The U.S. Department of Energy's carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) program goals to reduce the emission of CO2 from anthropogenic sources will entail a great amount of cost and efforts and deep saline formations have great potential for geologic CO2 sequestration. To ensure the success of the program it is important that the carbon dioxide that is injected underground remains there (99% permanence over 1000 years). A number of CO2 monitoring techniques have been employed since the inception of the CCS program. The methods range from the injection of tracers, micro-seismic monitoring techniques, satellite imaging, aerial monitoring with gas sensors, and various optical techniques. We propose the use of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) analytical technique for evaluating potential leaks (i.e., CO2 and brine leakage) from the storage sites. The chemical composition of brines varies greatly by location and typically sodium is the most abundant element making 70% to 90% of total cation mass. We are using LIBS to examine the effects of sodium chloride (NaCl) molar concentration on the LIBS signals of calcium and potassium. Solutions of two salts (NaCl/CaCl2 and NaCl/KCl) were prepared by varying the molar concentration of NaCl in each solution ranging from 0 to 3 M. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a 9 ns pulse length operating at 1064 nm was used to produce plasma in bulk solutions. The plasma emission was spectrally analyzed and the signals from the Ca I 422.67 nm and K I 766.49 lines were investigated. The study has implications in developing LIBS technique for examining changes in brine composition resulting from interaction of CO2 with saltwater reservoirs.

Application of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in monitoring CO<sub>2</sub> storage in deep saline formations

245th National Meeting (2013)

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Application of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in monitoring CO2 storage in deep saline formations

Application of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in monitoring CO₂ storage in deep saline formations