Effect of Seeding on CO2 Storage in Brines: Case Study on Dead Sea Water

The purpose of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is to reduce CO₂ emissions from the use of fossil fuel. In this article, the effect of seeding on the Dead Sea water (DSW) CO₂ storage capacity was investigated. Three types of seed particles were used: rocks from the bottom of the DS, amorphous silica, and quartz sand; the influence of each type on the storage capacity of DSW toward CO₂ was studied. When seeds were added to DSW during or after CO₂ injection, different solid precipitates were formed depending on the seed type; with rock seeds collected from the DS basin, calcite and dolomite precipitates were formed, while aragonite, magnesite, and monohydrocalcite were precipitated when amorphous silica was used as seed. Quartz sand was used as received and also after acid washing; aragonite, magnesite, and monohydrocalcite were precipitated on the as-received sand, while no precipitate was observed on the acid-washed quartz sand. It was concluded that carbonate precipitation followed the crystal structure of the seed; the main condition for the overgrowth of one crystalline phase over another was crystal lattice compatibility. The crystal structure of the purified quartz was not found to be a good seed to the overgrowth of calcium or magnesium carbonate.