandstones, abundant gypsum-filled fractures, and a thin zone with anomalously high uranium concentration, not associated with organic-rich mudstones as other occurrences in the basin. The crystalline basement is apparently Fordham gneiss, overlain by a thin sandstone layer and a dark-purple hydrophilic mudstone. Despite the abundance of coarse-grained strata and multiple sets of tectonic fractures, hydraulically transmissive zones are sparse, and do not uniquely correlate to fracture and/or matrix characteristics. Enhanced transmissivity may exist along intrusion boundaries due to enhanced thermal fracturing, but more hydraulic data are needed to verify it. Comparison of petrophysical data in two boreholes ∼210 m apart shows no direct correlation of individual lithological units and their hydraulic properties, although the overall formation characteristics are similar. The results highlight challenges for outcrop correlation at the marginal edges of the rift basins and estimating reservoir properties of these heterogeneous formations

Microbial stimulation and succession following a test well injection simulating CO₂ leakage into a shallow Newark Basin aquifer

In addition to efforts aimed at reducing anthropogenic production of greenhouse gases, geological storage of CO2 is being explored as a strategy to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas emission and mitigate climate change. Previous studies of the deep subsurface in North America have not fully considered the potential negative effects of CO2 leakage into shallow drinking water aquifers, especially from a microbiological perspective. A test well in the Newark Rift Basin was utilized in two field experiments to investigate patterns of microbial succession following injection of CO2-saturated water into an isolated aquifer interval, simulating a CO2 leakage scenario. A decrease in pH following injection of CO2 saturated aquifer water was accompanied by mobilization of trace elements (e.g. Fe and Mn), and increased bacterial cell concentrations in the recovered water. 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence libraries from samples collected before and after the test well injection were compared to link variability in geochemistry to changes in aquifer microbiology. Significant changes in microbial composition, compared to background conditions, were found following the test well injections, including a decrease in Proteobacteria, and an increased presence of Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia and microbial taxa often noted to be associated with iron and sulfate reduction. The concurrence of increased microbial cell concentrations and rapid microbial community succession indicate significant changes in aquifer microbial communities immediately following the experimental CO2 leakage event. Samples collected one year post-injection were similar in cell number to the original background condition and community composition, although not identical, began to revert toward the pre-injection condition, indicating microbial resilience following a leakage disturbance. This study provides a first glimpse into the in situ successional response of microbial communities to CO2 leakage after subsurface injection in the Newark Basin and the potential microbiological impact of CO2 leakage on drinking water resources

Reactive transport modelling insights into CO2 migration through sub-vertical fluid flow structures

Sub-vertical geological structures that cut through the overburden, usually called chimneys or pipes, are common in sedimentary basins. Chimneys behave as conduits that hydraulically connect deep strata with the overburden and seabed. Hence, if stored CO2 migrates to a sufficiently high permeability chimney the risk of CO2 leakage at the seabed increases. Despite the possible negative effects these structures may have on the integrity of CO2 storage sites, little is known about (i) their effective permeability distribution, controlled by the combined role of fractures and matrix, and (ii) feedback mechanisms between porosity-permeability, CO2 reactivity and mineralogy within them. Reactive transport modelling is used to perform 2D axisymmetric radial simulations of geological systems containing chimneys. CO2 saturations of 10%, 30% and 50% are imposed on a cell located next to the symmetry axis at the base of the model. Under hydrostatic conditions, CO2 reaches the seabed, at 500 m above the injection point, in less than 100 yr using injected CO2 saturations at or above 30% and with overburden isotropic permeabilities and chimney vertical permeabilities above 10−14  m2. Vertical fractures with apertures larger than 0.05 mm for volume fractions below 1% are sufficient to sustain such high vertical permeabilities in the chimney with a relatively high cap rock matrix permeability of 10−16 m2. Over 100 yr of CO2 injection, changes in porosity and permeability due to mineral precipitation/dissolution are negligible. For this time scale, in systems containing chimneys sufficiently far away from the injection well, the risk of CO2 leakage at the seabed is primarily controlled by the pre-existing hydrogeological state of the system

The urgency of the development of CO2 capture from ambient air

CO2 capture and storage (CCS) has the potential to develop into an important tool to address climate change. Given society’s present reliance on fossil fuels, widespread adoption of CCS appears indispensable for meeting stringent climate targets. We argue that for conventional CCS to become a successful climate mitigation technology—which by necessity has to operate on a large scale—it may need to be complemented with air capture, removing CO2 directly from the atmosphere. Air capture of CO2 could act as insurance against CO2 leaking from storage and furthermore may provide an option for dealing with emissions from mobile dispersed sources such as automobiles and airplanes

