Stored CO₂ and Methane Leakage Risk Assessment and Monitoring Tool Development: CO₂ Capture Project Phase 2
Project # 42211

Primary Performing Organization
BP America Inc.

Unmineable coal seams at depths beyond conventional recovery limits are potential storage reservoirs for carbon dioxide (CO₂), and also offer promising opportunities for CO₂ Enhanced Coalbed Methane (ECBM) recovery.  Most coals contain adsorbed methane, but will preferentially adsorb CO₂ and desorb (release) methane.  In ECBM recovery, the produced methane provides a value-added revenue stream to the storage process, creating a lower net cost option.  For CO₂ storage in coal seams to become a viable mitigation technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, its costs must be reduced and its safety assured.  This project addresses these and other critical topics including:   the integrity of coal bed methane geologic and engineered systems; the optimization of the coal bed storage process; and reliable, cost-effective monitoring and verification systems appropriate to the conditions of CO₂ storage in coal.

Technical objectives of this project are to:

• Establish CO₂ injection and methane (CH₄ ) production procedures in deep, unmineable coals that avoid CO₂ and CH₄ leakage.
• Develop cost-effective technologies to monitor the movement of CO₂ and CH₄ gases in subsurface coals.
• Develop a technology for detecting CO₂ and CH4 leakage at the surface, should this occur.

Field demonstrations provide the project with opportunities to develop and test methodologies in situ, and lab experiments and simulations are used to support field predictions and observations.  The potential advances in CO₂ and CH₄ leakage risk assessment, detection, and mitigation will provide assurance for geological storage in coalbeds and ECBM recovery at substantial cost savings. 

Contact:
Project Manager: Karen Cohen, karen.cohen@netl.doe.gov

Related Papers and Publications:

• Stored CO₂ and Methane Leakage Risk Assessment and Monitoring Fact Sheet [PDF]