CO2 leakage impacts on shallow groundwater: Field-scale reactive-transport simulations informed by observations at a natural analog site

Keating, E. H.; Hakala, J. Alexandra; Viswanathan, Hari; Carey, J. William; Pawar, Rajesh J.; Guthrie, George D.; Fessenden-Rahn, Julianna

doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2012.08.007

Cited by 68 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…One site that has received particular attention is an area of active CO 2 degassing located near Chimayó, New Mexico (Keating et al, 2010;Keating et al, 2013a;Keating et al, 2013b;Viswanathan et al, 2013), where physical-chemical data from about 30 shallow (<60m) drinking water wells around the Robert's Fault have been studied and modelled. Initial work used major and trace element concentrations and associations, major ion ratios (e.g.…”

Section: Natural Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developments since 2005 in understanding potential environmental impacts of CO2 leakage from geological storage

Jones

Beaubien

Blackford

et al. 2015

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

100

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This paper reviews research into the potential environmental impacts of leakage from geological storage of CO 2 since the publication of the IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage in 2005. Possible impacts are considered on onshore (including drinking water aquifers) and offshore ecosystems. The review does not consider direct impacts on man or other land animals from elevated atmospheric CO 2 levels. Improvements in our understanding of the potential impacts have come directly from CO 2 storage research but have also benefitted from studies of ocean acidification and other impacts on aquifers and onshore near surface ecosystems. Research has included observations at natural CO 2 sites, laboratory and field experiments and modelling. Studies to date suggest that the impacts from many lower level fault-or well-related leakage scenarios are likely to be limited spatially and temporarily and recovery may be rapid. The effects are often ameliorated by mixing and dispersion of the leakage and by buffering and other reactions; potentially harmful elements have rarely breached drinking water guidelines. Larger releases, with potentially higher impact, would be possible from open wells or major pipeline leaks but these are of lower probability and should be easier and quicker to detect and remediate.

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Section: Natural Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developments since 2005 in understanding potential environmental impacts of CO2 leakage from geological storage

Jones

Beaubien

Blackford

et al. 2015

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Mobilization of arsenic in a shallow groundwater aquifer due to CO 2 leakage has been investigated at one of the natural analog sites, Chimayó, New Mexico, where CO 2 -saturated brackish water was leaked into the shallow aquifer along the fault [7,13,24,25]. At this site, decreased pH and the resulting mobilization of trace metals, including arsenic, were observed.…”

Section: Geofluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even if their adverse effects had been alleviated due to the high buffering capacity of the local groundwater aquifer, Keating et al [7] reported significantly elevated trace metal concentrations at a number of local wells due to the influx of brackish waters. Later, both Keating et al [13] and Viswanathan et al [24] integrated the field dataset into a multiphase reactive transport model to understand the behavior of arsenic, since some wells in Chimayó exceeded the maximum contamination level (MCL). In addition to studies targeting natural CO 2 release sites, several experiments have been conducted at field-scale CO 2 injection sites to determine secondary contamination caused by the injected CO 2 [11,[26][27][28].…”

Section: Geofluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2018

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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.

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“…Given the relatively benign properties of CO 2 , inflows of brines and other displaced storage formation fluids could have a greater impact on freshwater aquifers than the CO 2 . In this scenario, migration allows the CO 2 and brines to eventually intersect minor faults and fractures, but the probability of leakage to the surface via such potential conduits is extremely low (IEAGHG 2007b;Oldenburg et al 2009;Stenhouse et al 2009;Keating et al 2013;Pawar et al 2014Pawar et al , 2015Birkholzer et al 2015).…”

Section: Risk Scenario Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk, Liability, and Economic Issues with Long-Term CO2 Storage—A Review

Anderson

2016

Nat Resour Res

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Given a scarcity of commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, there is a great deal of uncertainty in the risks, liability, and their cost implications for geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The probabilities of leakage and the risk of induced seismicity could be remote, but the volume of geologic CO 2 storage (GCS) projected to be necessary to have a significant impact on increasing CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere is far greater than the volumes of CO 2 injected thus far. National-level estimates of the technically accessible CO 2 storage resource (TASR) onshore in the United States are on the order of thousands of gigatons of CO 2 storage capacity, but such estimates generally assume away any pressure management issues. Pressure buildup in the storage reservoir is expected to be a primary source of risk associated with CO 2 storage, and only a fraction of the theoretical TASR could be available unless the storage operator extracts the saltwater brines or other formation fluids that are already present in the geologic pore space targeted for CO 2 storage. Institutions, legislation, and processes to manage the risk, liability, and economic issues with CO 2 storage in the United States are beginning to emerge, but will need to progress further in order to allow a commercial-scale CO 2 storage industry to develop in the country. The combination of economic tradeoffs, property rights definitions, liability issues, and risk considerations suggests that CO 2 storage offshore of the United States may be more feasible than onshore, especially during the current (early) stages of industry development.

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CO2 leakage impacts on shallow groundwater: Field-scale reactive-transport simulations informed by observations at a natural analog site

Cited by 68 publications

References 25 publications

Developments since 2005 in understanding potential environmental impacts of CO2 leakage from geological storage

Developments since 2005 in understanding potential environmental impacts of CO2 leakage from geological storage

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

Risk, Liability, and Economic Issues with Long-Term CO2 Storage—A Review

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CO2 leakage impacts on shallow groundwater: Field-scale reactive-transport simulations informed by observations at a natural analog site

Cited by 68 publications

References 25 publications

Developments since 2005 in understanding potential environmental impacts of CO2 leakage from geological storage

Developments since 2005 in understanding potential environmental impacts of CO2 leakage from geological storage

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

Risk, Liability, and Economic Issues with Long-Term CO2 Storage—A Review

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Product

Resources

About

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