ZERT Research 

Focus:

• Development of numerical models for fluid dynamics and reactive transport of CO2 in geologic formations.
  
  
• Development of realistic reservoir models for different geologies and including reservoir heterogeneities.
  
  
• Identification and assessment of the importance and rates of trapping mechanisms
  
  
• Modeling for risk assessment including all potential pathways to the biosphere
  
  
• Development of reservoir management strategies that ensure storage security

Research Efforts by Geologic Storage Formation Type:

Saline Sandstone Formation    

Deep Basalt Formation   

Unmineable Coal seems    

Depleted Oil and Gas Reserves

Models and Computational Tools Being Developed:

Scalable Computing of CO2 Migration and Storage in Geologic Formations

CO2 Storage Reservoir Assessments and Analysis of CO2 Loading

Science-Based Prediction of Performance of Engineered Geologic CO2 Storage Sites

Process-System Integration Modeling

GeoStoreEstimator: A Model for Predicting Solubility and Residual Gas Trapping 

Predictive Modeling of the Fate of CO2 in Subsurface Environments:
TOUGH2, TOUGHREACT,  GasEOS, and STOMP

Focus:

• Development of monitoring technologies (for decades of storage, annual leakage rates must be sub 0.01% requiring ultra-trace detectors for CO2);
  
  
• Integrated surface and sub-surface monitoring, measurement, and verification systems.
  
  
• Measurement of CO2 behavior for verification of numerical model
  
  
• Development and testing of seepage / leakage countermeasures

Research Efforts:

DIAL: Differential Absorption LIDAR for Monitoring CO2 Concentrations

Surface Seepage Detection

Geophysical Monitoring and Verification of CO₂ Storage Projects

Focus:

• Laboratory based experiments to measure geophysical and geochemical processes, rates, and thermodynamics for both reservoir rocks and caprock
  
  
• Measurement of basic properties for parameterization of numerical models
  

Research Efforts:

Monitoring Approaches for Key Potential Release Pathways

Biofilms, a leakage countermeasure

Residual Gas and Solubility Trapping Experiments

Mitigation strategies for key potential release pathways

Process-level Hydrogeochemical Phenomena (theory, experiment, computation) 

ZERT Research by Institution

Montana State University (MSU)
West Virginia University (WVU)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)

ZERT is funded by the United States Department of Energy, under Award No. DE-FC26-04NT42262. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the DOE.

© 2005 Montana State University