Screening Geologic Sinks for CO2 in Nevada

Jon PriceNevada Bureau of Mines and Geology

“Preliminary Assessment of the Potential for Carbon Dioxide Disposal by Sequestration in Geological Settings in Nevada”

Jonathan G. Price, Ronald H. Hess, Shane Fitch, James E. Faulds, Larry J. Garside, Lisa Shevenell, Sean Warren

Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report XYZ

Conclusion: not much potential in Nevada

Conceptual model – Nevada oil and deep brine aquifers

Yes: White = alluvial deposits

No: Gray = bedrock

Blue = lakes

ES = bottom-hole temperature (93°C at 1,830 m) in the Eagle Springs oil field

BF = reservoir temperature (120-130°C at about 1,625 m) in the Bacon Flat-Grant Canyon oil fields

Depths greater than 1 km are preferred in Nevada, because of the high geothermal gradient and the need for a dense fluid CO2 phase.

Yes: White = alluvial basins deeper than 1 km

No: Gray = other areas

Buffers around Quaternary-active normal and strike-slip faults

Yes: White = areas not near active faults

No: Gray = areas near active faults

‘49ers

Goldfield, Cripple Creek, and porphyries

Carlin and other Nevada deposits

We are in the midst of the biggest gold boom in American history.

Epithermal Pluton-related Non-pluton-related

Combined

White = areas not permissive for metal deposits

Gray = areas the USGS determined to be permissive for metal deposits

Yes: White = areas outside 5-km buffer around known mineral deposits (in USGS and NBMG databases) and including mining districts

No: Gray = areas with likely mineral-resource development

Known gold-silver deposits are mostly within 5 km of USGS historical mines.

Yes: White = areas outside 20-km buffer around known geothermal resourcesNo: Gray = areas with potential for geothermal development

No: Gray = area underlain by the Deep Carbonate Aquifer

Yes: White = areas unlikely to undergo urban development in the 21st century

No: Gray (green) = areas within 10 km of a town or major highway connecting cities or within 30 km of a current urban center

Yes: White = areas where permission may be granted

No: Gray = Parks, National Recreation Areas, Wilderness Areas, Military Reservations, Nevada Test Site

Combined map taking into account basin depth; faults; areas with potential for mineral, geothermal, and water-resource development; and proximity to potential urban areas.

Yes: White = areas not otherwise eliminated from consideration

No: Gray = most of Nevada

Conclusion: not much potential for conventional CO2 sequestration

Granite Springs Valley, Pershing County

Distribution of mafic (magnesium- and iron-rich) rocks, major electric power transmission lines, and railroads in Nevada.

Other Considerations:

Chemical reactors with mafic or ultramafic rocks (black areas) – industrial ecology with power plants and landfills near railroads

Solution-mined salt caverns

Basalt: 5.2 km3 Carbon: 1 Gt Waste: 8.5 km3

Screening Geologic Sinks for CO2 in Nevada

Jon PriceNevada Bureau of Mines and Geology

www.nbmg.unr.edu

jprice@unr.eduConclusion: not much potential for conventional CO2 sequestration in Nevada