CHEMKIN

CHEMKIN

The geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in deep permeable reservoir rocks is regarded as a promising technology for a reduction of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere from stationary point sources such as large fossil fuel power plants. However, comprehensive research is essential to characterize and map the geological storage structures and to better understand the behaviour of CO₂ during storage. Therefore we developed and applied a new, innovative geochemical monitoring tool for the real time and in-situ observation of CO₂ and other gases as well as additional physical parameters during geological sequestration.
The method uses a phase separating silicone membrane, permeable for gases, in order to extract the gases dissolved in borehole fluids, water and brines and a carrier gas to conduct the gathered gas through capillaries to the earth surface. At the surface, the gas phase is analyzed directly, e.g. in real-time with a mass spectrometer allowing for the determination of all permanent gases, and can be sampled for more detailed investigations in the laboratory.
The permeation rates of the used membrane for CO₂ at given concentrations and temperatures (bore hole conditions) have been determined in a specially developed calibration device to calculate the dissolved gas concentrations.

 

• Contact:  Prof. Jörg Erzinger, Dr. Martin Zimmer

• More about CO₂ SINK...