Cheap way found to monitor gas storage
SCIENTISTS have discovered an inexpensive way to help monitor the safe storage of greenhouse gases captured from power stations and industry.
The find will help with the development of technology to store carbon dioxide deep underground to prevent emissions contributing to climate change.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh found that CO2 captured from power stations and industrial sites has a distinctive chemical fingerprint, depending on its source, distinguishing it from naturally occurring CO2.
This means it does not need to have expensive chemical tracers added, to monitor that it is effectively contained.
Dr Stephanie Flude, of the university’s School of GeoSciences, who led the study, said: “Defining these natural fingerprints in captured CO2 will simplify the monitoring of geological CO2 storage sites.
“This method is inexpensive as it removes the need to add additional expensive artificial tracers to the CO2 being stored.”
Study co-ordinator Dr Stuart Gilfillan added: “There has been a pressing need to identify a means to distinguish CO2 to be stored from that already in the subsurface to help CCS deployment.
“Our study shows that natural fingerprints in the captured CO2 are unique and depend on the capture technologies being used.
“This paves the way for natural fingerprints to be used to track the CO2 once it is injected underground for storage.”