Sustainable Energy Supply for Tomorrow: The Viewpoint of a Mineralogist
The vulnerability of our current energy system is increased by endangered and broken supply chains for “energy” raw materials and energy resources. In order to achieve an environmentally friendly and resilient raw material and energy supply, it is necessary to rethink our familiar approaches. The author is convinced that incorporating the third dimension into our thinking, namely, to consider the geosphere. This will be essential for achieving the above-mentioned goals. The following hypotheses will be tested: Pore-pressure is a key factor in enabling sustainable underground operations, which are vital for the security of our energy supply in the future. The properties of rocks and the manner in which they are utilized are defined and limited by the behavior of minerals and grain boundaries. Rock-mechanic experiments using neutron-diffraction (using the EPSILON-stress-strain-diffractometer @ JINR Dubna) allows us to quantify pore-pressure-stress-coupling and underlying mechanisms. The presentation will discuss the potential and limitations of different underground usages, focusing on the impact of lithological stresses and rock-dependent stress-release (e.g. earthquakes) through different applications. This discussion will be stimulated by results from research projects dealing with natural gas production, CO2-, natural Gas- and H2-storage (e.g. www.subi-ugs.de, SAMUH2 ), geothermal energy (LFZG, CoolstresS), and hydropower (DAMAST). Based on the different examples it will be shown that pore-pressure(-stress-coupling) limit and facilitate many underground operations. In addition, a synergetic approach to reduce concurring interests for the use of the underground will be presented.
https://www.munich-geocenter.org/events/seminars/frontiers-in-earth-sciences-34/folgt-5
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Sustainable Energy Supply for Tomorrow: The Viewpoint of a Mineralogist
Abstract
The vulnerability of our current energy system is increased by endangered and broken supply chains for “energy” raw materials and energy resources. In order to achieve an environmentally friendly and resilient raw material and energy supply, it is necessary to rethink our familiar approaches. The author is convinced that incorporating the third dimension into our thinking, namely, to consider the geosphere. This will be essential for achieving the above-mentioned goals. The following hypotheses will be tested: Pore-pressure is a key factor in enabling sustainable underground operations, which are vital for the security of our energy supply in the future.
The properties of rocks and the manner in which they are utilized are defined and limited by the behavior of minerals and grain boundaries. Rock-mechanic experiments using neutron-diffraction (using the EPSILON-stress-strain-diffractometer @ JINR Dubna) allows us to quantify pore-pressure-stress-coupling and underlying mechanisms. The presentation will discuss the potential and limitations of different underground usages, focusing on the impact of lithological stresses and rock-dependent stress-release (e.g. earthquakes) through different applications. This discussion will be stimulated by results from research projects dealing with natural gas production, CO2-, natural Gas- and H2-storage (e.g. www.subi-ugs.de, SAMUH2 ), geothermal energy (LFZG, CoolstresS), and hydropower (DAMAST). Based on the different examples it will be shown that pore-pressure(-stress-coupling) limit and facilitate many underground operations. In addition, a synergetic approach to reduce concurring interests for the use of the underground will be presented.
