Carbon Disposal in the Basalt Lava Fields of Western Arabia:

Potential and ChallengesAbdulkader M. Afifi

Acknowledgements

• Professor Hussain Hoteit, KAUST

• Professor Eric Oelkers, GET and UCL

• Dr. Serguey Arkadakskiy (Saudi Aramco)

• Professor Sigurdur Gisalson (U. Iceland)

Acknowledgements: APG research team at KAUST

• Jose Eduardo Abreu Torres. MS thesis: The potential for CO2 disposal in Western Saudi Arabia: The Jizan Group basalts

• Miliausha Petrova: MS thesis: The potential for CO2 disposal in Western Saudi Arabia: The Harrat Lava fields

• Jakub Fedorik: Postdoc

• Alexandros Tasianas: Postdoc

• Antoine Delaunay: Postdoc

• Arlette de Santiago: GIS specialist

• Tihana Pensa: PhD

• Ali Altammar: MS

• Murtadha Almallalah: MS

Menu

1. Background

2. Sequestration technologies

3. Current situation: fixed CO2 emissions in Saudi Arabia

4. Carbon mineralization in the Harrat volcanic fields

5. Carbon mineralization in Red Sea rift volcanics (Jizan Group)

6. Carbon mineralization in ultramafic rocks

7. Conclusions

Motivation: CO2 emissions worldwide

5

Ridding the atmosphere of CO2

From: Center for Environment, Commerce and Energy, 2011.

Why sequester in basalt?

• Basalt is unstable at near-surface conditions: (low T, hydrous and low pH)

• 20-25 wt. % CaO + MgO + FeO that can react with CO2 to form carbonates.

• Two technologies for carbon mineralization in basalt:• CarbFix project, Iceland: Dissolve CO2 in water at depth.

• Wallula project, Washington: inject supercritical CO2.

Mineral Carbonation Reactions

Gas dissolution: CO2(g)+ H2O = H2CO3(aq)

Acid dissociation: H2CO3(aq) = HCO3- + H+

HCO 3- = CO 32- + H+

Mineral dissolution:

Olivine: Mg2SiO4 + 4H+ = 2Mg2+ + SiO2 (aq) + 2H2O

Clinopyroxene: CaMgSi2O6 + 4H+ = Ca2+ + Mg2+ + 2SiO2(aq) + 2H2O

Plagioclase: CaAl2Si2O8 + 2H+ + H2O = Ca2+ + Al2Si2O5(OH)4

Carbonate precipitation: (Ca2+,Mg2+,Fe2+) + CO32- = (Ca,Mg,Fe) CO3

8

Natural carbonation of basalt, Harrat Rahat

9

Calcite filling intergranular porosity in basaltic agglomerate

Calcite coating fractures in basalt

Wallula Pilot Project

• Injected supercritical CO2 ~ 900 m depth

• Requires cap rock (vertical seal)

From McGrail et al. (2011, 2014, 2017)

Columbia River Basalt field

PacificOcean

Post-injection CT scan of sidewall core showing synthetic ankerite in vesicles

Wallula pilot well

CarbFix Project, Hellishedi GP, Iceland

11

From Gislason et al., 2018

• Downhole dissolution of CO2-rich gas in water. Solution is denser than pure water and sinks into aquifer.

• Requires permeable aquifer.

• May work for flue gas, no need to capture and concentrate CO2

• Also mineralizes H2S or SO2 as sulfide minerals

CarbFix Project, Hellishedi Geothermal Field, Iceland

12

Core with synthetic CaCO3

From Gislason & Oelkers, 2014

CO2 Solubility in water

13

From: Hussein Hoteit, using CMG-GEM simulator.

Calculated using Henry’s law constants reported by Weiss et al. (1974)

Major industrial CO2 emissions on the west coast

14

Yanbu Industrial city

Rabigh Petrochemical and cement plants

Jeddah-Sho’aiba P&WD plant

Jizan Economic City and Shuqaiq P&WD plant

CO2 disposal: Requirements for CarbFix

• Water saturated basalts > 500 m thick.

