Carbon Dioxide Storage Capacity in Uneconomical Coal Beds in Alberta: Potential and Site Identification
CO2 capture and geological sequestration are both means for reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions into the atmosphere that are immediately available and technologically feasible and that are particularly suited for Alberta as a result of its geology. Sequestration of CO2 in coal seams, concurrent with methane production, is one of the possible means of CO2 geological sequestration. CretaceousTertiary strata in Alberta contain several coal zones, some of them with potential for coalbed methane (CBM) production and CO2 sequestration. Thin coal zones in the Edmonton and Belly River Groups have low CO2 storage potential because they are thin and discontinuous in places. Only the Mannville, Drumheller, and Ardley Coal Zones have significant CBM potential and, therefore, by extension, may have corresponding CO2 storage potential. Regions suitable for CO2 sequestration in these coal zones have been defined on the basis of depth, such that potable groundwater resources are protected, and on the basis of CO2 phase at in situ conditions. The theoretical CO2 sequestration capacity in these regions was estimated on the basis of CO2 adsorption isotherms measured on coal samples.View/Download Document