Carbon dioxide storage potential of shales

Abstract Options for the geologic storage of carbon dioxide vary from saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas reservoirs to unminable coal seams and abandoned coal mines. Important aspects include the sealing integrity of the cap rock and potential changes in this integrity, owing to the interaction with CO2. In this study, diffusive transport and gas sorption experiments on one well characterised shale sample (Muderong Shale, Australia) and different clay minerals were performed to obtain information on the sealing integrity and the CO2 storage potential of these materials. All measurements were performed under reservoir conditions relevant for CO2 storage (T = 45–50 °C; p  Additionally, changes in specific surface areas before and after the sorption experiments and variations in the CO2 sorption and diffusion behaviour due to repetitive experiments on the identical sample were observed, possibly related to geochemical alteration of the Muderong Shale and the clay minerals. These could not be quantified however and seemed to occur only at high pressures. Results obtained in this study provide a more positive view on the sealing integrity of intact cap rock formations. Carbon dioxide that migrates from a storage reservoir into the cap rock through the pore network will be immobilised to a certain extent, hence minimising (slow, diffusion-driven) leakage and providing additional CO2 storage potential.

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