Deep Saline CO₂ Sequestration: Mechanisms and Coupling Behaviours

Dear Colleagues,

Current and historical human activities, including energy production by the burning of fossil fuels, unsustainable agriculture activities, and land use changes, have escalated levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The anthropogenic contribution to these gases has led to their augmented concentrations in the atmosphere and global warming associated with the greenhouse effect. Of the various greenhouse gases, it is CO₂ and its abundance in the atmosphere that humanity is best positioned to control. Plans for action to mitigate the effects of global warming have thus concentrated on the reduction of CO₂ emission into the atmosphere.

Geological CO₂ sequestration has been routinely proposed by many countries to control their elevated levels of anthropogenic CO₂ in the atmosphere. CO₂ sequestration in deep saline aquifers offers an innovative and ingenious way to combat increased emissions. Deep saline repositories have the largest estimated storage capacity, being widely distributed throughout the globe in all sedimentary basins. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the achievable storage capacity of deep saline aquifers because of limited data on the physical and chemical interactions that occur among brine, rock, and CO₂ at the pressures and temperatures relevant to deep storage. In addition, the slow solubility of injected CO₂ in brine is considered to be one of the fundamental drawbacks, making conventional versions of the process inefficient and uneconomical. Therefore, further understanding of these complex interactions is needed before deep saline aquifer sequestration can be pursued at the industrial scale required for effective CO₂ emission reductions.

This Special Issue aims to explore these issues and thus make a significant contribution to deep saline CO₂ sequestration. Our target is to identify recent advances in understanding, monitoring, and modelling of coupled chemico-mineralogical-thermo-hydro-mechanical (CMTHM) processes in deep saline aquifers and to apply these processes to realistically assess the feasibility of large-scale CO₂ storage in deep saline reservoirs. We look forward to receiving comprehensive reviews, nano/micro to macro scale experimental evaluations and field studies, and analytical and numerical techniques related to deep saline CO₂ sequestration.

Dr. Tharaka Rathnaweera
Dr. Junlong Shang
Guest Editors

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