Diagnostic Monitoring of Biogeochemical Interactions of a Shallow Aquifer in Response to a CO2 Leak

A grant to watch -

http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.abstractDetail/abstract/9053/report/0

EPA Grant Number: R834503
Title: Diagnostic Monitoring of Biogeochemical Interactions of a Shallow Aquifer in Response to a CO2 Leak
Institution: Columbia University in the City of New York
Project Period: September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2012
Project Amount: $899,882
RFA: Integrated Design, Modeling, and Monitoring of Geologic Sequestration of Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide to Safeguard Sources of Drinking Water (2009)
Research Category: Drinking Water

Objective:
CO2 injection into deep geological formations capped by low permeability formations is one of the most promising alternatives for mitigation of anthropogenic climate change. Several deep pilot and demonstration projects are underway. However, the upward leakage of CO2 or mobilized brines through the cap rock could lead to vulnerability of shallow, overlying drinking water aquifers. Elevated levels of dissolved CO2 might affect microbial community dynamics and mobilize natural-radioisotopes, metals, and other non-potable elements and compounds. The proposed research will investigate a shallow potable water aquifer system in sand/clay sequences of the Newark Basin group using laboratory and in situ methods and test how it would respond to a high-level CO2 condition caused by a hypothetical leakage of CO2 from deep injection reservoirs. In particular, we will (1) determine metal release rates as a function of pCO2 and pH under laboratory and field conditions, (2) measure microbial community dynamics as a function of increased acidity and dissolved metal concentrations, (3) determine the role and persistence of microbial communities in the mobilization or immobilization of metallic elements, (4) measure in situ/ex situ mobilization and immobilization of metals under high-level CO2 conditions, (5) determine the extent to which leaked CO2 is geochemically trapped in the aquifer, and (6) develop diagnostic monitoring techniques to advance assessments of groundwater contamination risks and water quality deterioration due to a CO2 leakage event.


Approach:
We will conduct a series of geochemical and microbiological laboratory experiments using rock and water samples extracted from a shallow aquifer. We will also add CO2 (pCO2 up to 5 bars) to local groundwater, re-inject it into the aquifer, and then sample and monitor the elevated-CO2 aquifer water in a series of in situ push-pull and forced-gradient experiments.

Expected Results:
Results from these coupled laboratory and field experiments will greatly improve our understanding of the geochemical and microbiological reactions under low pH - high CO2 stress. We anticipate that this research will: (1) provide criteria for site selection for geological CO2 sequestration, (2) identify aquifers that would be least vulnerable to risks of CO2 leakage and subsequent contamination, and (3) provide a small number of diagnostic testing parameters that may be used in other potable aquifer systems associated with deep CO2 injection.

Supplemental Keywords:
sequestration, pollution prevention, metals, pathogens, groundwater,

Indiana Take Action Today!!! Eminent Domain Bill

http://www.ibj.com/bill-would-give-co2-pipeline-firms-right-to-take-private-land/PARAMS/article/15967
Bill would give CO2 pipeline firms right to take private land
January 25, 2010

A consumer group opposing Senate Bill 115 argues the measure is yet another concession to the developer of a coal-to-methane plant proposed in Rockport, as well as to coal-fired electric utilities that may opt to transport CO2 to underground storage sites.

The measure declares that the transportation of CO2 by pipeline “is declared to be a public use and service, in the public interest, and a benefit to the
welfare of Indiana,” citing its potential to reduce carbon emissions and to promote economic development.

“Granting eminent domain to a private entity is reason enough, we think, to oppose this bill,” said Kerwin Olson, program director for Indianapolis-based Citizens Action Coalition.

The group said the measure is to benefit Indiana Gasification, which in 2006 proposed building a $1.5 billion plant in Spencer County to convert high-sulfur coal to gas. Utilities could use the gas for heating and to generate electricity.

Indiana Gasification, which planned to sell gas to Merrillville-based NIPSCO and Evansville-based Vectren, shelved plans in late-2008 after failing to reach long-term gas supply contracts with utilities, which feared such contracts could impair their long-term credit.

But last March, Gov. Mitch Daniels signed into a law a bill that would allow the Indiana Finance Authority to act as contracting agent between the gasification plant developer and the utilities buying its gas. Daniels has been a supporter of so-called clean-coal technology as an economic development tool and to protect the state’s coal and electric utility industries in the face of punitive carbon-mission regulations contemplated by Congress.

Olson said this marks the fourth year Indiana Gasification has sought various incentives from the state. The principal player in the venture, New York-based Leucadia National Corp., has sought more than $3.6 billion in federal loan guarantees from the Department of Energy for potential gasification plants.

“You’ve got a multi-billion dollar, multi-national corporation that is mandating their agenda through legislation because the business model just doesn’t support it,” Olson said of the proposed plant.

The measure could potentially grant eminent domain powers to numerous firms that plan to ship carbon dioxide trough pipelines.

