Assessing groundwater monitoring strategy for leakage detection in the Texas Gulf Coast Aquifer (USA) at a hypothetical CO2 storage site: a reactive transport modeling approach

Bie, Hongxia; Yang, Changbing; Liu, Pan

Assessing groundwater monitoring strategy for leakage detection in the Texas Gulf Coast Aquifer (USA) at a hypothetical CO2 storage site: a reactive transport modeling approach | Evaluation de la stratégie de surveillance de détection de fuite dans l’Aquifère côtier du golfe du Texas (Etats-unis d’Amérique) à un site hypothétique de stockage de CO2: une approche de modélisation du transport réactif Evaluación de la estrategia de monitoreo del agua subterránea para la detección de filtraciones en el Texas Gulf Coast Aquifer (EEUU) en un sitio hipotético de almacenamiento de CO2: un enfoque de modelado de transporte reactivo (美国)德克萨斯海湾沿海一个假设CO2储藏地泄漏的地下水监测策略评价:反应运移模拟方法 Avaliando a estratégia de monitoramento de águas subterrâneas para detecção de vazamento no Aquífero da Costa do Golfo do Texas (EUA) em um local hipotético de armazenamento de CO2: uma abordagem de modelagem de transporte reativo

2019

Bie, Hongxia | Yang, Changbing | Liu, Pan

This study presents a three-dimensional reactive transport model to simulate upward and lateral migration of CO₂ plumes under different scenarios through a leaky section of a plugged and abandoned well at a hypothetical CO₂ storage site into the Texas Gulf Coast Aquifer (TGCA). The TGCA is the most active region in research and operation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage, with the largest technically accessible resource of CO₂ storage, in the United States. The results suggest that dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration and pH, better than Cl concentration (or total dissolved solids), can be indicators for leakage detection in the TGCA; DIC has earlier detection time than pH. The modeling results show that detection of CO₂ leakage in the shallow aquifers may take hundreds of years because of the confining unit in the TGCA, suggesting that (1) monitoring wells should be placed as deep as possible and (2) characterization of confining units in the overlying aquifer system is critical. Regional hydraulic gradient and groundwater pumping in the TGCA are important factors for monitoring well placement. While this study was conducted in the TGCA, the results provide valuable information for groundwater monitoring at other geological carbon sequestration sites.

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