• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.311-330
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• 2023

Development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technique is becoming increasingly important as a method to mitigate the strengthening effects of global warming, generated from the unprecedented increase in released anthropogenic CO₂. In the recent years, the characteristics of basaltic rocks (i.e., large volume, high reactivity and surplus of cation components) have been recognized to be potentially favorable in facilitation of CCS; based on this, research on utilization of basaltic formations for underground CO₂ storage is currently ongoing in various fields. This study investigated the feasibility of underground storage of CO₂ in basalt, based on the examination of the CO₂ storage mechanisms in subsurface, assessment of basalt characteristics, and review of the global research on basaltic CO₂ storage. The global research examined were classified into experimental/modeling/field demonstration, based on the methods utilized. Experimental conditions used in research demonstrated temperatures ranging from 20 to 250 ℃, pressure ranging from 0.1 to 30 MPa, and the rock-fluid reaction time ranging from several hours to four years. Modeling research on basalt involved construction of models similar to the potential storage sites, with examination of changes in fluid dynamics and geochemical factors before and after CO₂-fluid injection. The investigation demonstrated that basalt has large potential for CO₂ storage, along with capacity for rapid mineralization reactions; these factors lessens the environmental constraints (i.e., temperature, pressure, and geological structures) generally required for CO₂ storage. The success of major field demonstration projects, the CarbFix project and the Wallula project, indicate that basalt is promising geological formation to facilitate CCS. However, usage of basalt as storage formation requires additional conditions which must be carefully considered - mineralization mechanism can vary significantly depending on factors such as the basalt composition and injection zone properties: for instance, precipitation of carbonate and silicate minerals can reduce the injectivity into the formation. In addition, there is a risk of polluting the subsurface environment due to the combination of pressure increase and induced rock-CO₂-fluid reactions upon injection. As dissolution of CO₂ into fluids is required prior to injection, monitoring techniques different from conventional methods are needed. Hence, in order to facilitate efficient and stable underground storage of CO₂ in basalt, it is necessary to select a suitable storage formation, accumulate various database of the field, and conduct systematic research utilizing experiments/modeling/field studies to develop comprehensive understanding of the potential storage site.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.590-596
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• 2015

Estimating potential of $CO_2$ emission reduction of non-capture $CO_2$ utilization (NCCU) technology was evaluated. NCCU is sodium bicarbonate production technology through the carbonation reaction of $CO_2$ contained in the flue gas. For the estimating the $CO_2$ emission reduction, process simulation using process simulator (PRO/II) based on a chemical plant which could handle $CO_2$ of 100 tons per day was performed, Also for the estimation of the indirect $CO_2$ reduction, the solvay process which is a conventional technology for the production of sodium carbonate/sodium bicarbonate, was studied. The results of the analysis showed that in case of the solvay process, overall $CO_2$ emission was estimated as 48,862 ton per year based on the energy consumption for the production of $NaHCO_3$ ($7.4GJ/tNaHCO_3$). While for the NCCU technology, the direct $CO_2$ reduction through the $CO_2$ carbonation was estimated as 36,500 ton per year and the indirect $CO_2$ reduction through the lower energy consumption was 46,885 ton per year which lead to 83,385 ton per year in total. From these results, it could be concluded that sodium bicarbonate production technology through the carbonation reaction of $CO_2$ contained in the flue was energy efficient and could be one of the promising technology for the low $CO_2$ emission technology.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1022-1031
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• 2016

Relationships of standing biomass with biodiversity and structural diversity were examined in the Quercus mongolica-dominated forest in Mt. Jeombong, Gangwon-do. We examined the standing biomass of the Q. mongolia community ($311.1ton{\cdot}ha^{-1}$) from 2004 to 2013, and the observed major species were Q. mongoilca, Carpinus cordata, Tilia amurensis whose standing biomasses were $206.3ton{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ (66.3%), $36.9ton{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ (11.9%), and $30.6ton{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ (9.8%), respectively. Although the number of Q. mongolica individuals was very small compared with total density, the reason that Q. mongolica showed the most biomass than other species is due to greater average diameter at breast height (DBH) and the higher number of $DBH{\geq}50cm$ individuals. We calculated the range of Shannon index (H') and Shannon evenness (J') in the Q. mongolica community, and they were gradually increased in time, showing 2.015~2.166, 0.673~0.736, respectively. Their H' and J' showed positive linear relationships with their standing biomass. This indicates that the spatial distribution of the standing biomass in Q. mongoilca community becomes more homogeneous with time and this homogenization appears in various species in the community. In addition, we estimated biomass-species index (BS) and abundance-biomass-speciesdiversity (ABS) and they also showed gradual increase in time, ranging from 3.746 to 3.811 and from 4.781 to 5.028, respectively. Their indices showed positive linear relationships with the standing biomass. This can be explained from the observations of variations in standing biomass with tree diameters as the differences in the average standing biomass in the community have reduced gradually in time. Moreover, it is expected that increase in the structure diversity of the Q. mongoilca community enhances the efficiency in carbon sequestration and productivity, so the community can be developed to a more sustainable ecosystem with more abundant resources. Thus, applications of uneven-aged plantations with considerations of local ecological properties can be a very efficient reforestation method to ensure stable support of biodiversity and productivity.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.133-160
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• 2018

