Muon-Tides Detector. and other applications of muon tomography. - By Samuel J Telfer -

Transcription

1 Muon-Tides Detector and other applications of muon tomography - By Samuel J Telfer - 1

2 In at nutshell: Why am I talking to you today? Muon tomography a way of imaging 3d density using cosmic ray muons It can work for monitoring CO 2 storage underground 2

3 Cosmic Ray Muons 1 cm -2 minute -1 at sea level Well-understood flux and spectrum Flux is reduced proportional to the column density of matter through which they pass Curve 1 (solid); Petrukhin and Stestakov (1968), Curve 2 (dashed); Lipari and Stanev (1993) 3

4 Existing Applications of Muon Tomography Muon tomography has been shown to work for: detecting hidden chambers in pyramids imaging magma chambers - A few degree angular resolution has already been achieved with a small muon telescope used in radiography of volcanoes (Tanaka et al., 2011) detecting nuclear contraband Image from Mt Asama volcano study: Earth & planetary Science Letters. 263 (2007)

5 Muon Tomography for Detection of PoCA algorith Averaging over small volumes Nuclear Contraband Image taken from L.J. Schultz, Cosmic ray muon radiography, Ph.D. dissertation, Portland State University (2003) 5

6 Muon-Tides Detector Image courtesy of Nick Labsvirs of Sheffield University 6

7 STFC Deep Underground Science A working potash and rock-salt mine on the North East of England. Operated by Cleveland Potash Ltd. Major local employer - ~1000 direct and 4000 indirect employment. Boulby Mine Middlesborough Staithes Whitby York Deepest mine in Britain 1100m deep (2805mwe) Cosmic ray muon flux reduced by 10 6 Potash The Palmer Lab (1100m) 7

8 Muon-Tides Detector - II Scintillator-based muon telescope Fibre-optic connection to John Barton Surface Building Remote desktop for control and data acquisition over the internet Simulations suggest a 3σ observation within 1.4 years (8 panels, 2.32 m 2 in total) 8

9 Part 2 Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Since the 1960 s, atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 have increased from 315 to 385 ppmv (22%) CO 2 is a greenhouse gas Reducing CO 2 emissions is seen by many as the most viable means of generating lowcarbon energy in the short-term future: "The IPCC has identified carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) as the most promising technology for the rapid reduction of global emissions: up to 55% by Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) 9

10 Atmospheric CO 2 concentrations (measured) Data combined from Taylor Dome ice core (NOAA), Law Dome ice core (CDIAC) and NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Mauna Loa, Hawaii (NOAA) Radioactive dating of gaseous inclusions in ice cores enable measurements of CO 2 concentrations up to 500,000 years ago 10

11 Geological Storage (of CO 2 ) Since carbon dioxide enters a supercritical fluid phase at depths beyond ~800m, it may be pumped underground - into porous rock - for long tem storage Pilot schemes (Sleipner, Norway; Weyburn, USA-Canada) have shown that the injection of CO 2 in large quantities (>Mt/year) on industrial scale is viable Other projects in the UK (Alstom, SSE and others) and worldwide (FutureGen 2.0, USA) are in the planning stage 11

12 Geological Storage Options for CO 2 12

13 Geological Storage - II CO 2 will be injected underground to depth of 1000m or more Sedimentary rock is porous; the interconnecting holes allow liquid to flow through them These pores naturally contain water (normally brine) or sometimes oil or gas Since the highly saline water cannot be used for agriculture or drinking, saline aquifers are a leading candidate for CO 2 sequestration Dong H. and Blunt, M. J Physical Review E 80, , doi: /PhysRevE

14 Monitoring Underground CO 2 Why monitor stored CO 2? Underground storage of CO 2 requires detailed, ongoing monitoring If stored CO 2 were to leak into a marine or urban environment if could pose a serious danger to local fauna; CO 2 inhibits the brains ability to take in oxygen There is around a Teratonne of CO 2 in the atmosphere which corresponds to 0.04% 3% would kill you eventually, 10% would kill you in half an hour 14

15 Monitoring Underground CO 2 - II CCS European commitment: <1% leakage per 1000 years Current monitoring techniques include: 4D seismic, Electromagnetic surveys, INSAR and CO 2 leak detection. All have their own issues. How to effectively, practically monitor CO 2 injection and containment in the long-term? 15

16 4D Seismic Monitoring of CO 2 Storage Every year to 25 years Every 10 years 100 to 200 years Every 100 years 200 to 1000 years Every 5 years 25 to 100 years Injection No injection Image courtesy of Jon Gluyas of Durham University 16

17 Muon Tomography for Monitoring Underground CO 2 Surface level CO 2 Injection borehole Detector array An array of detectors could be deployed into a network of boreholes underneath the geological repository 17

18 Muon Tomography for Monitoring Underground CO 2 - II Muon tomography is inexpensive when compared to repeated 4D seismic surveys It offers continuous passive monitoring over decades whereas 4D seismic surveys are episodic 18

19 Can it work? Such well geometries are now common technology within the oil industry (Hill et al., 1996) A 0.4% change in the mean reservoir density (~7% of pore volume) could be detected at about 1 km depth in 1 year (Kudryavtsev et al. Submitted to Intern. J. Greenhouse Gas Control) Muon tomography can be a viable long-term monitoring technique both before and after CO2 injection 19

20 Our Collaboration Professor Jon Gluyas Durham Dr Vitaly Kudruytsev Sheffield Dr Sean Paling STFC/Boulby Mine Professor Neil Spooner Sheffield Dr Matt Robinson Sheffield Samuel Telfer Sheffield Dr Lee Thompson Sheffield Professor Cathryn Mitchell Bath Multiple testing sites at Boulby Mine + boreholes Agreement with Newcastle University for borehole deployment testing Industrial partners: Premier Oil, National Grid Carbon Ltd, CPL 20

21 Thank you for listening - Any questions are welcomed - 21