567
Practical Reviews on CO
2
Sequestration in Korean Sedimentary Basins and
Geophysical Responses of CO
2
-injected Sediments
Le comportement pratiques sur la séquestration du CO
2
dans les bassins sédimentaires coréens et
responses géophysiques de CO
2
injectées sédiments
Kim A.R., Cho G.C.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, KAIST, Korea
Kwon T.H.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Washington State University, USA
Chang I.H.
Geotechnical Engineering Research Division, Korea Institute of Construction Technology, KICT, Korea, Co.
ABSTRACT: Geological CO
2
sequestration is an effective means of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide. The Korean
government aims to reduce CO
2
emissions by 30% comparing to the usual amounts of emissions by 2020. It is expected that
geological CO
2
storage technology will account for more than 10% of the reduction of CO
2
emissions. The forward strategies and
technologies of CO
2
sequestration in Korea need to be determined depending on the geological conditions of potential sites in Korea;
moreover, the geophysical characteristics of CO
2
and the reservoirs depend on the geological conditions. However, previous domestic
studies related to geological conditions and the geophysical behavior of Korean sedimentary basins are rare thus far, with only a few
studies focusing on numerical modeling. This study aims to review the geological characteristics of CO
2
storage projects around the
world and in Korea while also discussing the suitability for CO
2
sequestration. Moreover, a laboratory approach simulating an in-situ
high effective stress condition with silty sand from the Bukpyeong basin is attempted in an effort to determine the geophysical
behaviors. This study offers an improved understanding of the possibility and potential of CO
2
sequestration in Korea.
RÉSUMÉ : La séquestration géologique du CO
2
est un moyen efficace de réduire les émissions de dioxyde de carbone. Le
gouvernement coréen a pour objectif de réduire les émissions de CO
2
de 30 % à l’échéance de 2020. Il est prévu que la technologie
géologique de stockage de CO
2
représentera plus de 10% de la réduction des émissions de CO
2
. Les stratégies futures et les
technologies de séquestration du CO
2
en Corée doivent être déterminées en fonction des conditions géologiques des sites potentiels en
Corée, d'ailleurs, les caractéristiques géophysiques de CO
2
et les réservoirs dépendent des conditions géologiques. Toutefois, les
précédentes études nationales relatives aux conditions géologiques et géophysiques sur le comportement des bassins sédimentaires de
la Corée sont rares à ce jour, avec seulement quelques études mettant l'accent sur la modélisation numérique. Cette étude vise à
examiner les caractéristiques géologiques des projets de stockage de CO
2
dans le monde et en Corée tout en discutant de leur
pertinence pour la séquestration du CO
2
. En outre, une approche de laboratoire simulant un état in situ à haute contrainte effective
avec du sable limoneux du bassin Bukpyeong est tentée dans le but de déterminer les comportements géophysiques. Cette étude
améliore la compréhension et la possibilité ainsi que le potentiel de séquestration du CO
2
en Corée.
KEYWORDS: CO
2
sequestration, korean marine sediment, geological condition, geophysical behavior
1 INTRODUCTION
Recently, several methods have been proposed to mitigate
carbon dioxide (CO
2
) emissions and to decrease the atmospheric
concentration of CO
2
, including material recycling, the usage of
renewable energy, and nuclear fusion. Among these,
carbon
capture and storage
(CCS) strategies are considered as effective
methods of reducing the atmospheric concentration of CO
2
in a
relatively short time at a low cost compared to other
technologies (Espinoza et al. 2011; Pires et al. 2011). In light of
this, approximately 40 CCS projects (including pilot-to-
commercial scale applications) are in the planning or
operational stages around the world (Hosa et al. 2010).
It has been reported that the increasing rate of CO
2
emissions
in South Korea is the highest among OECD member countries,
making Korea the seventh largest CO
2
emitting nation in the
world (BP 2011). Since 1999, the atmospheric concentration of
CO
2
in Korea has always been higher than the global average
(Figure 1). The Korean government plans to reduce its CO
2
emissions by 30% compared to the current business as usual
(BAU) value by 2020 (i.e., about 244 Mton/yr; Presidential
Committee on Green Growth, 2011). It is prospected that
geological CO
2
storage technology will account for more than
10% of global CO
2
emissions (approximately 25 Mton/yr). As a
part of this effort, pilot (10000 tons of CO
2
) and demonstration
(100000 tons of CO
2
) scale CO
2
sequestration projects, capable
of storing more than 1 Mton of CO
2
in total, are currently
planned and being conducted with commercial considerations in
Korea (Presidential Committee on Green Growth 2011). This
effort mostly relies on existing geologic data and resources that
were gathered during oil explorations and drilling projects.
However, the current geologic information on onshore and
offshore deep subsurface areas of Korea is insufficient.
Comprehensive geological exploration and database
construction activities are critical for characterizing, selecting,
or at least screening potential storage sites for CO
2
sequestration.
Figure 1. Atmospheric concentration of CO
2
of the world and in Korea.
Data were gathered from Climate Change Information Center
(
and National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (
.
