Acid Gases in CO2-rich Subsurface Geologic Environments

Abstract

The analysis of species behavior involving dilute fluid environments has been crucial for the advance of modern solvation thermodynamics through molecular-based formalisms to guide the development of macroscopic regression tools in the description of fluid behavior and correlation of experimental data (Chialvo 2013). Dilute fluid environments involving geologic formations are of great theoretical and practical relevance regardless of the thermodynamic state conditions. The most challenging systems are those involving highly compressible and reactive confined environments, i.e., where small perturbations of pressure and/or temperature can trigger considerable density changes. This in turn can alter significantly the species solvation, their preferential solvation, and consequently, their reactivity with one another and with the surrounding mineral surfaces whose outcome is the modification of the substrate porosity and permeability, and ultimately, the integrity of the mineral substrates. Considering that changes in porosity and permeability resulting from dissolution and precipitation phenomena in confined environments are at the core of the aqueous CO2-mineral interactions, and that caprock integrity (e.g., sealing capacity) depends on these key parameters, it is imperative to gain fundamental understanding of the mineral-fluid interfacial phenomena and fluid-fluid equilibria under mineral confinement at subsurface conditions. In order to understand the potential effects of acid gases as contaminants of supercritical CO2 streams, in the next section we will discuss the thermodynamic behavior of CO2 fluid systems by addressing two crucial issues in the context of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) technologies: (i) Why should we consider (acid gas) CO2 impurities? and (ii) Why are CO2 fluid - mineral interactions of paramount relevance? ### Background on flue gas sources, composition, and CO2 - acid gases co-injection The control of anthropogenic greenhouse gases emissions in the atmosphere by means of their capture and sequestration in deep geological reservoirs has emerged as a potential technology for the middle- to long-term mitigation of the greenhouse effect …