Duke Energy is studying whether to inject underground the carbon dioxide to be produced at its $2.35 billion Edwardsport electric-generating plant, now under construction. Duke is looking at potential underground storage sites within 50 miles of the plant, but also has looked at piping CO2 to oil wells in southern Illinois as a way to enhance oil extraction.

In addition, Indiana is among Midwest states where Texas-based Denbury Resources is looking to run a 500-mile CO2 pipeline. It could receive carbon from power plants in the state and move it to oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico.

The sponsor of Senate Bill 115, Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield, could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, another measure co-sponsored by Gard is drawing fire from CAC. SB 211 would exclude the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission from ratemaking jurisdiction over private firms that operate carbon-storage facilities or pipelines. Public utilities that hired the private firms could file ask the commission for permission to recover costs from ratepayers.

Moreover, SB 211 declares that carbon dioxide “is not considered a pollutant, a nuisance, a hazardous waste or a deleterious substance.”

CAC argues that the release of CO2 from deep-underground storage sites or from pipelines poses unknown health and environmental risks.

2002 - Search for CO2 sequestration sites begins

• November 21, 2002 A Climate Change Solution Beneath Our Feet? Energy Department Joins AEP, Battelle to Study Deep Geologic Reservoirs for Greenhouse Gas Storage New Haven, WV - Deep beneath much of the United States lie rock formations containing waters far too salty for human consumption. Long overlooked, these brine-filled reservoirs are now attracting new interest as possible "storage sites" for greenhouse gases emitted from power plants. Deep saline formations underlie much of the United States including many areas where power plants are concentrated. [Click on map for larger image.] The U.S. Department of Energy has given the go-ahead to a research team headed by American Electric Power (AEP) and Battelle to begin studying potential sites in the Ohio River Valley where carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas emitted when coal and other fuels are burned – might one day be injected deep underground where it would remain safely and permanently trapped. AEP has volunteered its Mountaineer Plant in New Haven, WV, along the Ohio-West Virginia border as the test site for investigating the concept. Read AEP's and Battelle's joint announcement on this project If the approach proves feasible, it could offer a way for many electric and industrial plants to reduce emissions believed to contribute to global climate change. The AEP/Battelle project will be especially important because it will take place in the heart of the largest concentration of fossil fuel power plants in the nation. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced the new "carbon sequestration" effort at a speech today before the National Coal Council, an advisory panel to the Department of Energy. "Our goal is to develop a suite of carbon management options that we know are safe, affordable, and effective. We want to have these options ready should the science tell us that large-scale carbon reductions are necessary in the future," Abraham said. Abraham said that if carbon sequestration – the capture and permanent storage of carbon gases – proves practical, it could help mitigate environmental concerns regarding the use of coal. Coal supplies more than half of the nation's electricity and is one of the reasons why Americans benefit from some of the lowest cost electricity in the world. Theoretically, deep saline reservoirs, which underlie all or part of 35 states, could hold all of the carbon dioxide emitted from the nation's coal-burning power plants over the next 100 years. Beneath the Ohio-West Virginia border lies the massive Mt. Simon Sandstone saline formation. Ranging from 3,000 to 12,000 feet deep, this huge formation extends as far as Illinois and Wisconsin. Several other potential host reservoirs for carbon dioxide storage are also in the area. The project's current phase is expected to last 18 months. During this time, researchers will conduct a seismic survey within a 5- to 10-mile radius of the Mountaineer Plant to study the characteristics of the underground rock formations. Early next year, a 10,000-foot well will be drilled on the plant property to study the target area and overlying sediment layers in detail. Data will be used for simulations, risk assessments, permit applications, and to design the monitoring plans for future stages of the effort if the site proves geologically sound. No decision will be made on proceeding beyond the current study phase until the subsurface geology is deemed suitable for permanently entrapping large quantities of carbon dioxide and cost estimates are developed. Using deep saline reservoirs for carbon dioxide storage is attractive not only because the reservoirs are common but because they are well below drinking water aquifers. In the Ohio River Valley, drinking water is typically produced from formations only 10 to 200 feet below ground, compared to the 3,000- to 12,000-foot depths of the saline formations. Geologists believe the distance between fresh water and possible injection zones is so great and the intervening rock layers so impervious to the upward movement of carbon dioxide that the approach will pose no hazard to drinking water. Indeed, a major question the AEP/Battelle project hopes to answer is whether rocks above possible "storage" areas are sturdy enough and sufficiently free of interconnected fractures to assure that the carbon dioxide cannot gradually escape. The Department, through its National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is providing $3.2 million of the project's total $4.2 million cost. Other partners providing financial and in-kind support include AEP, BP, Battelle, and Schlumberger. The Ohio Coal Development Office, part of Ohio's Department of Development, is also supporting the project. Results will lead to significant improvements in understanding the geology of potential carbon dioxide injection zones in southeastern Ohio. Should coal-based power plants be required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the future, the deep injection concept could play a major role in preserving jobs that these plants and Ohio coal mines support.