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CLEAN: project overview on CO2 large-scale enhanced gas recovery in the Altmark natural gas field (Germany)

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Abstract

The joint research project CLEAN was conducted in the years 2008–2011 by a German research and development (R&D) alliance of 16 partners from science and industry. The project was set-up as pilot project to investigate the processes relevant to enhanced gas recovery (EGR) by the injection of CO2 into a subfield of the almost depleted Altmark natural gas field. Despite the setback that permission for active injection was not issued by the mining authority during the period of the project, important results fostering the understanding of processes linked with EGR were achieved. Work carried out led to a comprehensive evaluation of the EGR potential of the Altmark field and the Altensalzwedel subfield in particular. The calculated safety margins emphasize that technical well integrity of the 12 examined boreholes is given for EGR without a need for any further intervention. The laboratory and field tests confirm that the Altensalzwedel subfield is suitable for the injection of 100,000 t of CO2. Numerical simulations provide sound predictions for the efficiency and safety of the EGR technology based on the CO2 injection. The development and testing of different monitoring techniques facilitate an improved surveying of CO2 storage sites in general. The CLEAN results provide the technological, logistic and conceptual prerequisites for implementing a CO2-based EGR project in the Altmark and provide a benchmark for similar projects in the world.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Germanys Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for their financial support for the R&D project CLEAN, colleagues of the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN program (publication number GEOTECH-1951) for their assistance, and the project partners for the efficient cooperation and the services provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ-German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Michael Kühn, Maja Tesmer, Peter Pilz & Andrea Förster

  2. GDF SUEZ E&P Deutschland GmbH, Waldstrasse 39, 49808, Lingen, Germany

    Robert Meyer

  3. Clausthal University of Technology, Agricolastraße 10, 38678, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany

    Kurt Reinicke

  4. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Olaf Kolditz

  5. University of Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, 24098, Kiel, Germany

    Dirk Schäfer

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  1. Michael Kühn
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  2. Maja Tesmer
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  3. Peter Pilz
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  4. Robert Meyer
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  6. Andrea Förster
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  7. Olaf Kolditz
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CLEAN Partners

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Correspondence to Michael Kühn.

Additional information

The CLEAN partners comprise an alliance of 16 institutes from science and industry. In addition to the affiliations of the authors of this article, the consortium includes Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), Hannover; DBI-Gastechnologisches Institut GmbH, Freiberg; DMT, Essen; Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen; Freie Universität Berlin; Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena; GICON Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH, Dresden; IFINKOR—Institut für Instandhaltung und Korrosionsschutztechnik gGmbH, Iserlohn; Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg; Technische Universität Dresden; Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.

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Kühn, M., Tesmer, M., Pilz, P. et al. CLEAN: project overview on CO2 large-scale enhanced gas recovery in the Altmark natural gas field (Germany). Environ Earth Sci 67, 311–321 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1714-z

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