PNNL

Abstract

Technological advances have been significant in recent years for managing environmentally harmful emissions (mostly CO2) resulting from combustion of fossil fuels. Deep underground geologic formations are emerging as reasonable options for long term storage of CO2 but mechanisms controlling rock and mineral stability in contact with injected supercritical fluids containing water are relatively unknown. In this paper, we discuss mineral transformation reactions occurring between supercritical CO2 containing water and the silicate minerals forsterite (Mg2SiO4), wollastonite (CaSiO3), and enstatite (MgSiO3). This study utilizes newly developed in situ high pressure x-ray diffraction (HXRD) and in situ infra red (IR) to examine mineral transformation reactions. Forsterite and enstatite were selected as they are important minerals present in igneous and mafic rocks and have been the subject of a large number of aqueous dissolution studies that can be compared with non-aqueous fluid tests in this study. Wollastonite, classified as a pyroxenoid (similar to a pyroxene), was chosen as a suitably fast reacting proxy for examining silicate carbonation processes associated with a wet scCO2 fluid as related to geologic carbon sequestration. The experiments were conducted under modest pressures (90 to 160 bar), temperatures between 35° to 70° C, and varying concentrations of dissolved water. Under these conditions scCO2 contains up to 3,500 ppm dissolved water.