Research activity

Geological storage of CO2

 

The stabilization of the atmospheric CO2 concentration requires CO2 emissions to drop well below current levels. To reach this goal, several available strategies have been identified, including demand reduction, efficiency improvements, the use of renewable and nuclear power, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). This latter consists in capturing CO2 on the spot, at concentrated sources like power stations, cement plants, refineries, steels mills, etc…, and in storing it in the subsurface where it will no longer contribute to global warming. Depleted oil and gas reservoirs, unmined coal seams and particularly saline aquifers (deep underground porous reservoir rocks saturated with brackish water or brine), can be used for storage of CO2. At depths below about 800–1000m, supercritical CO2 has a liquid-like density and a gas-like viscosity that provides the potential for efficient utilization of underground storage space in the pores of sedimentary rocks.

Please, go to the METSTOR website ( www.metstor.fr ) for more information.


Chemo-hydro-mechanical analysis of wellbore cements under supercritical CO2 attack

Publications (preprint)

A. Fabbri, N. Jacquemet, D.M. Seyedi, (2012) A chemo-mechanical model of oilwell cement carbonation under CO2 geological storage conditions, Cement and Concrete Research, 42 pp 8-19

J. Corvisier, F. Brunet, A. Fabbri, S. Bernard, N. Findling, G. Rimmelé, V. Barlet-Gouédard, O. Beyssac, B. Goffé, (2010) Raman mapping and numerical simulation of calcium carbonates distribution in experimentally carbonated Portland cement cores, European Journal of Mineralogy 22, .pp 63-74

A. Fabbri, J. Corvisier, A. Schubnel, F. Brunet, B. Goffé, G. Rimmele, V. Barlet-Gouédard, (2009) Effect of carbonation on the hydro-mechanical properties of Portland cements, Cement and Concrete Research 39 pp 1156-1163.

 

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Figure 2 : Evolution of the AC and HC sample carbonation front versus the square root of carbonation time.

After being injected into a deep saline aquifer or into a depleted oil/gas reservoir, the CO2 plume should encounter abandoned wells, which are cemented with conventional cements. Thus, although the CO2 injection well will be rather cemented with a cement resistant for CO2, the resistance of the cement used for existing oil and gas wells is of main interest for the safety assessment analysis of the CO2 geological storage.

The interaction between carbon dioxide and Portland cement mainly consists in the chemical reaction of its calcium bearing mineral, which are mainly Portlandite (CH) and Hydrated Calcium Silicate (C-S-H), with the carbon dioxide resulting of the initial matrix leaching, and the formation of calcium carbonates and water. Its consequences at atmospheric pressure and temperature conditions are a relatively well-known. However, under downhole temperature and pressure conditions, the interaction between cement and wet supercritical CO2 (wet scCO2) and/or CO2 dissolved in water is drastically fasten up. The kind of minerals that is dissolved or precipitate may change and the overall mechanical behaviour is expected to change significantly.

Under these considerations, my research activities on this subject are to investigate, experimentally and theoretically, the influence of the carbonation under downhole condition on the wellbore cement behaviour.

Related topic: Effect of the salt crystallization on the hydro-mechanical behavior of the reservoir rock (PhD Thesis of Florian Osselin).

 

 

Capture and Storage of CO2 issued from biomass

Publications (preprint)

A. Fabbri, Bouc, G. Bureau, C. Catagnac, F. Chapuis, X. Galiègue, A. Laude, Y. Le Gallo, S. Grataloup, O. Ricci, J. Royer-Adnot, C. Zammit (2011) From Geology to Economics : Technico-economic feasability of a biofuel-CCS system – Energy Procedia 4 pp 2901-2098

A. Laude, O. Ricci, G. Bureau, J. Royer-Adnot, A. Fabbri (2011) CO2 Capture and Storage from a Bioethanol Plant: Carbon Footprint and Economic Assessment, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 5pp 1220-1231

D. Bonijoly, A. Fabbri, F. Chapuis, A. Laude, O. Ricci, H. Bauer, S. Grataloup, X. Galiègue, (2009) Technical and economic feasibility of the capture and geological storage of CO2 from a bio-fuel distillery: CPER Artenay project, Energy Procedia 1 pp 3927-3934.

 

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Figure 1: CO2 balance of the Biomass-CCS system studied in the context of the CPER Artenay project. A: capture and storage of both CO2 from biomass and from the natural gas power plant and B: capture and storage of the CO2 from the fermentation process alone.

Capture and storage of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion is gaining attraction as a mean to tackle climate change. This technology can contribute to a large reduction of the atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHG) concentration. In this study, we are dealing with a variant CCS system where the stored CO2 comes from biomass instead of fossil fuels. Several industrial sectors could be investigated like the paper industry, the electric sector, or the biofuel sector. According to (Kheshgi and Prince, Energy, 2005), this last option called BCCS (Biomass & Carbon Capture and Storage) may be considered as a relatively cheap solution, in favourable conditions, which can potentially contribute to a net GHG emission reduction, seeing that CO2 from biomass is considered neutral. Moreover, although the amount of CO2 that is emitted by most biofuel distilleries is small (about hundred times lower than steel mills for example), the IEA CCS Roadmap (2009), emphasizes that this system has the global potential to store about 2 Gt of CO2 by 2050, assuming that biofuels account for 26% of the total transport fuel demand (BLUE map scenario).

Based on these qualitative observations, the CPER Artenay project presents a real case study to quantify the environmental benefits and the technico-economic feasibility of the application of BCCS systems in the biofuel sector.

 

 

 



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