Carbon capture and storage safety investigated

Carbon capture and storage safety investigated
This image is credited to Henrik Stahl of SAMS

A significant step has been made for potential Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) deployment, with the publication of the results from the world's first experiment into the realistic simulation of potential environmental impact of a submarine CO2 leakage. These results were published in a special issue of the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control (IJGGC) recently, which featured several studies by scientists from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and University of Southampton.

This was conducted as part of the QICS project and forms part of a wider programme of UK research into CCS technology.

The research found that, for a leak of this scale, the was limited; restricted to a small area and with a quick recovery of both the marine chemistry and biology.

This ground-breaking experiment involved the injection of 4.2 tonnes of CO2 into to a site 11 meters below the sea bed, and overlying water-column 15 m in depth in Ardmucknish Bay, West Scotland. The injection took place over 37 days via a borehole drilled through the seafloor bedrock. The progress of this injection was then monitored using a combination of geochemical and geophysical sensors and observations from divers.

Scientists from the NOC were able to assess the impact of escaped CO2 on calcifying organisms, such as sea urchins. This was achieved by monitoring levels of acidity during and after the 'leak'.

Dr Anna Lichtschlag, from the NOC and lead author of one of the studies published in the IJGGC special issue, said "NOC's geochemical tools enabled us to track chemical changes in marine sediment resulting from the CO2 release. This way we were able to see that the impact was highly localized and recovered back within few weeks to its pre-injection state."

The QICS project has made a series of recommendations for enhancing the safety of CCS, based on the results of this experiment. For example, CCS sites should be below dynamic bodies of water to promote the rapid dispersal of leaked CO2.

Citation: Carbon capture and storage safety investigated (2015, July 2) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2015-07-carbon-capture-storage-safety.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Approach for a sound environmental risk assessment of sub-seabed CO2 storage

11 shares

Feedback to editors