AUSTIN, Texas — It's a common ingredient in our food pantries and can be used as a way to flavor food to the production of chlorine. But did you know salt could help lower carbon energy sources?
According to The University of Texas at Austin's Bureau of Economic Geology, researchers found that salt deposits could help "hydrogen holding tanks, conduct heat to geothermal plants and influence CO2 storage."
“We see potential in applying knowledge and data gained from many decades of research, hydrocarbon exploration, and mining in salt basins to energy transition technologies,” said lead author Oliver Duffy, a research scientist at the bureau. “Ultimately, a deeper understanding of how salt behaves will help us optimize design, reduce risk, and improve the efficiency of a range of energy transition technologies.”
In the study, Lorena Moscardelli – the director of the bureau's State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery (STARR) program – talked about how salt is formed through "geologic forces into complex and massive deposits." The massive deposits can then open up opportunities for "energy development and emissions management."
“The co-location of surface infrastructure, renewable energy potential, favorable subsurface conditions and proximity to markets is key to plan for subsurface hydrogen storage,” Moscardelli said. “STARR is currently engaged with emerging energy opportunities in West Texas that involve hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage potential for the region.”
The study brought up the usage of salt domes that contain hydrogen for oil refineries. The hydrogen that is housed in those domes can be used for energy production.
Another concept is to use salt caverns as a way to house carbon dioxide emissions by relocating hydrogen that is produced from natural gas and preventing the CO2 gas from reaching the atmosphere. Researchers found that the Texas Gulf Coast is one area that would be "well suited for this type of combined production and storage."
The study also touched on the next generation of geothermal technology and the role that salt plays. It was discovered that salt can conduct heat from underlying rocks, which in turn can produce geothermal power.
“Bureau researchers have been studying subsurface salt formations for many decades. For their role in hydrocarbon exploration, as part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, for storage of natural gas, and now for their potential to store hydrogen,” Scott Tinker, bureau director, said. “That’s the remarkable thing about great research. It just keeps evolving, improving and finding new applications.”
You can read the full study in the journal Tektonika.