• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.371-380
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• 2016

This study aims to identify the mineraloical and petrographical characteristics of caprock from drilling cores of Pohang basin as a potential $CO_2$ storage site. Experiments and modeling were conducted in order to investigate the geochemical and mineralogical caprock effects of carbon dioxide. A series of autoclave experiments were conducted to simulate the interaction in the $scCO_2$-caprock-brine using a high pressure and temperature cell at $50^{\circ}C$ and 100 bar. Geochemical and mineralogical alterations after 15 days of $scCO_2$-caprock-brine sample reactions were quantitatively examined by XRD, XRF, ICP-OES investigation. Results of mineralogical studies, together with petrographic data of caprock and data on the physicochemical parameters of brine were used for geochemical modeling. Modelling was carried out using the The Geochemist's Workbench 11.0.4 geochemical simulator. Results from XRD analysis for caprock sample showed that major compositional minerals are quartz, plagioclase, and K-feldspar, and muscovite, pyrite, siderite, calcite, kaolinite and montnorillonite were included on a small scale. Results from ICP-OES analysis for brine showed that concentration of $Ca^{2+}$, $Na^+$, $K^+$ and $Mg^{2+}$ increased due to dissolution of plagioclase, K-feldspar and muscovite. Results of modeling for the period of 100 years showed that the recrystallization of kaolinite, dawsonite and beidellite, at the expense of plagioclase and K-feldspar is characteristic. Volumes of newly precipitation minerals and minerals passing into brine were balanced, so the porosity remained nearly unchanged. Experimental and modeling results indicate the interaction between caprock and $scCO_2$ during geologic carbon sequestration can exert significant impacts in brine pH and solubility/stability of minerals.