Permanent Storage of CO₂ in Mexican Igneous Rocks

Mexico has undertaken a series of measures to implement Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology due to the acquired national and international commitments regarding the reduction of GHG emissions as well as their implications to climate change. So far, the screening of the different methods for geological storage of CO₂ potentially applicable in Mexico includes deep saline aquifers, non-economic coal beds, and crude oil reservoirs for EOR.

Storage of carbon dioxide projects in igneous rocks has been successful in the past. According to the literature, there are about eight sites, onshore, in the world with plenty of igneous rocks to store CO₂, and Mexico is one of these sites. However, little attention has been paid to the study of igneous rocks as a potential method for geological storage of carbon dioxide.

This work aims the first petrographic and geochemical analysis to estimate the feasibility of CO₂ mineralization thorough Mexican basaltic formations. This analysis includes the identification of the main CO₂ emission areas in Mexico, the collection of samples near to large CO₂ emissions sites and, the characterization of the samples by different tests and techniques. The properties of the rock samples and water were studied after the tests to compare changes in mineral phases and water composition.

The results herein confirm the feasibility of Mexican basalts to react in the presence of CO₂ but also set the recommendations for the next steps to take to determine the technical feasibility of the CO₂ permanent storage using basalts in Mexico.