• Permeability: matrix permeability in interflow tuff layers & volcaniclastic rocks + fracture permeability in joints

• Supply of fresh or seawater.

• Proximity to fixed CO2 source.

15

A “typical” basalt lava flow

500 m

Gisalson and Oelkers, 2014; McGrail et al. (2003)

16

Distribution of Harrat lava fields (grey) showing volcanic vents (red dots)

ArabianShield

NubianShield

Sedimentaryrocks

Harrat Fields

17

Tuff ring crater in Harrat Uwayrid

Distal basalt flows in paleovalley

H + V joints

Tuff

Lava

Quarry in a Quaternary cinder cone, Harrat Rahat, exposing internal stratification of basaltic tephra.

Alignment of monogenetic volcanoes over dikes

Feeder dikes

Aligned cinder cones

basalt

Eroded edge of 30 My old basalt, Harrat Hadan

Dike-fed Pleistocene volcanoes, Harrat Ash Shama

Primary volcanic structural trends for each Harrat in Saudi Arabia

North-Southern direction

North-Eastern direction

North-Western direction

20

N 0֯

N 28֯ E

N 30֯ W

21

Highest elevations are located west of the

Harrat Rahat: elevation showing en-echelon N15W trend of volcanic vents

E-W section across Harrat Rahat

22

Basement

West East

Escarpment

Monogeneticvolcanoes

Lava flows

23Elevation base of basalt Basalt thickness

Basalt is thickest along axis of monogenetic volcanoes

24

Water wells

Elevation of water table

Harrat Rahat: elevation of water table

25

Vertical exaggeration is 10

W E

Harrat Rahat: E-W section showing water table

Harrat Rahat: vesicular basalt with corroded augite megacrysts

Harrat Rahat: basaltic lithic tuff

A B

Harrat Rahat

• A build-up of basaltic lavas along three right-stepping en-echelon N15W trends of monogenetic volcanoes (MMN volcanic line).

• Not a graben.

• Located near fixed CO2 emissions from Jabal Rokham, Rabigh and Al-Madinah.

• Pyroclastic rocks along axis, lava flows away from axis.

• Meets thickness requirement in 3 areas. Maximum thickness ~800m.

• Contains fresh water aquifer, maximum height 225m.

• Does not meet all Carbfix requirements, candidate for spCO2injection

Harrat Ash Shama: topography and structure

29

Saudi Arabia

Jordan

Syria

30

Harrat Ash Shama: tuff rings and cones

31

Harrat Ash Shama: thickness

Harrat Ash Shama: Summary

• A large composite lava field extending from Saudi Arabia NW to Syria.

• Four separate build-ups of lava along NW trending, left-stepping en-echelon trends of monogenetic volcanoes.

• Maximum basalt thickness of 1200 m in Jabal Druz (Syria) which may be suitable for the CarbFix process.

• In Saudi Arabia, the basalt is <300 m thick, and its base is higher than the water table: unsuitable for the CarbFix process.

• The maars/tuff rings which penetrate the basalt field are potential leakage points for any injected fluids.

Harrat Lunayyir, <0.5 MY old

• Located on Arabian Shield, astride Red Sea escarpment

• Basalt fills modern wadis, < 75 m thick.

• High and dry location: unsuitable for carbon mineraliation.

33

34

Harrat Hadan: Highly dissected syn-rift (Oligocene) basalt field

35

Map showing elevation of top lava flows

Cross section

Harrat Hadan: tilted towards normal fault

Oligocene Jizan Group

• The Jizan Group is a section of hydrothermally-altered Oligocene volcanics which filled the southern part of the proto Red Sea continental rift.

• Fills antithetic half grabens up to several kilometers thick.

• Bimodal basalt-rhyolite composition, and heavily invaded by subvolcanic intrusions (sheeted basalt dikes, layered gabbro and granite) 30-22 Ma.

