Use of Relational Database and GIS Tools to Assess Carbon Sequestration Volumes: The MIDCARB Database
Beverly Seyler, Illinois State Geological Survey; Scott M. Frailey, Illinois State Geological Survey; Timothy R. Carr, Kansas Geological Survey; James A. Drahovzal, Kentucky Geological Survey; Brandon C. Nuttall, Kentucky Geological Survey; John A. Rupp, Indiana Geological Survey; Wilfrido Solano, Indiana Geological Survey; and Lawrence H. Wickstrom, Ohio Geological Survey.
The Midcontinent Interactive Digital Carbon Atlas and Relational Database (MIDCARB) is a multi-state consortium (Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio), which has constructed an online distributed Relational Database Management System and Geographic Information System for analyzing the relationship of major, stationary sources of anthropogenic carbon dioxide and geologic sequestration options (http://wwww.midcarb.org). Primary objectives of the MIDCARB consortium are to evaluate the potential capacity for geologic sequestration of CO2 and to characterize CO2 sources in each of the member states. The MIDCARB system allows for the ability to analyze the volume of anthropogenic CO2 available for sequestration in relation to potential geologic storage sites, and the CO2 compression and transportation expenses.
Algorithms and formulas were developed to estimate geologic CO2 sequestration volumes for deep and non-economical coalbeds, oil and gas fields, deep saline aquifers, and unconventional gas reservoirs. Methodologies and estimates of CO2 sequestration volumes are shown for each reservoir category. The potential geologic CO2 sequestration volume estimates for the member states are substantial. The interactive online tools that have been developed are capable of providing preliminary estimates of CO2 storage capacity on state, regional, and local scales.
In the future, the consortium intends to cooperate with other regional sequestration partnerships to improve the system functionality, expand the geographic breadth of the database, and enhance the expertise available to assess the sequestration potential in other parts of the country.