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Title: MODELING POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF SO2 CO-INJECTED WITH CO2 ON THE KNOX GROUP, WESTERN KENTUCKY

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OSTI ID:1202272

Understanding potential long-term impacts of CO2 impurities, such as sulfur and nitrogen compounds, on deep carbon storage reservoirs is of considerable interest because co-injection of the impurities with CO2 can bring significant economic and environmental benefits. The Cambrian–Ordovician Knox Group, a thick sequence of dolostone (Beekmantown Dolomite) with minor dolomitic sandstone (Gunter Sandstone), in western Kentucky, USA, has been evaluated as a prospective CO2 sequestration target. In this study, TOUGHREACT was used to build 1-D radial models to simulate the potential impacts of co-injected CO2 and SO2 on minerals, pore fluids, and porosity and permeability in the Beekmantown Dolomite and the Gunter Sandstone. Co-injection of a mass ratio of 2.5 percent SO2 and 97.5 percent CO2, representative of flue gas from coal-fired plants, was simulated and the co-injection simulations were compared to models with CO2 only injections. The model results suggest that the major impacts of added SO2 for both the Beekmantown and the Gunter rocks were significant enhancement of dissolution of dolomite and precipitation of anhydrite, leading to noticeable increases in porosity and permeability. The Gunter Sandstone appeared to be more active with SO2 than the Beekmantown Dolomite. More dolomite was dissolved in the Gunter than in the Beekmantown with the same SO2 impurity. Consequently, porosity was raised more in the Gunter than in the Beekmantown. On the other hand, the impacts on aluminosilicate minerals appeared to be insignificant in both reservoirs, slightly changing the rates of precipitation/dissolution but the overall reaction paths remained the same.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
FE0002068
OSTI ID:
1202272
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English