Recent Advances in CO₂ sequestrations

Dear Colleagues,

Global warming, or climate change, has become one of the most vexing environmental issues, posing relentless danger to habitats. Enormous amounts of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions have turned out to be one of the main drivers of global warming; as such, it becomes essential to move towards new science to mitigate the issue. Geo-sequestration of CO₂ has gained increasing attention within a portfolio of options targeting carbon capture and storage (CCS) in multiple geological reservoirs. The technique is considered a practical way of reducing huge amounts of anthropogenic CO₂ in the atmosphere with a reasonable operational cost. Even though the fundamental scientific underpinnings of CO₂ sequestration have been shaped over a century-long exploration of physics, some aspects still remain unexplored and thus require further investigation and improvement.

The greatest challenge of CO₂ sequestration is to store the maximum amount of CO₂ in reservoirs and to ensure that the sequestrated CO₂ remains safely entrapped for thousands of years.  Knowledge on CO₂ storage in large quantities, while preventing CO₂ back migration and outbursts, is crucial for an effective and safe CO₂ geo-sequestration process. In recent years, research has shifted to focus on both these factors, emphasizing the necessity for cutting-edge laboratory/field experiments and advanced numerical modelling.

This Special Issue is targeted at exploring the recent advancements in effective and safe CO₂ sequestration in various geological formations. We call for papers that deeply investigate multiphase flow mechanisms in heterogenous rocks, CO₂-reservoir chemical/physical interaction mechanisms, CO₂ adsorption/desorption mechanisms, CO₂ trapping and back migration mechanisms and CO₂ migration monitoring techniques. We will especially welcome submissions on the following topics:

• Microscale imaging of CO₂ induced reservoir alterations under in-situ conditions.
• Integrated techniques for optimizing CO₂ sequestration and enhanced gas recovery.
• Constitutive modelling and numerical methods of reactive transport in heterogenous porous media.
• Secondary trapping mechanisms that increase storage security over time.
  • Solubility trapping due to CO₂ dissolution in water.
  • Residual gas trapping due to CO₂ trapping by capillary force.
  • Mineral trapping due to CO₂ conversion to solid minerals.
• Stability controlling technologies for CO₂ geo-sequestration.
• Innovative well-based subsurface monitoring.
• CO₂ leakage monitoring, detection and characterization from seismic imaging.
• Case studies on environmental issues and controlling techniques.

Prof. Dr. Ranjith Pathegama Gamage
Dr. Samintha Perera
Dr. Tharaka Rathnaweera
Guest Editors

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• Carbon sequestration
• Carbon storage
• Global warming
• CO₂ leakage
• Caprock
• seismic activity
• micro-scale modelling
• CO₂ trapping mechanisms