Journal
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 49, Issue 24, Pages -Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1029/2022GL100443
Keywords
geologic CO2 storage; caprock sealing capacity; basin-wide storage; capillary breakthrough; molecular diffusion; secondary CO2 accumulations
Categories
Funding
- European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union [801809]
- MCIN/AEI [PCI2021-122077-2B, CEX2018-000794-S]
- European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR
- US DOE through Carbon SAFE Illinois Corridor Project [DE-FE0031892]
- U.S. Department of Energy [DE-AC0205CH11231]
- European Research Council (ERC) [801809] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)
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This study develops a computationally efficient transport model to investigate the dynamic process of the basin-wide upward migration of CO2 in a multi-layered geological environment. The results show that significant leaks of CO2 are unlikely to occur, ensuring the security of underground storage.
The effectiveness of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as an imperative decarbonization technology relies on the sealing capacity of a fine-grained caprock to permanently store CO2 deep underground. Uncertainties in assessing the caprock sealing capacity increase with the spatial and temporal scales and may delay CCS deployment at the gigatonne scale. We have developed a computationally efficient transport model to capture the dynamics of basin-wide upward CO2 migration in a multi-layered setting over geological time scales. We find that massive capillary breakthrough and viscous flow of CO2, even through pervasively fractured caprocks, are unlikely to occur and compromise the storage security. Potential leakage from the injection reservoir is hampered by repetitive layering of overlying caprocks. This finding agrees with geologic intuition and should be understandable by the public, contributing to the development of climate policies around this technology with increased confidence that CO2 will be indefinitely contained in the subsurface.
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