• 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.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.320-331
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• 2015

This paper presents a case study of an enhanced geothermal system(EGS) demonstration project conducted in $Gro{\ss}$ $Sch{\ddot{o}}nebeck$, Northerm Germany, focusing on hydraulic stimulation. The project was conducted with doublet system in sandstone and volcanic formations at 4 - 4.4 km depth. Under normal faulting to strike-slip faulting stress regime, hydraulic stimulations were conducted at injection and production wells by massive waterfrac and gel-proppant fracturing. Injectivity index increased from $0.97m^3/(hr^*MPa)$ to $7.5m^3/(hr^*MPa)$ and productivity index increased from $2.4m^3/(hr^*MPa)$ to $10.1m^3/(hr^*MPa)$ by a series of hydraulic stimulations at both wells. After circulation tests through injection and production wells, however, productivity index decreased from $8.9m^3/(hr^*MPa)$ to $0.6m^3/(hr^*MPa)$ in two years. Slip tendency analysis for the stimulation in volcanic layer estimated the required pressure for shear slip and its preferred orientations and it showed reasonable match with actual stimulation results. Through the microseismicity observation for the stimulation of volcanic formation, only 80 seismic events with its moment magnitudes in -1.8<$M_W$<-1.0 were observed, which are unexpectedly low for EGS hydraulic stimulation.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.9-17
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• 2022

This paper is the continuation of our previous paper, which we refer to as numerical analysis of phase behavior and flow properties in an injection tubing during gas phase CO₂ injection. Our study in this paper show the results during supercritcal CO₂ injection under the same project. Geological CO₂ storage technology is one of the most effective method to decrease climate change due to high injectivity and storage capacity and economics. A demonstration-scale CO₂ storage project was performed in a deep aquifer in the Pohang basin, Korea for a technological development in a large-scale CO₂ storage project. A problem to consider in the early stage design of the project was to analyze CO₂ phase change and flow characteristics during CO₂ injection. To solve this problem, injection conditions were decided by calculating injection rate, pressure, temperature, and thermodynamic properties. For this research, we simulated and numerically analyzed CO₂ phase change from liquid to supercritical phase and flow characteristics in injection tubing using OLGA program. Our results provide discharge pressure and temperature conditions of CO₂ injection combined with a pressure of an aquifer.