--> Abstract: Assessment of Geologic CO2 Sequestration at a Proposed FutureGen Site in Kentucky; #90063 (2007)

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Assessment of Geologic CO2 Sequestration at a Proposed FutureGen Site in Kentucky

 

Drahovzal, James A.1, David C. Harris1, Stephen F. Greb1, Brandon C. Nuttall1 (1) Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, KY

 

A reclaimed surface coal mine in western Kentucky was proposed as a site for FutureGen, an industry-government effort to build a near-zero emissions power plant. Though the site was not selected for FutureGen, an integrated-gasification-combined-cycle plant is planned for an adjacent site and, as at the FutureGen plant, geologic CO2 sequestration may take place there in the future. The site was initially chosen because of its attractive infrastructural and surface attributes; however, it also lies within a part of the southern Illinois Basin that has significant geologic sequestration potential. Several potential sequestration horizons were assessed at the site.

 

The Mount Simon Sandstone, a significant regional sequestration target, was only minimally assessed, and not considered a target because of its excessive depth, suspected thinness, and uncertain permeability at the proposed site. The St. Peter Sandstone was more carefully assessed. A permeable zone in the Knox Supergroup, however, was chosen as the primary sequestration target, based on a 54-foot-thick zone that averaged 9 percent porosity in a nearby well. In Kentucky, the Knox is a hydrocarbon producer and has been used for waste injection at two locations. The target zone at the site lies about 7,380 feet beneath the surface and is at the crest of a northeast-oriented, elongate dome with 100 to 200 feet of closure. With ultimate injection of up to 50 million tonnes of supercritical CO2, plume migration would progress northwest along the crest of the structure, eventually covering an area of approximately 50 square miles. Seals include the overlying Knox itself, Trenton carbonates, the Maquoketa Shale, and the New Albany Shale. Several faults in the vicinity would require monitoring to assure seal integrity.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California