Geology Department Postgraduate Web Pages
Name: Niamh Faulkner
Contact Details
Email: faulknen@tcd.ie
Title of Project
TARGETing crystallisation for Enhanced Carbon Capture and Storage (TARGET-CCS).
Postgraduate research summary
In order to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement of remaining well below the 2°C, ideally within 1.5°C, warming of pre-industrial revolution levels several gigatons of CO2 must be sequestered each year. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in geological formations will be essential to achieving this. The predominant form of CCS is in sedimentary reservoirs, notably exhausted oil reservoirs, however this method is prone to CO2 leaking back to the surface. Pumping CO2 dissolved in water into porous basalt formations results in the rapid precipitation of carbonate minerals and the permanent storage of CO2 over geological time.
Al-Carbonates are key minerals for carbon sequestration, however there is limited knowledge about the geochemical conditions under which they form and how to target the precipitation of them. This project will investigate how Al-carbonates form and how to ensure the stability of them. Being able to synthesize the minerals at (near)-ambient temperatures will make basaltic CCS more efficient, less energy intensive and more economically viable.
This research involves the synthesis of minerals from aqueous solution, and analysis using SEM-EDS, XRD, UV-vis spectrophotometry.
Name of supervisors
Dr Juan Diego Rodríguez-Blanco
Postgraduate personal details
Niamh graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2018 with a Bachelors (Hons) in Natural Science, mod. Geology. She is an advocate for applying geological thinking to solving the climate crisis and is involved in various initiatives such as Girls into Geoscience and Sustainable Earth Scientist.
Project Start Date
1st September 2018
Funding
iCRAG/SFI-GSI: Environmental Geoscience Programme