$CO_2$ storage is a very important technology for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and has been considered as almost the only viable and effective option for immediate large-scale $CO_2$ sequestration. Small-scale demonstration project for offshore $CO_2$ storage in the Pohang Basin is the transitional stage R&D program for technological preparation of large-scale $CO_2$ storage project in Korea. Through the extensive exploration research for prospective $CO_2$ storage sites, the offshore strata in the Pohang Basin was recommended for the storage formation of the small-scale demonstration project. The Pohang Offshore Storage Project launched at 2013, and has accomplished the technical demonstration and technological independence in a wide range of $CO_2$ storage technology, such as geophysical exploration, storage site characterization, storage design, offshore platform construction, injection-well drilling and completion, deployment of injection facility, operation of $CO_2$ injection, and $CO_2$ monitoring. The project successfully carried out $CO_2$ test injection in early 2017, and achieved its final goal for technical development and demonstration of $CO_2$ storage in Korea. The realization of $CO_2$ injection in this project is the measurable result and has been recorded as the first success in Korea. The Pohang Offshore Storage Project has a future plan for the continuous operation of $CO_2$ injection and completion of $CO_2$ monitoring system. The project has provided in-house technical and practical expertises, which will be a solid foundation for the commercial-scale $CO_2$ storage business in Korea. Additionally, the project will help to secure national technical competitiveness in growing international technology market for $CO_2$ storage.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.60-66
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• 2006

Three differing sandstones, two synthetic and one field sample, have been tested ultrasonically under a range of confining pressures and pore pressures representative of in-situ reservoir pressures. These sandstones include: a synthetic sandstone with calcite intergranular cement produced using the CSIRO Calcite In-situ Precipitation Process (CIPS); a synthetic sandstone with silica intergranular cement; and a core sample from the Otway Basin Waarre Formation, Boggy Creek 1 well, from the target lithology for a trial $CO_2$ pilot project. Initial testing was carried on the cores at "room-dried" conditions, with confining pressures up to 65 MPa in steps of 5 MPa. All cores were then flooded with $CO_2$, initially in the gas phase at 6 MPa, $22^{\circ}C$, then with liquid-phase $CO_2$ at a temperature of $22^{\circ}C$ and pressures from 7 MPa to 17 MPa in steps of 5 MPa. Confining pressures varied from 10 MPa to 65 MPa. Ultrasonic waveforms for both P- and S-waves were recorded at each effective pressure increment. Velocity versus effective pressure responses were calculated from the experimental data for both P- and S-waves. Attenuations $(1/Q_p)$ were calculated from the waveform data using spectral ratio methods. Theoretical calculations of velocity as a function of effective pressure for each sandstone were made using the $CO_2$ pressure-density and $CO_2$ bulk modulus-pressure phase diagrams and Gassmann effective medium theory. Flooding the cores with gaseous phase $CO_2$ produced negligible change in velocity-effective stress relationships compared to the dry state (air saturated). Flooding with liquid-phase $CO_2$ at various pore pressures lowered velocities by approximately 8% on average compared to the air-saturated state. Attenuations increased with liquid-phase $CO_2$ flooding compared to the air-saturated case. Experimental data agreed with the Gassmann calculations at high effective pressures. The "critical" effective pressure, at which agreement with theory occurred, varied with sandstone type. Discrepancies are thought to be due to differing micro-crack populations in the microstructure of each sandstone type. The agreement with theory at high effective pressures is significant and gives some confidence in predicting seismic behaviour under field conditions when $CO_2$ is injected.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.25-39
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• 2015

$CO_2$ geological storage plays an important role in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but there is a lack of research for CCS demonstration. To achieve the goal of CCS, storing $CO_2$ safely and permanently in underground geological formations, it is essential to understand the characteristics of them, such as total storage capacity, stability, etc. and establish an injection strategy. We perform the impedance inversion for the seismic data acquired from the Ulleung Basin in 2012. To review the possibility of $CO_2$ storage, we also construct porosity models and extract attributes of the prospects from the seismic data. To improve the quality of seismic data, amplitude preserved processing methods, SWD(Shallow Water Demultiple), SRME(Surface Related Multiple Elimination) and Radon Demultiple, are applied. Three well log data are also analysed, and the log correlations of each well are 0.648, 0.574 and 0.342, respectively. All wells are used in building the low-frequency model to generate more robust initial model. Simultaneous pre-stack inversion is performed on all of the 2D profiles and inverted P-impedance, S-impedance and Vp/Vs ratio are generated from the inversion process. With the porosity profiles generated from the seismic inversion process, the porous and non-porous zones can be identified for the purpose of the $CO_2$ sequestration initiative. More detailed characterization of the geological storage and the simulation of $CO_2$ migration might be an essential for the CCS demonstration.