Parapatric speciation of Meiothermus in serpentinite-hosted aquifers in Oman

The factors that control the distribution and evolution of microbial life in subsurface environments remain enigmatic due to challenges associated with sampling fluids from discrete depth intervals via boreholes while avoiding mixing of fluids. Here, using an inflatable packer system, fracture waters were isolated and collected from three discrete depth intervals spanning >130 m in a borehole intersecting an ultramafic rock formation undergoing serpentinization in the Samail Ophiolite, Sultanate of Oman. Near surface aquifer waters were moderately reducing and had alkaline pH while deeper aquifer waters were reduced and had hyperalkaline pH, indicating extensive influence by serpentinization. Metagenomic sequencing and analysis of DNA from filtered biomass collected from discrete depth intervals revealed an abundance of aerobes in near surface waters and a greater proportion of anaerobes at depth. Yet the abundance of the putatively obligate aerobe, Meiothermus, increased with depth, providing an opportunity to evaluate the influence of chemical and spatial variation on its distribution and speciation. Two clades of Meiothermus metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) were identified that correspond to surface and deep populations termed Types I (S) and II (D), respectively; both clades comprised an apparently Oman-specific lineage indicating a common ancestor. Type II (D) clade MAGs encoded fewer genes and were undergoing slower genome replication as inferred from read mapping. Further, single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and mobile genetic elements identified among MAGs revealed detectable, albeit limited, evidence for gene flow/recombination between spatially segregated Type I (S) and Type II (D) populations. Together, these observations indicate that chemical variation generated by serpentinization, combined with physical barriers that reduce/limit dispersal and gene flow, allowed for the parapatric speciation of Meiothermus in the Samail Ophiolite or a geologic precursor. Further, Meiothermus genomic data suggest that deep and shallow aquifer fluids in the Samail Ophiolite may mix over shorter time scales than has been previously estimated from geochemical data

Monitoring permanent CO2 storage by in situ mineral carbonation using a reactive tracer technique

AbstractIn situ mineral carbonation provides the most effective and permanent solution for geologic CO2 storage. Basaltic rocks have the potential to store large volumes of CO2 as (Ca, Mg, Fe) carbonates [1]. Existing monitoring and verification techniques for geologic CO2 storage are insufficient to quantitatively characterize solubility and mineral trapping in a geologic reservoir. We developed and tested a new reactive tracer technique for quantitative monitoring and detection of dissolved and chemically transformed CO2. The technique involves the active tagging of the injected CO2 with low levels of radiocarbon (14C) as a reactive tracer in combination with the injection of non-reactive tracers such as sulfurhexafluoride (SF6) and trifluoromethylsulphur pentafluoride (SF5CF3). The tracer technique has been applied at the CarbFix pilot injection site in Hellisheidi, Iceland as part of a comprehensive geochemical monitoring program during two injection phases; Phase III and IV. SF6 and SF5CF3 confirm the arrival of the injected CO2 and CO2+H2S solutions at the first observation well HN04, which is 125m west of the injection well at 520 m depth. The initial breakthrough of the migrating dissolved CO2 front occurred 63 and 62 days after injection began as evidenced by an initial peak in the SF6, SF5CF3, 14C, and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations. The major increase in the non-reactive tracer concentrations occurred several months after the initial breakthrough, although no major concentration increase has been observed for 14C and DIC suggesting that mineral reactions are dominant during CO2 injection

Geological and Geochemical Controls on Subsurface Microbial Life in the Samail Ophiolite, Oman.

Microbial abundance and diversity in deep subsurface environments is dependent upon the availability of energy and carbon. However, supplies of oxidants and reductants capable of sustaining life within mafic and ultramafic continental aquifers undergoing low-temperature water-rock reaction are relatively unknown. We conducted an extensive analysis of the geochemistry and microbial communities recovered from fluids sampled from boreholes hosted in peridotite and gabbro in the Tayin block of the Samail Ophiolite in the Sultanate of Oman. The geochemical compositions of subsurface fluids in the ophiolite are highly variable, reflecting differences in host rock composition and the extent of fluid-rock interaction. Principal component analysis of fluid geochemistry and geologic context indicate the presence of at least four fluid types in the Samail Ophiolite ("gabbro," "alkaline peridotite," "hyperalkaline peridotite," and "gabbro/peridotite contact") that vary strongly in pH and the concentrations of

Ticagrelor, but not clopidogrel, reduces arterial thrombosis via endothelial tissue factor suppression

The P2Y12 antagonist ticagrelor reduces mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), compared with clopidogrel, and the mechanisms underlying this effect are not clearly understood. Arterial thrombosis is the key event in ACS; however, direct vascular effects of either ticagrelor or clopidogrel with focus on arterial thrombosis and its key trigger tissue factor have not been previously investigated.Methods and results: Human aortic endothelial cells were treated with ticagrelor or clopidogrel active metabolite (CAM) and stimulated with tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α); effects on procoagulant tissue factor (TF) expression and activity, its counter-player TF pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and the underlying mechanisms were determined. Further, arterial thrombosis by photochemical injury of the common carotid artery, and TF expression in the murine endothelium were examined in C57BL/6 mice treated with ticagrelor or clopidogrel. Ticagrelor, but not CAM, reduced TNF-α-induced TF expression via proteasomal degradation and TF activity, independently of the P2Y12 receptor and the equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (ENT1), an additional target of ticagrelor. In C57BL/6 mice, ticagrelor prolonged time to arterial occlusion, compared with clopidogrel, despite comparable antiplatelet effects. In line with our in vitro results, ticagrelor, but not clopidogrel, reduced TF expression in the endothelium of murine arteries.Conclusion: Ticagrelor, unlike clopidogrel, exhibits endothelial-specific antithrombotic properties and blunts arterial thrombus formation. The additional antithrombotic properties displayed by ticagrelor may explain its greater efficacy in reducing thrombotic events in clinical trials. These findings may provide the basis for new indications for ticagrelor