Carbon could be sequestered in fracked shale wells

Wells drilled by energy companies to extract natural gas from shale formations could be used to sequester large quantities of carbon dioxide.

Shale is a sedimentary rock that’s fractured, or fracked, to extract natural gas.

The cracks left behind by the fracking process could be filled with carbon using the pre-existing infrastructure before the wells are sealed.

The team of scientists at the University of Virginia developed a computer model to determine how readily methane is emitted from the wells in a particular shale formation to establish how readily C02 would diffuse into the shale. The model also looked at the gas absorbing properties of organic matter found within the shale.