LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Studies Impact of CO2 Storage on Groundwater
December 11, 2023
BATON ROUGE, LA – LSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Frank Tsai was recently awarded a $489,848 Experimental Research grant from the LSU Institute for Energy Innovation to study the potential impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage in Louisiana’s porous rocks on drinking water, water supplies, and the environment. Tsai, who is the director of the Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute, is working with a research team to uncover any hidden dangers.
“Louisiana’s geology, formed by fluvial-deltaic sedimentation over millions of years, introduces complexities such as faulting and shale layer discontinuity, which could create pathways for CO2 escaping to drinking water aquifers,” Tsai said. “Additionally, CO2 injection may induce artificial earthquakes and raise geopressure, potentially leading to ground-elevation changes.”
Tsai’s project proposes four modules. Module one, “Characterizing Geology and Groundwater,” entails analyzing well logs and conducting groundwater-flow simulation around injection sites.
“This will provide valuable information about aquifer and shale extents and identify potential fault planes,” Tsai said.
LSU CEE Professors Christopher Kees and Ahmed Abdalla are co-principal investigators on module two, “Simulating CO2 Transport,” which aims to simulate fate and transport of supercritical CO2 in the subsurface. They are also co-PIs on module four, “Monitoring Ground-Elevation Changes,” which will utilize Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) approaches to assess spatiotemporal ground deformation, respectively.
Another co-PI on the project is LSU Renewable Natural Resources Professor Yi-Jun Xu, who will conduct module three, “Monitoring CO2 Concentrations,” which will monitor CO2 concentrations in groundwater and surface water and differentiate between naturally occurring deposits and underground leakage sources.
Tsai’s project will collaborate with Air Products and Chemicals Inc., a world-leading hydrogen supplier, to conduct research at its CO2 permanent sequestration sites beneath Lake Maurepas in southeastern Louisiana. Tsai’s team will conduct independent research, utilizing available data while also incorporating Air Products’ data, which will include a Lake Maurepas seismic survey, Class V stratigraphic test wells, and lake water data. The research findings will be shared with Air Products and state regulatory and permitting agencies, such as the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
Additionally, the project will communicate its results to the public through platforms like the Annual Louisiana Water Conference, workshops hosted by the LSU Institute for Energy Innovation, and professional conferences.
“By undertaking this comprehensive study, the project will provide crucial insights into the potential risks and benefits of CO2 storage in Louisiana’s geological formations, ensuring the safety of drinking water supplies and protecting the environment,” Tsai said.
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