Assessment of CO₂ geological storage capacity based on adsorption isothermal experiments at various temperatures: A case study of No. 3 coal in the Qinshui Basin

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is an important pathway for China to achieve its “2060 carbon neutrality” strategy. Geological sequestration of CO₂ in deep coals is one of the methods of CCUS. Here, the No. 3 anthracite in the Qinshui Basin was studied using the superposition of each CO₂ geological storage category to construct models for theoretical CO₂ geological storage capacity (TCGSC) assessment, and CO₂ adsorption capacity variation with depth. CO₂ geological storage potential of No. 3 anthracite coal was assessed by integrating the adsorption capacity with the static storage and dissolution capacities. The results show that (1) CO₂ adsorption capacities of XJ and SH coals initially increased with depth, peaked at 47.7 cm³/g and 41.5 cm³/g around 1000 m, and later decreased with depth. (2) four assessment areas and their geological model parameters were established based on CO₂ phase variation and spatial distribution of coal thickness, (3) the abundance of CO₂ geological storage capacity (ACGSC), which averages 40 cm³/g, shows an analogous circularity-sharp distribution, with the high abundance area influenced by depth and coal rank, and (4) the TCGSC and the effective CO₂ geological storage capacity (ECGSC) are 9.72 Gt and 6.54 Gt; the gas subcritical area accounted for 76.41% of the total TCGSC. Although adsorption-related storage capacity accounted for more than 90% of total TCGSC, its proportion, however, decreased with depth. Future CO₂-ECBM project should focus on high-rank coals in gas subcritical and gas-like supercritical areas. Such research will provide significant reference for assessment of CO₂ geological storage capacity in deep coals.

Keywords

CO₂ geological storage in coal / Theoretical geological storage capacity / The abundance of CO₂ geological storage capacity / Anthracite / Qinshui basin

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 42102207, 42141012 and 41727801), Major Project supported by Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Coal-based Greenhouse Gas Control and Utilization, China University of Mining and Technology (2020ZDZZ01C), the Peng Cheng Shang Xue Education Fund of CUMT Education Development Foundation (PCSX202203) and A Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institution (PAPD).

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