Geochemical consequences in shallow aquifers from the long‐term presence of CO 2 in a natural field: The case of Florina Basin, W. Macedonia, Greece

Vasiliki Gemeni, Charalampos Vasilatos, Nikolaos Koukouzas and Christos Kanellopoulos

Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, 2016, vol. 6, issue 4, 450-469

Abstract: Natural CO 2 fields can be used to identify trapping mechanisms, the fate and the geochemical consequences of geologically stored CO 2 in shallow aquifers. The Florina Basin in Greece is regarded as a CO 2 naturally leaking analog due to millions of years of gas accumulation in a Tertiary sand formation. This research was conducted in order to identify the CO 2 fingerprints and to investigate and evaluate the factors controlling the groundwater quality in the basin. Leaking CO 2 is observed in the aquifers and at the surface. The basin is filled with clastic sediments. It can provide information regarding the fate of CO 2 and the possible impacts that can be used as reference in demonstration and industrial projects. Water sampling campaigns were conducted to determine the impact of the gas‐water long‐term interactions in the shallow aquifers. The CO 2 has increased the concentration (in relation to other water samples from the basin) of certain elements like Fe, Mn, Na, Cl, and Br but only in few cases exceeds the EU drinking limit. The chemistry of the groundwater in the Florina Basin aquifers was found to be controlled mainly by the CO 2 ‐water‐rock interactions due to the mineralogy of the aquifers (calcite and silicates including pyroxenes and chlorite). Metal attenuation processes have prevented the aquifers from brine contamination. Considering the Florina Basin is a natural analog for studying the leaking and migration pathways of stored CO 2 and that only minor affects have been identified in the groundwater chemistry, the conclusions of this research are promising for the possible usage of a basin of similar geology and lithology for deep CO 2 storage. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/ghg.1574

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:greenh:v:6:y:2016:i:4:p:450-469

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology from Blackwell Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().