From abandoned mines to carbon sinks: Assessing the CO2 storage capacity of Austrian low-rank coal deposits

This study represents the first assessment of CO₂ storage potential in Austrian coal seams. Coal samples were taken from Fohnsdorf and Leoben abandoned coal mines, with particular emphasis on the Fohnsdorf coal since Leoben coal reserves were largely mined during previous coal production. Several methods were used to compare coal characteristics, including Rock-Eval pyrolysis (RE), organic petrography, and low-pressure N₂ and CO₂ sorption measurements. Both Fohnsdorf and Leoben coal samples show low sulfur and ash yields, as well as correspondingly high total organic carbon (TOC) contents. The pyrolysis T_max and vitrinite reflectance values agree with a low coal rank for both sites. According to the N₂ adsorption measurements at 77 K, low-lying mire coals from Fohnsdorf show a higher BET-specific surface area (BET-SSA) and BJH pore volume compared to raised-mire coals from Leoben. However, sapropelic shales and high-ash coals from Leoben show the highest BET-SSA and BJH pore volumes of all investigated samples and considerably exceed the N₂ adsorption volumes of pure coals from both locations (N₂ uptake up to 16 cm³/g; avg. for all samples 5.4 cm³/g). In contrast, the mean adsorbed CO₂ uptake measured at 273 K and ∼ 1 bar followed the order of Fohnsdorf low-lying mire coals > Leoben raised-mire coals > Leoben sapropelic coals and shales, ranging at ∼0.8 mmol/g, ∼0.7 mmol/g, and ∼ 0.2 mmol/g, respectively. This shows that BET-SSA and BJH equations did not allow for adequate estimation of CO₂ adsorption capacity trends in the investigated sample set. Furthermore, based on the existence of a hysteresis loop between CO₂ adsorption and desorption branches for all investigated samples, the occurrence of weak chemisorption phenomena during CO₂ adsorption is indicated. This effect helps to increase CO₂ uptake and storage safety since the chemisorption process is not fully reversible upon pressure decrease. Ultimately, the theoretical CO₂ sequestration potential of the remaining unmined Fohnsdorf coal reserves was estimated at 4.65 million tons, with an additional potential for enhanced coal bed methane production due to the gas-rich nature of Fohnsdorf coals with an estimated 1.2 billion m³ of CH₄ in place.