Application of noble gas signatures in monitoring schemes for offshore CO2 storage – ICO2P

The ICO2P-project is a study appointed by CLIMIT and researches whether noble gases are suitable monitoring tracers for long-term, safe storage of CO₂ on the Norwegian continental shelf. It is a continuation of a feasibility study and runs for 3.5 years (2018-2021).

Background

ICO₂P will contribute to the development of climate change mitigation by Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in Norway. Reliable monitoring fundamentally increases confidence in CCS and could lead to the needed upscaling of CCS, which may be crucial in reaching the goal of 40% national emission cuts within 2030.

In the ICO₂P we aims to design source-specific leakage detection and monitoring schemes for Norwegian CO₂ storage sites and provide a background data set of natural occurrences of noble gases in the environment.

Research

The research objective is tackled by sampling CO₂ rich gases, mainly in Norway and analyze them on noble gas content. Sampling campaigns are e.g. conducted at the capture research institution Technology Center Mongstad (TCM) and Equinor’s CCS plant at Melkøya, where CO₂ is already successfully captured and stored in significant amounts.

Facts Noble Gases

Group 18 in the periodic table: He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe ...

Common features:

– Highly chemically unreactive.
– Inherent in oil and gas.
– No environmental hazard.
– Their specific signature allows fluid identification.

Experiments are tailored to the application of the miniRUEDI-instrument, a portable mass spectrometer developed by our project partners at ETH/Eawag [1]. It is unique in its ability to measure low concentrations of noble gases (He, Ne, Kr, Xe, Ar), as well as CH₄, CO₂ and N₂ on-site and semi-continuously. With the sampling campaigns, we cover temporal variation in the noble gas concentrations, potentially being a significant step forward compared to analysing noble gas isotopes in single samples [2].

Even though, successfully used for leakage detection at small-scale CO₂ storage facilities, at field analogues and in connection with Enhanced Oil Recovery-projects [3], single samples are costly and time-consuming to analyse. Nevertheless, due to their accuracy and precision, single samples play a significant role in our research.

Further, we take part in injection experiments at field laboratories such as the Svelvik CO2 field lab. Here, we apply monitoring tools and investigate the behaviour of CO₂ and noble gases in the underground.

Financing

The full name of the project is 'Application of noble gas signatures in monitoring schemes for offshore CO2 storage', in short ICO2P.

The ICO₂P-project is building on experiences achieved in a feasibility study (funded under CLIMIT grant number 616220) and receives funding from CLIMIT, the national Norwegian research programme on CO₂ handling, with NFR-project number: 280551.

The project started in June 2018 and proceeds for three years with an PhD, and with an final end in 2022.

Cooperation

We closely cooperate with researchers at ETH/Eawag, the main Swiss aquatic research institute (Rolf Kipfer, Matthias Brennwald). Industry partners, Equinor and Shell, contribute significantly with their scientific knowledge (Philip Ringrose, Niko Kampman), financially and facilitate access to operating plants and samples.

ICO₂P is a part of the CO₂ Storage research group at Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo (UiO).

See the YouTube film below from a seminar at The Science Library, UiO in March 2019, about the research in CO2 storage we do here at UiO (only in Norwegian).

References

[1] Brennwald et al. (2016), Environ. Sci. Technol. 50, 13455-13463

[2] Sundal et al. [2019], GHGT-14

[3] Gilfillan et al. [2017] Int. Jour. of Greenhouse Gas Control, 63, 215-225.

Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Kampman, Niko & Sundal, Anja (2021). Techno-Economic Aspects of Noble Gases as Monitoring Tracers. Energies. ISSN 1996-1073. 14(12). doi: 10.3390/en14123433. Full text in Research Archive
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Kampman, Niko & Sundal, Anja (2021). On the Distinctiveness of Noble Gases in Injected Co2 from Background Fluids . In Røkke, Nils Anders & Knuutila, Hanna K (Ed.), TCCS–11. CO2 Capture, Transport and Storage. Trondheim 22nd–23rd June 2021. Short Papers from the 11th International Trondheim CCS Conference. SINTEF akademisk forlag. ISSN 978-82-536-1714-5. p. 182–187.
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Kipfer, Rolf; Horstmann, Edith; Ringrose, Philip; Kampman, Niko & Tomonaga, Yama [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2021). Noble gas tracers in gas streams at Norwegian CO2 capture plants. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control. ISSN 1750-5836. 106. doi: 10.1016/j.ijggc.2020.103238. Show summary
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) may play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Noble gases are potential tracers to monitor subsurface CO2 storage sites and verify their containment. Naturally occurring noble gases have been used successfully to refute alleged CO2 leakage in the past. We present results from several sampling campaigns at two Norwegian CO2 capture facilities, the demonstration plant Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) and the natural gas processing plant with CO2 capture and storage on Melkøya. The gas streams in the capture plants were monitored with a combination of on-site mass spectrometry and subsequently analysed discrete samples. This allows us to define the factors controlling noble gas concentrations in captured CO2, to monitor temporal variation of noble gas concentrations and finally evaluate the potential to use noble gases as inherent environmental tracers for labelling CO2 in storage reservoirs. At both sites, CO2 is captured using amine gas treatment. Noble gas concentrations in the gas streams were observed to decrease by several orders of magnitude during the processing. Isotopic ratios are air-like for CO2 captured after natural gas combustion at TCM and natural gas-like for CO2 captured from natural gas processing on Melkøya. Further, we detected a solubility trend caused by the amine solvent at TCM with higher solubility for heavier noble gases. We find that the relative concentrations of noble gases in the captured CO2 are defined by the gas from which the CO2 is captured and the design of the amine gas treatment process. Both factors were observed to cause temporal variation in the captured CO2. Using mixing and noble gas partitioning calculations we show that the significant depletion in noble gas concentrations, together with degassing of noble gas enriched formation water, means that the injected CO2 will inherit the noble gas signature of the storage formation, even following the injection of significant CO2 volumes. Any CO2 leaked from the storage formation is thus likely to have a crustal noble gas signature, characteristic of the storage site, which can be targeted for monitoring.
Roques, Clement; Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Brixel, Bernard; Krietsch, Hannes; Dutler, Nathan & Brennwald, M.S. [Show all 14 contributors for this article] (2020). In situ observation of helium and argon release during fluid-pressure-triggered rock deformation. Scientific Reports. ISSN 2045-2322. 10. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-63458-x. Full text in Research Archive
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Cook, Peter; Brennwald, M.S.; Kipfer, Rolf & Stieglitz, T. C. (2019). A Novel Approach To Quantify Air–Water Gas Exchange in Shallow Surface Waters Using High-Resolution Time Series of Dissolved Atmospheric Gases. Environmental Science and Technology. ISSN 0013-936X. 53(3), p. 1463–1470. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05318.

