DOE Project Injects 700 Tons of Carbon Dioxide into Texas Sandstone Formation
October 23, 2006 // Published as a news service by IHS
According to DOE, the tests represent a major step forward in the DOE carbon sequestration program.
The Frio Brine project is designed to determine how the CO2 moves through brine-filled highly porous sandstone representative of formations found worldwide.
By closely monitoring the CO2 flow with technologically advanced instruments over the next year, the researchers will add to their knowledge of whether these formations can effectively store CO2 over long periods of time, thereby significantly reducing the amount of the gas released to the atmosphere.
"Building on earlier Frio Brine tests, this current project will take the next logical step in the nation's carbon sequestration program to evaluate the storage potential of underground formations," said Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Jeffrey Jarrett.
"This test will help to advance our injection and monitoring technology to the point where we know what formations can safely and effectively store greenhouse gases in each region of the country to address global climate change."
Researchers from the lead project partner, the University of Texas at Austin's Bureau of Economic Geology, injected the CO2 into a test well near Dayton, Texas, about 40 miles northeast of Houston. The research team includes:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
- U.S. Geological Survey.
- Sandia Technologies LLC.
In earlier tests, the researchers successfully applied computer models to predict that the CO2 would quickly stop after traveling a short distance through the formation. Concurrently, the instruments used by the researchers were able to accurately measure both the pattern of movement and the final distribution of the carbon dioxide.
During the first weeks of the current monitoring project, researchers have already begun to collect important data on the chemistry, pressure and temperature changes caused by injection and the processes by which the formation returns to a stable condition.
By the end of the project, researchers will have collected new information to better assess and monitor larger-scale, longer-duration injections of CO2, an important step forward in understanding the sequestration process.
The Frio Brine pilot project falls within the Gulf Coast Carbon Center area, a participant in the DOE Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership. DOE created a network of regional government/industry partnerships to help determine the best approaches for capturing and permanently storing gases in different areas of the country.
Sequestration of CO2 and other gases plays a major role in reducing the effects of greenhouse gases associated with global warming. Carbon sequestration also plays a major role in FutureGen, a $1B DOE effort to build the first zero-emissions coal-burning plant that will produce electricity and hydrogen while storing carbon dioxide.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy.