Final Report Summary - CO2SHALESTORE (CO2 Sorption and Flow in Shale Reservoirs)
The main goal of the project CO2SHALESTORE was to assess the possibility of storing CO2 in gas bearing shales and investigate if the CO2 storage has a long term impact on the mineralogy or any physical or chemical changes of the rock. The other goal was to explore the possibility of enhanced methane recovery by CO2 injection. For the purpose of the project five shale samples from the Baltic-Podlasie-Lublin Basin were collected and served as the basis for experimental investigation. Samples were subjected to qualitative and quantitative compositional analysis in order to observe changes that may occur during long-term contact with CO2. It was observed that dry samples where pore water was not present or was in scarce amounts did not show any changes in mineral assemblage. The next stage of the project was to perform high pressure sorption experiments in order to assess the storage capacity of shale rocks as a potential CO2 reservoir. Several high pressure isotherms were established. It occurred that the CO2 sorption capacity is rather low in comparison to rocks such as coal and is strongly dependent on the content of clay minerals rather than Total Organic Carbon. The other sets of experiments involved enhanced methane recovery by CO2 injection however rather poor recovery rates were observed.
Results of the project show that it is possible to store CO2 in depleted shale gas reservoirs, yet it is necessary to carry our more in-depth research into water-rock-gas interactions and investigate relation between mineralogy and sorption capacity.
A significant socio-economic impact of the project was that the researcher was able to establish The Unconventional Gas & CO2 Storage Laboratory at the Faculty of Mining and Geology of the Silesian University of Technology. The scope of research in the Laboratory is focused on high-pressure sorption of gases on rocks, simulation of enhanced gas recovery and swelling/shrinkage effect due to sorption/desorption of gases. Thanks to the cooperation with TU Delft the researcher was able to acquire laboratory setup which can be used for flow experiments and simulation of underground coal gasification process. The researcher was able to master his skills in those fields and establish long term relationships with other laboratories and research units in Europe. Students of the Silesian University of Technology can also use the Laboratory and setups to carry out their research under supervision of the Researcher.
The project helped the Researcher to develop his research career and be well recognized expert in his field. Experienced gained during the project helped him to acquire other funds and the researcher should soon advance to an associate professor position.
Results of the project show that it is possible to store CO2 in depleted shale gas reservoirs, yet it is necessary to carry our more in-depth research into water-rock-gas interactions and investigate relation between mineralogy and sorption capacity.
A significant socio-economic impact of the project was that the researcher was able to establish The Unconventional Gas & CO2 Storage Laboratory at the Faculty of Mining and Geology of the Silesian University of Technology. The scope of research in the Laboratory is focused on high-pressure sorption of gases on rocks, simulation of enhanced gas recovery and swelling/shrinkage effect due to sorption/desorption of gases. Thanks to the cooperation with TU Delft the researcher was able to acquire laboratory setup which can be used for flow experiments and simulation of underground coal gasification process. The researcher was able to master his skills in those fields and establish long term relationships with other laboratories and research units in Europe. Students of the Silesian University of Technology can also use the Laboratory and setups to carry out their research under supervision of the Researcher.
The project helped the Researcher to develop his research career and be well recognized expert in his field. Experienced gained during the project helped him to acquire other funds and the researcher should soon advance to an associate professor position.
