Mineralogical and geochemical changes in conglomerate reservoir rocks induced by CO2 influx at Mihályi-Répcelak natural analogue, NW-Hungary

Abstract

AbstractA temporary solution to massive anthropogenic CO2 emissions can be the capture of industrial CO2 from flue gas and sequestering it in geological formations. For safe and effective storage of CO2, interaction processes in the rock-pore fluid–CO2 system should be known. Investigation of natural CO2 accumulations provides valuable examples to what physical and chemical effects could be expected during CO2 influx at future CO2 storage sites. One of the key controlling factors of the processes occurring in natural CO2 reservoirs is the lithology of the storage rocks, which is primarily determined by the formation conditions of these rocks. In this respect, the lithologies of individual CO2 accumulation areas influence the processes between the host rock, the pore fluid, and the CO2 in different ways. In the current study, we focus on a well-studied natural CO2 storage reservoir, namely the Mihályi-Répcelak area, NW Hungary. We provide insight into the so far unstudied conglomerate reservoirs that represent a stratigraphically deeper reservoir unit with significantly different lithology and pore water compositions compared to the sandstone reservoirs. Our results indicate that dawsonite /NaAlCO3(OH)2/ formation also affected the conglomerate reservoirs, which indicates that at least part of the CO2 could be trapped in mineral form. An important role of salinity in reducing the CO2 mineral trapping capacity of the storage system is also demonstrated. Furthermore, H isotope analysis of diagenetic kaolinite was applied to trace the origin of the pore water that was present during the rock formation. Based on the data, dawsonite formation was induced by the flux of meteoric water that infiltrated during a warm and humid period and mixed with ascending CO2.