Carbon storage in reactive rock systems: determining the coupling of geo-chemo-mechanical processes in reactive transport

When carbon dioxide (CO₂) comes in contact with mafic to ultramafic rocks (e.g. basalt, peridotite), mineral dissolution and precipitation reactions produce carbonate minerals. This process provides a pathway by which CO₂ can be removed from the atmosphere and permanently stored in the geologic subsurface.

Engineering this CO_2?mineralization process has the potential to remove mega- to giga-tonnes of CO_2?per year. To develop the full CO_2?removal potential of these rocks, we must understand the fundamental processes of fluid flow and reactive transport of these fractured multi-scale rock systems, where permeability, porosity and reactive surface area are continually changing through time.

The principal aim of this project is:

1. to examine how geo-chemo-mechanical processes affect the overall CO_2?mineralisation capacity of basalts and peridotites; and
2. to deliver physical and geochemical benchmark data for the development of a micro-scale mechanical model (pore scale) and an upscaled continuum model, the latter of which will be used to study and predict the chemo-hydraulic interactions between fractures and rock matrix during CO_2?mineralisation.

For full project details visit the Inspire project page.