CO2 storage for geological timescales – Thermodynamic and kinetic stability of dawsonite

This study is motivated by the need to better understand the potential role of dawsonite in CO2 sequestration scenarios. Towards this goal, the first kinetic studies of dawsonite were conducted by the authors during March-April 2004 in corporation with Er ic H. Oelkers at Université Paul Sabatier/CNRS in Toulouse employing laboratory facilities in Toulouse.These preliminary studies suggest a constant dissolution rate at approximately 10-8.8 mol/m2/s from pH 3 to 10 at 80˚C. However, to fully understan d the importance of dawsonite, more work on both thermodynamic and kinetic stability is needed.The kinetic work will compare reaction rates of natural and synthetic material, and resolve reaction rates at various temperatures and pHs, whereas the work on thermodynamic stability will resolve the stability limits in natural settings and CO2 sequestration scenarios. This project is considered as an extension of the project « Safe long term stability of CO2 storage in aquifers » (AQUIFER). There are at least four important extra contributions of this project towards the AQUIFER project. In terms of internationalisation, it involves a new and active collaboration with a French, scientifically strong experimental group. This is expected to lead to a long-term c ollaboration. The second additional benefit through this collaboration is that it will enable the conduction of highly relevant experiments that would otherwise not be possible within the framework of the AQUIFER project. The third extra contribution is t he value of scientific input from top scientists that are not paid for by the project. Since this collaboration is based on academic collaboration, and as such not restricted with respect to open publication, the value of these new results will be open to other relevant Norwegian and international projects as soon as they are published.