Carbon Storage Showcase

Available now: the videos of the Showcase! just scroll down...

The focus project team was awarded the „DVGW-Studienpreis Gas 2013“.
This price is awareded by the DVGW German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water to honor “outstanding theses in the field of gas and water”. It is endowed with 5’000 Euro. More details can be found on the external page DVGW website.

The Carbon Storage Showcase featured in “Einstein” on Sept. 20^th 2012.
“Einstein” is the main science broadcast on the German Swiss television SRF. The Sept. 20^th 2012 broadcast can be watched online on the external page SRF website.

The focus project addresses the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, where CO₂ is captured from a flue gas, compressed into a liquid-like state, and then injected into a suitable geological reservoir deep underground. This value chain makes it possible to operate fossil fuel fired power plants and other large point sources of CO₂ such as cement or steel plants virtually CO₂ free. However, the public discussion about CCS is strongly affected by misconceptions that result from the lack of knowledge about CO₂ storage. We believe that a deadlock of this discussion on a purely emotional level may be avoided by visual explanations. An animated physical model that visualizes geological CO₂ storage in a way non-experts can understand attracts attention and enables interaction with a broad audience. Hence, the goal of the focus project was to design, build, and operate such a physical model.

To tackle this challenge, the team followed a systematic approach, including macro-scale modeling, experimental work, and the development of a pore scale model during the design phase (Fig. 1). The final product, the Carbon Storage Showcase (Fig. 2), visualizes the injection of CO₂, its slow migration and trapping inside the pores, as well as its spreading underneath the caprock in a scientifically sound, visually compelling, and user-optimized manner. Additionally, the team realized several exhibits and posters so as to be able to display the showcase in the context of the entire CCS value chain. The showcase has proven to be an effective enabler of knowledge transfer at various events and exhibitions.

Scale-Methods — Figure 1: The schematic at the top shows the type of geological environment that is suitable for CO₂ storage; CO₂ injection wells reach down into a porous, salt-water saturated reservoir rock, called saline aquifer. The latter is overlaid by a layer of impermeable rock, called caprock, which prevents the CO₂ from migrating upward. The image series at the bottom illustrates the three-stage design methodology that was used by the team to scale the injection process from the real scale of the geological environment down to the much smaller scale of the physical model.

Shwocasebackfront — *Figure 2: The physical model, representing the heart of the Carbon Storage Showcase exhibition, in front (top) and back (bottom) view.*

For further information about the project and the Carbon Storage Showcase we refer to:

the Carbon Storage Showcase brochure (PDF, 0.5 MB, in German)
the article external page A physical model for geological CO2 storage - replacing misconceptions by visual explanation, published in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control together with supplementary materials (videos of the injection, posters)
the video external page On the density of carbon dioxide on Youtube, prepared to be displayed together with the showcase

Student members of the focus project team:
Pascal Oehler, Jan Winkler, Özkan Lafci, Robin Mutschler, Andreas Krättli

Scientific and operational support:
Daniel Sutter
Dr. Mischa Repmann

Scientific supervision:
Prof. Dr. Marco Mazzotti
Dr. Alba Zappone
Dr. Johannes Kluge

Technical support:
Markus Huber
Daniel Trottmann

Enlarged view: Showcaseteam.JPG — The focus project team, from left to right: Daniel, Mischa, Robin, Andreas, Özkan, Pascal, and Jan.