• Consists mainly of continental basaltic volcanics, interlayered with volcaniclastic sediments and fossiliferous lake beds.

Main Ethiopian rift, looking south: Graben is being filled by volcanics and volcaniclastic sediments similar to the Jizan Group. Analogue for the continental rift in the Red Sea (Schmidt et al., 1983)

Ethiopian Plateau

Somalian Plateau

Volcanoes

Volcanic dammed lakes

Oligocene JizanGroup volcanics

38

ArabianShield

Pz

Mz

Jeddah

OligoceneJizan Group

Jizan

Jizan Economic City

Shuqaiq P&WD plant

ShoaibaP&WD plant

Pz

HarratHadan

Jizan Group: Geologic Cross Section

39

Jizan Group: Jabal Sita

Tilted dike

Tilted basaltic lava and tuff

Dikes

Jizan Group: Sheeted basalt dikes

Jizan Group: Early carbonate-filled fractures and late open fractures

42

Jizan Group: Hydrothermally-altered basaltic tuff

Jizan Group: Hydrothermal carbonation

Basement

Photomicrograph of vesicular

porphyritic basalt from the

Jizan Group, Jabal Sita, plane

polarized light. Chlorite (Chl)

lines vesicles and fractures,

which are filled with calcite

(Cc). Plagioclase laths (Plag)

partly replaced by chlorite.

Potential for Carbfix Process in the Jizan Group

45

• The Jizan Group is well suited for carbon mineralization because:○ the geologic setting is favorable and well known,○ there is a large volume of basalt which is accessible for injection at

various depths,○ the location is in close proximity to sources of CO2 and SO2 in Jizan

Economic City and Shuqaiq P&WD plants, ○ seawater is available for injecting CO2 into the basalt reservoir.

Basement & pre-rift

sedimentary rocks

Miocene-Pliocene sedimentary rocks salt

Potential for CO2 disposal from Shoaiba power/desalination plantin the Jizan Group

46

Jizan Group – Simulation of a 3D sector model by Hussein Hoteit

Snapshots for calcite precipitation in the matrix (left) and in fractures (right) after 20 years of injection

Ultramafic rocks:Terranes and Ophiolite belts, Arabian Shield

Nehlig, 2002, GeoArabia v. 7, 102-124

Disposal in ultramafic rocks: Jabal ThurwahOphiolite

CenozoicSedimentary

rocks

ArabianShield

Ophiolite

Basalt lava flow

Red Sea

RabighPetrochemical

Cement plant

Jabal Thurwah ophiolite near two sources of CO2:1- Rabigh Petrochemical complex2- As Safwa cement plant

Jabal Thurwah Ophiolite: Magnesite-filled fractures in serpentinized peridotite

Close up of magnesite fractures in peridotite

Jabal Thurwah and Cement Plant

Harrat Rahat

Alluvialfan

Cementplant

Peridotite

Potential CO2 disposal in Jabal Thurwah peridotites

1. In situ disposal in peridotite-sourced fanglomerates.2. Ex situ mining and industrial process.

Conclusions

• Most of the Harrat basalt fields are not suitable for carbon disposal due to insufficient thickness and groundwater saturation.

• Harrat Rahat has the best potential due to thicker basalts, a groundwater table, and proximity to industrial emitters.

• The best potential is in continental rift volcanics of the Jizan Group under the southern Red Sea coastal plain:• The geologic setting is favorable and well known.

• There is a large volume of basalt which is accessible at various depths.

• Located in close proximity to CO2 sources in Jizan Economic City and Shuqaiqpower/desalination plants.

• Seawater is available for injecting CO2 into the basalt reservoir

• Potential for combining CO2 disposal with geothermal energy production.

54

Challenges

• Availability of water of injection and environmental impacts

• Uncertainties about geologic setting of some areas.

• Reactivity of hydrothermally-altered basalts.

• Identifying “sweet spots” & characterizing fracture permeability.

• Engineering challenges (e.g., corrosion and sulfate precipitation).

• Technologies for disposal in serpentinized peridotites