View all works in Cristin

Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Rinaldi, Antonio Pio; Roques, Clement; Zappone, Alba Simona; Bernasconi, Stefano & Jaggi, Madalina [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2021). Geochemical monitoring of a CO2 injection into a caprock analogue.
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Kampman, Niko; Mikoviny, Tomas; Thomassen, Jorgen & Sundal, Anja (2021). Noble Gases as Monitoring Tracers in CCS: A Case study with CO2 from the Waste-To-Energy Plant Klemetsrud, Norway.
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang (2021). Noble gas signatures in monitoring schemes for offshore CO2 storage.
Sundal, Anja; Meneguolo, Renata & Hellevang, Helge (2021). CO2 storage – dynamic trapping mechanisms due to mineralization. .
Sundal, Anja (2021). Design of a mobile, cost-effective monitoring tool for CO2 storage sites on the Norwegian shelf.
Sundal, Anja; Meneguolo, Renata; Kruber, Claudia; Olsen, Elin & Hellevang, Helge (2021). Geological site assessment: geochemical review of the Aurora Storage Complex, Northern Lights project, North Sea.
Sundal, Anja; Aage, Stangeland & Bru, Tina (2021). Fra lab til langskip. [Internet]. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BcR6SFCUTg. Show summary
Videoen "Fra lab til langskip" ble produsert av Gyro for Gassnova/CLIMIT, og presentert på CLIMIT Digit 10.02.2021 Tina Bru, Aage Stangeland og Anja Sundal intervjues. Videoen ligger tilgjengelig her: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BcR6SFCUTg
Sundal, Anja & Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang (2021). Applicability of noble gas tracers in Norwegian CO2 capture and storage schemes. The ICO2P project. .
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang (2021). Noble gas signatures in monitoring schemes for offshore CO2 storage.
Sundal, Anja & Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang (2021). Applicability of noble gas tracers in Norwegian CO2 capture and storage schemes.
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang (2021). CCS (law) in Germany.
Sundal, Anja (2020). Geologisk CO2-lagring – trygg og effektiv utslippsreduksjon.
Sundal, Anja (2020). Prospectivity of noble gas tracers in CCS monitoring schemes.
Sundal, Anja; Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Kürschner, Wolfgang; Grimstad, Alv Arne; Ruden, Fridtjof & Aagaard, Per [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2020). Hydrogeological characterization of Holocene deposits in the Svelvik aquifer – implications for reservoir properties.
Sundal, Anja (2020). Geologisk lagring av CO2 . Show summary
Foredragene ble filmet, og ligger tilgjengelige her: https://youtu.be/o5AwDGwjIns
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Raphaug, Martin Hagen; Revheim, Maiken & Sundal, Anja (2020). Gas Composition of the Svelvik Ridge Aquifers Used to Design Noble Gas Tracers for a CO2 Injection Experiment.
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Heeschen, Katja; Zimmer, Martin; Raphaug, Martin Hagen; Hagby, Klaus Falk & Ringstad, Cathrine [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2020). Tracer Design and Gas Monitoring of a CO2 Injection Experiment at the ECCSEL CO2 Field Lab, Svelvik, Norway.
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Sundal, Anja; Hellevang, Helge & Kipfer, Rolf (2020). Experiences from the ICO2P Project applied to Migration Monitoring of Injected CO2.
Sundal, Anja (2020). Hvordan karbon kan lagres trygt i stein.
Revheim, Maiken Kristiansen; Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Hagby, Klaus Falk; Ringstad, Cathrine & Sundal, Anja (2020). Tidal effect on pressure in upper and lower aquifer of the Svelvik Ridge.
Sundal, Anja (2019). Safe storage of CO2.
Sundal, Anja & Ruden, Fridtjof (2019). CO2-lagring i grunnen – hydrogeologisk feltlaboratorium på Svelvik. Show summary
Event: https://facebook.com/events/2159455514177753/?ti=cl
Sundal, Anja (2019). Geologisk CO2-lagring – trygt og godt for alltid? Show summary
Program: https://www.uio.no/om/samarbeid/skole/fagped-dag/program/
Sundal, Anja (2019). Geologisk lagring av CO2 på norsk sokkel.
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang & Sundal, Anja (2019). Application of noble gas signatures in monitoring schemes for offshore CO2 storage (ICO2P).
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Brennwald, M.S. & Kipfer, Rolf (2019). Quantification of Air-Water Gas Exchange with the miniRUEDI.
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Sundal, Anja; Brennwald, M.S. & Kipfer, Rolf (2019). Temporal Variation in Noble Gas Signatures of Captured CO2.
Sundal, Anja (2019). Application of noble gas signatures in monitoring schemes for CO2 storage offshore Norway. Show summary
Short (1 slide) pitch about the ICO2P project
Anell, Ingrid Margareta; Backer, Dag; Sundal, Anja; Torvanger, Asbjørn; Meisingset, Egil & Rørvik, Kari-Lise [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2019). Feasibility of CO2 storage as a climate mitigation measure in Norway.
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Roques, Clement; Kipfer, Rolf; Dutler, Nathan; Krietsch, Hannes & Jalali, Reza [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2019). Noble Gas Release during Reservoir Stimulation.
Sundal, Anja (2019). Hydrogeology of the Svelvik CO2-Field lab. . Show summary
Program: https://www.sintef.no/projectweb/svelvik-co2-field-lab/nyheter/svelvik-opening/
Sundal, Anja; Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Brennwald, Matthias S.; Ringrose, Philip; enaasen flø, nina & Johnsen, Kim [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2018). Monitoring real time, in-line variations of noble gas concentrations during CO2 capture operations by means of a portable mass spectrometer .
Weber, Ulrich Wolfgang; Sundal, Anja; Brennwald, M.S.; Ringrose, Philip; Aagaard, P. & Kipfer, Rolf (2018). CO2 Capture Processes Monitored with Noble Gas Measurements. Show summary
In the ICO2P project [1] a monitoring scheme for carbon capture and storage is developed with the aim to use noble gases as signatures for capture products. One approach to capture CO2 is amine-based temperature swing absorption. During such processes there is a potential for depletion of radiogenic noble gases from the fossil source, due to the addition of a gas phase void of radiogenic noble gases. The influence on the noble gas fingerprints of such techniques is investigated by single, analysed samples with full isotope resolution. This is combined with in-line, continuous noble gas measurements with a portable mass spectrometer [2]. This is a new approach that will provide knowledge of the uniqueness and temporal variations of noble gas fingerprints in the product stream from CO2 capture operations. The feasibility of such an on-site measurement system was successfully tested at a CO2 capture testing facility in Norway (TCM). Matching of the data with the reservoir source combusted at that time, forms the basis for setting up geochemical analytical schemes in mixing scenarios. Monitoring data from CO2 product streams are key in designing leakage detection schemes for future storage sites.