Key factors for determining groundwater impacts due to leakage from geologic carbon sequestration reservoirs
Here, we describe potential impacts to groundwater quality due to CO2 and brine leakage, discuss an approach to calculate thresholds under which “no impact” to groundwater occurs, describe the time scale for impact on groundwater, and discuss the probability of detecting a groundwater plume should leakage occur. To facilitate this, multi-phase flow and reactive transport simulations and reduced-order models were developed for two classes of aquifers, considering uncertainty in leakage source terms and aquifer hydrogeology. We also targeted an unconfined fractured carbonate aquifer based on the Edwards Aquifer in Texas and a confined alluvium aquifer based on the High Plains Aquifer in Kansas, which share characteristics typical of many drinking water aquifers in the United States. Furthermore the hypothetical leakage scenarios centered on the notion that wellbores are the most likely conduits for brine and CO2 leaks. Leakage uncertainty was based on hypothetical injection of CO2 for 50 years at a rate of 5 million tons per year into a depleted oil/gas reservoir with high permeability and, one or more wells provided leakage pathways from the storage reservoir to the overlying aquifer. This scenario corresponds to a storage site with historical oil/gas production and some poorly completed legacy wells that went undetected through site evaluation, operations, and post-closure.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830; AC52-07NA27344
- OSTI ID:
- 1393289
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1168885; OSTI ID: 1321439
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-103266; LLNL-JRNL-687000; S1750583614002060; PII: S1750583614002060
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Journal Name: International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control Vol. 29 Journal Issue: C; ISSN 1750-5836
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- Netherlands
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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