Cyclic Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Integrated with Geothermal Energy Production

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2025-01-16
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Faced with the challenges of climate change caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions, society is turning to clean energy alternatives. Two key methods being considered are carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and geothermal energy. Currently, researchers are focusing on combining these two technologies and this study provides a novel cycle method to integrate CO2 sequestration with geothermal energy production. In the first study, a single well cyclic CO2 injection and hot water production in the Basal Cambrian Sandstone Unit (BCSU), Canada is studied. In the second study, by using cyclic operation, multiple wells with various working modes and operation types are applied in the BCSU for combining CO2 sequestration with geothermal energy production. The third study involves water co-injection with CO2 in both cyclic and continuous modes, aiming to integrate CO2 storage with geothermal energy extraction in the BCSU. In the last study, economic analysis is applied to evaluate the profitability of the designed cyclic and continuous cases with various injection fluid combinations (CO2 and water) in the BCSU. First, the results indicate that in a single well scenario, the designed cyclic system can achieve both CO2 storage and geothermal energy extraction successfully, though the injected CO2 is partially produced along with hot water during the production period due to its high mobility and proximity to the well. Second, the designed multi-well cyclic operation can not only combine CO2 storage with geothermal energy production but achieve net zero emission CO2 storage process during the operation. Third, compared with pure CO2 injection, water injection not only enhances CO2 storage percent significantly with cyclic techniques, but can help achieve net-zero emission cyclic CO2 storage system with geothermal energy production. Fourth, pure geothermal energy production in the BCSU is generally unprofitable, but integrating CO2 injection by using cyclic method can make a satisfactory profit due to successfully sequestering a certain amount of CO2 in the target formation under the positive carbon credit policy. This study evaluates the feasibility of using novel cyclic method to integrate CO2 sequestration with geothermal energy production in the specific formation, which makes contributions for both CCUS and geothermal energy towards carbon neutrality society.

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Tai, N. (2025). Cyclic carbon dioxide sequestration integrated with geothermal energy production (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.