The Prospect of Massive Sequestration of Atmospheric CO2 in Deep Formations of Basalt or Peridotite Appraised by Fracture, Diffusion and Osmosis Analysis and Frac Analogy

Zdeněk P. Bažant, Houlin Xu, Anh Nguyen, J. William Carey, Mehsam Khan

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

One way to mitigate global warming is to withdraw CO2 from the atmosphere and inject it into deep formations of porous basalt to form carbonate minerals that can bind large quantities of CO2. Such formations are found in many places in the world. The process is to some extent similar to frac. It requires hydraulic fracturing of the basalt to create a sufficient crack surface area needed for penetration of CO2 into basalt. The success further depends on the permeability of basalt, possibly assisted or hindered by gradients of osmotic pressure due to gradients of concentration of sodium and other ions. These diffusion and osmotic effects generally decay with the square of spacing of adjacent parallel cracks. Poromechanical effects such as the gradual transfer of tectonic stress from the fluid phase to the solid phase in the basalt enter the picture, too. An analytical continuum model of the combined interacting effects of fracturing, diffusion, osmosis, poromechanics and crystal growth under stress is a big challenge. The purpose of the conference presentation is to briefly review ways to model these problems physically and computationally and to point out the diverse obstacles faced by the new multi-university-lab project.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication57th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium
PublisherAmerican Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA)
ISBN (Electronic)9780979497582
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023
Event57th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium - Atlanta, United States
Duration: Jun 25 2023Jun 28 2023

Publication series

Name57th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium

Conference

Conference57th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAtlanta
Period6/25/236/28/23

Funding

Supported under EFRC collaborative project of University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, LANL Georgia Tech and University of Southhampton led by Emmanuel Detournay.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geochemistry and Petrology
  • Geophysics

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