CO₂ Leakage-Induced Contamination in Shallow Potable Aquifer and Associated Health Risk Assessment

Abstract

Leakage of stored CO 2 from a designated deep reservoir could contaminate overlying shallow potable aquifers by dissolution of arsenic-bearing minerals. To elucidate CO 2 leakage-induced arsenic contamination, 2D multispecies reactive transport models were developed and CO 2 leakage processes were simulated in the shallow groundwater aquifer. Throughout a series of numerical simulations, it was revealed that the movement of leaked CO 2 was primarily governed by local flow fields within the shallow potable aquifer. The induced low-pH plume caused dissolution of aquifer minerals and sequentially increased permeabilities of the aquifer; in particular, the most drastic increase in permeability appeared at the rear margin of CO 2 plume where two different types of groundwater mixed. The distribution of total arsenic (∑As) plume was similar to the one for the arsenopyrite dissolution. The breakthrough curve of ∑As monitored at the municipal well was utilized to quantify the human health risk. In addition, sensitivity studies were conducted with different sorption rates of arsenic species, CO 2 leakage rates, and horizontal permeability in the aquifer. In conclusion, the human health risk was influenced by the shape of ∑As plume, which was, in turn, affected by the characteristics of CO 2 plume behavior such as horizontal permeability and CO 2 leakage rate.

Time-lapse gravity monitoring of CO2 migration based on numerical modeling of a faulted storage complex

“…Leakage of CO2 from storage reservoirs has been identified in previous studies as one of the potential obstacles to large-scale Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) deployment (Hepple and Benson, 2005;Herzog, 2011). Impacts of unexpected CO2 migration into groundwater resources (Birkholzer et al, 2009;Keating et al, 2013;Kim et al, 2018;Lions et al, 2014), risk management (Anderson, 2017;White and Foxall, 2016), economic issues and liability of CO2 leakage (Bielicki et al, 2016;Bielicki et al, 2014;Pollak et al, 2013) are all topics related to CO2 leakage discussed in the recent literature. The ability to detect and quantify these potential leaks using geophysical or geochemical monitoring methods remains nonetheless challenging.…”

Measurements in degassing processes of CO 2 solution with particular reference to CO 2 -driven limnic eruptions

“…The risk of CO 2 leakage should be considered carefully because of the development in recent years of CCS (carbon dioxide capture and storage) technology, especially with the technology of CO 2 sequestration using geological reservoirs [Benson et al, 2002, Butt et al, 2012, Kim et al, 2018, Proust et al, 2016. CCS technology means huge amount of CO 2 would be stored in geological formations in oil and gas fields.…”

Physico-chemical and dielectric parameters for the monitoring of carbon sequestration in basalt and silica media

“…Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is a promising approach for reducing atmospheric CO2 emission (Abidoye and Das, 2020;Kim et al, 2018;Terzi et al, 2014). The process starts with the capture of CO2 primarily from power plants, transport through pipeline or ships and injection into a geological formation (Rabiu et al, 2017b;Myer, 2011).…”