On leakage and seepage of CO2 from geologic storage sites into surface water

Abstract

Geologic carbon sequestration is the capture of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) and its storage in deep geologic formations. The processes of CO2 seepage into surface water after migration through water-saturated sediments are reviewed. Natural CO2 and CH4 fluxes are pervasive in surface-water environments and are good analogues to potential leakage and seepage of CO2. Buoyancy-driven bubble rise in surface water reaches a maximum velocity of approximately 30 cm s−1. CO2 rise in saturated porous media tends to occur as channel flow rather than bubble flow. A comparison of ebullition versus dispersive gas transport for CO2 and CH4 shows that bubble flow will dominate over dispersion in surface water. Gaseous CO2 solubility in variable-salinity waters decreases as pressure decreases leading to greater likelihood of ebullition and bubble flow in surface water as CO2 migrates upward.