US 12,031,414 B2
Sequestration of carbon in subterranean volumes by mineral precipitation
Abdulaziz S. Al-Qasim, Dammam (SA); Anton Manakhov, Ivanovo (RU); and Yuguo Wang, Dhahran (SA)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on Sep. 20, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/948,835.
Prior Publication US 2024/0093576 A1, Mar. 21, 2024
Int. Cl. E21B 41/00 (2006.01); C01B 32/60 (2017.01)
CPC E21B 41/0064 (2013.01) [C01B 32/60 (2017.08)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for subsurface sequestration of carbon in a subterranean zone, the method comprising:
forming a fluid-filled volume in the subterranean zone by injecting, into the subterranean zone, an aqueous solution;
injecting, into the fluid-filled volume, a mixture comprising silicate nanoparticles suspended in an acidic solution having a pH of less than 4;
injecting carbon as carbon dioxide into the fluid-filled volume;
sequestering a least a portion of the carbon in the fluid-filled volume by precipitation of carbonate minerals in the fluid-filled volume, at least a portion of the carbonate minerals formed from reaction of metal cations with bicarbonate formed from the carbon dioxide, wherein at least a portion of the metal cations are a product of decomposition of the silicate nanoparticles in the acidic solution; and
determining a change in a chemical or physical characteristic of a return flow of fluid from the fluid-filled volume and, based on such determination, modifying a volume or composition of the mixture.