2.8.3 Tracers – natural and introduced

Tracers are unique or highly indicative chemical species that can be used to "fingerprint" the CO2 of interest and distinguish it from other sources. Chemical tracers, both natural and introduced, can be used for potential leakage detection. Utilisation of tracers requires the availability of a number of boreholes in and around the injection plume.

Naturally occurring chemical constituents, such as stable isotopes of C, H, O, or S, can be used to assess fluid origin, detect CO2 migration or leakage into the atmosphere and assess interaction with host rocks along flow paths (Cole et al., 2004). A variety of sampling and analytical approaches are available, including direct extraction from flux chambers, simple or complex soil gas wells, and sorbent approaches. Analysis can be done in the laboratory or via various types of field instruments. The isotopic composition of carbon and oxygen in the injected CO2 (if different from the ambient CO2), as well as minor entrained impurities, can be used to distinguish injected CO2 from ambient CO2. These constituents, however, are not conservative and, hence, as CO2 moves though rock/fluid/soil/ecosystem, the ratios of isotopes and entrained constituents will be modified, giving a record of the reaction pathway.

Phase-partitioning tracers could be used to determine the amount of immobile phases (such as the residual oil in a petroleum reservoir) and to estimate the amount of residual gas trapping that has taken place. Residual gas trapping is an important parameter for estimating long-term storage integrity.

Tracers employed in CO2 storage projects have included noble gases and perfluorocarbon tracers (PFTs) (Nimz and Hudson, 2005; Fahrner et al., 2012). The occurrence of these chemicals in natural systems is so low that detection and attribution may be done at parts-per-billion detection (e.g. Jeandel et al., 2010). Many introduced tracers (PFTs, SF6) are benign in water and ecosystems, but are powerful greenhouse gasses. They, therefore, need to be used conservatively. Due to low detection limits, contamination is a serious risk. Thus, it is important to use best practices to inject tracers (separate handling for injection and detection). Natural tracers are known to have complex reactions with rock, water, and soil, requiring a fairly sophisticated approach to reach a correct interpretation. For this reason, more knowledge is required with regards to the interaction of introduced tracers with water, different rock types, soil, and organic material.