Off-campus UNL users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your NU ID and password. When you are done browsing please remember to return to this page and log out.
Non-UNL users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.
CO2 Utilization and Subsurface Storage: Experimental Investigation of CO2 Utilization and Storage Using Recycled Concrete Aggregates and CO2 Hydrates
Abstract
CO2 utilization and geological storage are one of the primary sustainable approaches to reducing atmospheric CO2 emissions and thus mitigating climate change.In this study, CO2 utilization for recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is examined in-depth via laboratory- and mid-scale experiments. Mechanical and environmental-related properties of the CO2-treated RCAs as well as optimum variables for CO2 treatment, CO2 storage potential, and cost are evaluated for the commercial implication. The results suggest that RH of 50±5%, higher CO2 pressure and temperature, and longer treatment time will facilitate the carbonation of RCA using CO2. It is also confirmed that the concentration of heavy metals in the leachate water of CO2-treated RCA is considerably lower than the EPA’s drinking water standard.For CO2 geologic storage, the characteristics of formation and dissociation of CO2 hydrates in the two-phase bulk and three-phase porous medium conditions, respectively, are studied in-depth for the offshore oil/gas drilling, HBSC, CO2-EOR/EGR operations. The study results imply that the initial CO2 volume plays an important role in hydrate formation in the bulk condition. On the other hand, the insufficient CO2-water contact area in the porous medium conditions results in limited hydrate formation and dissociation. In addition, the dissociation of CO2 hydrate in a system that contains hydrophilic nanoparticles can lead to stable emulsions when the hydrate is formed from liquid CO2, while unstable CO2-in-water foams are prevalent with hydrate dissociation that is originally formed with gaseous CO2.Lastly, fluid injection into deformable porous media and consequent fluid-driven deformation is studied experimentally, which observations are applicable not only to CO2 geologic storage but also to other geological and biological operations. It is observed that the fluid-driven deformation may occur only in conditions with high viscosity for single-phase fluid transport. However, for the two-phase fluid transport, either the volumetric, fracture-like, or mixed fluid-driven deformations may develop depending on the hydraulic and mechanical properties, including the capillarity, viscosity, flow rate, grain confinement, and system stiffness.
Subject Area
Civil engineering
Recommended Citation
Zadeh, Amin Hosseini, "CO2 Utilization and Subsurface Storage: Experimental Investigation of CO2 Utilization and Storage Using Recycled Concrete Aggregates and CO2 Hydrates" (2022). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI29167075.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI29167075