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Field test could lead to reducing CO2 emissions worldwide (sequestration in deep basalt formation) [View all]
http://www.pnnl.gov/news/release.aspx?id=997[font face=Serif][font size=5]Field test could lead to reducing CO[font size="3"]2[/font] emissions worldwide[/font]
July 26, 2013
Geoffrey Harvey, PNNL, (509) 372-6083
Destry Henderson, Boise Inc., (509) 545-3260
Lindsey Tollefson, MSU, (409) 994-3755
[font size=4]Wallula carbon dioxide injection into deep basalt formation underway[/font]
[font size=3]WALLULA, Wash. – An injection of carbon dioxide, or CO[font size="1"]2[/font], has begun at a site in southeastern Washington to test deep geologic storage. Battelle researchers based at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are injecting 1,000 tons of CO[font size="1"]2[/font] one-half mile underground to see if the greenhouse gas can be stored safely and permanently in ancient basalt flows.
Boise Inc. teamed with Battelle, which operates PNNL for the U.S. Department of Energy, and Praxair, Inc. to conduct the CO[font size="1"]2[/font] injection phase of the pilot project. Injection is occurring on Boise property in deep basalt — the same massive ancient lava flows that underlie major portions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The joint research is conducted under the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership, which is led by Montana State University and funded by DOE and a consortium of industrial partners. It is one of seven regional partnerships throughout the United States aimed at finding safe and economical ways to permanently store the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.
"We have been conducting laboratory tests on basalts from the region for several years that have conclusively demonstrated the unique geochemical nature of basalts to quickly react with CO[font size="1"]2[/font] and form carbonate minerals or solid rock, the safest and most permanent form for storage in the subsurface," said Battelle project manager Pete McGrail. "However convincing the laboratory data may be, proving the same processes operate deep underground can only be done by conducting a successful field demonstration. We have taken the very first steps to do that here in Wallula."
During the next two to three weeks, Battelle scientists will work with Praxair technicians to inject into porous layers of basalt CO[font size="1"]2[/font] that has been compressed into a liquid-like state. Thick and impermeable layers of rock above these porous layers will act as barriers or seals to prevent the CO[font size="1"]2[/font] from travelling vertically upward.
Over the next 14 months, fluid samples will be extracted from the injection well. Scientists will look for changes in chemical composition in comparison to baseline data compiled prior to injection. Scientists will also compare results to predictions made using PNNL's supercomputer. At the end of the monitoring period, rock samples will be taken from the well. They are expected to exhibit the formation of limestone crystals as a result of CO[font size="1"]2[/font] reacting with minerals in the basalt.
…
According to recent DOE estimates, the United States and portions of Canada have enough potential capacity in geologic formations to store as much as 900 years of CO[font size="1"]2[/font] emissions. If the Wallula demonstration is successful, basalt flows in many parts of the world may serve as storage locations to store CO[font size="1"]2[/font] emissions from a variety of industrial facilities.
…[/font][/font]
July 26, 2013
Geoffrey Harvey, PNNL, (509) 372-6083
Destry Henderson, Boise Inc., (509) 545-3260
Lindsey Tollefson, MSU, (409) 994-3755
[font size=4]Wallula carbon dioxide injection into deep basalt formation underway[/font]
[font size=3]WALLULA, Wash. – An injection of carbon dioxide, or CO[font size="1"]2[/font], has begun at a site in southeastern Washington to test deep geologic storage. Battelle researchers based at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are injecting 1,000 tons of CO[font size="1"]2[/font] one-half mile underground to see if the greenhouse gas can be stored safely and permanently in ancient basalt flows.
Boise Inc. teamed with Battelle, which operates PNNL for the U.S. Department of Energy, and Praxair, Inc. to conduct the CO[font size="1"]2[/font] injection phase of the pilot project. Injection is occurring on Boise property in deep basalt — the same massive ancient lava flows that underlie major portions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The joint research is conducted under the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership, which is led by Montana State University and funded by DOE and a consortium of industrial partners. It is one of seven regional partnerships throughout the United States aimed at finding safe and economical ways to permanently store the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.
"We have been conducting laboratory tests on basalts from the region for several years that have conclusively demonstrated the unique geochemical nature of basalts to quickly react with CO[font size="1"]2[/font] and form carbonate minerals or solid rock, the safest and most permanent form for storage in the subsurface," said Battelle project manager Pete McGrail. "However convincing the laboratory data may be, proving the same processes operate deep underground can only be done by conducting a successful field demonstration. We have taken the very first steps to do that here in Wallula."
During the next two to three weeks, Battelle scientists will work with Praxair technicians to inject into porous layers of basalt CO[font size="1"]2[/font] that has been compressed into a liquid-like state. Thick and impermeable layers of rock above these porous layers will act as barriers or seals to prevent the CO[font size="1"]2[/font] from travelling vertically upward.
Over the next 14 months, fluid samples will be extracted from the injection well. Scientists will look for changes in chemical composition in comparison to baseline data compiled prior to injection. Scientists will also compare results to predictions made using PNNL's supercomputer. At the end of the monitoring period, rock samples will be taken from the well. They are expected to exhibit the formation of limestone crystals as a result of CO[font size="1"]2[/font] reacting with minerals in the basalt.
…
According to recent DOE estimates, the United States and portions of Canada have enough potential capacity in geologic formations to store as much as 900 years of CO[font size="1"]2[/font] emissions. If the Wallula demonstration is successful, basalt flows in many parts of the world may serve as storage locations to store CO[font size="1"]2[/font] emissions from a variety of industrial facilities.
…[/font][/font]
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