Multi-component flue gas injection is proposed as an alternative to bulk CO2 injection for permanent CO2 sequestration. In traditional geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects, amine towers are used to separate CO2 from other flue gas components. Bulk CO2 injection has the benefit of limited (and known) interactions with saline aquifers, and conserves pore volume. However, the cost of amine separation has proven prohibitive and led to a stagnation in GCS project development. Unfortunately, amine scrubbers are costly which has caused the technology to be underdeveloped. Our work suggests that careful implementation of flue gas injection can help accelerate carbon sequestration deployment. This study focuses on the disparity in solubility among flue gas components. As CO2 dissolves into reservoir brines at higher rates than N2 or O2, concentration gradients develop radially.
Living in the 21st century is one of the best eras that humans have experienced while they roamed the Earth. Thanks to a huge series of technological advisements that made our live much easier that ever. We live in an era where carbon is involved in most if not all of the industries that feed our thrust for convivence. Unfortunately, the ease of such life comes at a cost. For decades human activity have been releasing record amounts of carbon dioxide. The release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere have been proven time and time again to be one of the contributing factors to the looming climate crisis. Moreover, reducing our carbon dioxide emissions is one of the key goals and challenges of the new century. Geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) is not a new technology rather is has been implemented on pilot projects many times has demonstrated the capabilities of reducing the amount of carbon in the air, but most importantly, in the atmosphere to combated climate change and global warming. To put it simply, GCS basically using the subsurface as a carbon sink where we can store it for a long time. There are many ways in which this technology manifests itself. The first means to use the subsurface as a trap for our carbon is using Stratigraphic or structural trapping. Where we can use the natural traps the are in the subsurface to trap free phase carbon dioxide as it would be buoyant. Residual CO2 trapping, Mineral trapping, and Dissolution trapping are all means in which the subsurface can help us to trap carbon for a extended periods of time.
