Advancing Calibrated Insights into the Reactivity of Siliceous Interfaces for Developing Low Carbon Geo-Energy Technologies

Abstract:

Siliceous materials are abundant in naturally occurring minerals and rocks which we actively harness to meet our energy and resource needs. Despite their societal and technological importance, we have a limited understanding of the chemical and morphological transformations of siliceous materials in subsurface environments and engineered processes and their controls on fluid storage and recovery activities. Examples of these activities include the geologic storage of CO₂, integrated CO₂ use and storage during hydrocarbon recovery, and geothermal energy extraction. To advance a calibrated understanding of fluid interactions with siliceous interfaces, we probe how mesoporous silica materials can be architected via colloidal and thermal routes, the reactivity of these interfaces in acidic and basic environments, functionalization of these materials for enhancing permeability in subsurface environments, and structures of confined water in nanoporous silica materials. The utilization of calcium and magnesium silicate minerals for integrated CO₂ capture, utilization and storage applications, and the role of silica will be elucidated. These studies illustrate the connectivity between the chemo-morphological evolution of siliceous interfaces in complex environments and the resulting implications on low carbon geo-energy technologies.