skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Key factors for determining groundwater impacts due to leakage from geologic carbon sequestration reservoirs

Journal Article · · International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ; ;

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
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 85 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Cited By (8)

Identification of dominant gas transport frequencies during barometric pumping of fractured rock journal July 2019
Modeling the potential impacts of CO 2 sequestration on shallow groundwater: The fate of trace metals and organic compounds before and after leakage stops : Original Research Article: Modeling the potential impacts of CO journal September 2017
Application of the Aquifer Impact Model to support decisions at a CO 2 sequestration site : Modeling and Analysis: Application of the Aquifer Impact Model to support decisions at a CO journal October 2017
Application of a new reduced-complexity assessment tool to estimate CO 2 and brine leakage from reservoir and above-zone monitoring interval (AZMI) through an abandoned well under geologic carbon storage conditions : Modeling and Analysis: Application of a new reduced-complexity assessment tool to estimate CO journal September 2018
Field‐scale well leakage risk assessment using reduced‐order models journal May 2019
Sealing efficiency analysis for shallow-layer caprocks in CO2 geological storage journal November 2018
Reactive transport modeling of arsenic mobilization in shallow groundwater: impacts of CO2 and brine leakage journal April 2017
CO 2 Leakage-Induced Contamination in Shallow Potable Aquifer and Associated Health Risk Assessment journal January 2018

Similar Records

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
carbon storage
CO2 and brine leakage
groundwater impacts
reactive-transport simulations
reduced-order models
CO2 and brine leakage