A simple and sensitive gas chromatography–electron capture detection method for analyzing perfluorocarbon tracers in soil gas samples for storage of carbon dioxide

► Tracer analysis was applied to soil-gas monitoring for CO2 leakage detection purpose. ► Extraction of tracers from soil gas samples on adsorbent tube analyzed by a two-stage thermal desorption process. ► Preliminary survey of the PFT soil gas background concentrations conducted in two different It...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of greenhouse gas control 2013-05, Vol.14, p.60-64
Main Authors: Nazzari, Manuela, Sciarra, Alessandra, Quattrocchi, Fedora
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon dioxide storage
GC–ECD
Leakage monitoring
Perfluorocarbon tracers
Soil gas
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Summary:► Tracer analysis was applied to soil-gas monitoring for CO2 leakage detection purpose. ► Extraction of tracers from soil gas samples on adsorbent tube analyzed by a two-stage thermal desorption process. ► Preliminary survey of the PFT soil gas background concentrations conducted in two different Italian areas. Co-injection of a conservative tracer during the geological sequestration of CO2 can imprint a marker to the injected gas that can be easily recognized during soil gas surveys in case of CO2 leakage from the reservoir toward the surface. In this work, an ultra-trace detection method, based on gas chromatography with electron capture detection for analyzing perfluorocarbon tracers (PFTs) in soil gas samples was optimized. Three totally fluorinated cycloalcane compounds consisting of five and six atom carbon rings were selected for this purpose. We evaluated the feasibility of collecting PFTs on adsorbent tube packed with a commercial graphitized carbon black (Carbotrap™ 100) sampling 2L of soil gas. The sorbent tubes were then analyzed by using a two-stage thermal desorption process. The developed method allows to quickly determine these compounds at very low fL/L level, method identification limits ranged from 1.3 to 5.8fL/L. Moreover, it shows good precision, evaluated by within-day and between-day studies. A preliminary survey of the PFT soil gas background concentrations, conducted by analyzing some soil gas samples collected in two different areas in Central Italy and in the Po Plain, ascertained the PFT background concentration lower than MIL.
ISSN:1750-5836
1878-0148
DOI:10.1016/j.ijggc.2012.12.029