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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 110,
B10203,
10 PP., 2005
doi:10.1029/2005JB003735
The U-tube: A novel system for acquiring borehole fluid samples from a deep geologic CO2 sequestration experiment
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
U. S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, USA
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
Sandia Technologies LLC, Houston, Texas, USA
A novel system has been deployed to obtain geochemical samples of water and gas, at in situ pressure, during a geologic CO2 sequestration experiment conducted in the Frio brine aquifer in Liberty County, Texas. Project goals required high-frequency recovery of representative and uncontaminated aliquots of a rapidly changing two-phase fluid (supercritical CO2 and brine) fluid from 1.5 km depth. The data sets collected, using both the liquid and gas portions of the downhole samples, provide insights into the coupled hydrogeochemical issues affecting CO2 sequestration in brine-filled formations. While the basic premise underlying the U-tube sampler is not new, the system is unique because careful consideration was given to the processing of the recovered two-phase fluids. In particular, strain gauges mounted beneath the high-pressure surface sample cylinders measured the ratio of recovered brine to supercritical CO2. A quadrupole mass spectrometer provided real-time gas analysis for perfluorocarbon and noble gas tracers that were injected along with the CO2. The U-tube successfully acquired frequent samples, facilitating accurate delineation of the arrival of the CO2 plume, and on-site analysis revealed rapid changes in geochemical conditions.
Received 17 March 2005; accepted 12 July 2005; published 11 October 2005.
Citation: (2005), The U-tube: A novel system for acquiring borehole fluid samples from a deep geologic CO2 sequestration experiment, J. Geophys. Res., 110, B10203, doi:10.1029/2005JB003735.
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