Mohsen Masoudian Saadabad

BE MSCE
Postgraduate Research Student
Centre for Geotechnical Research



School of Civil Engineering, Room 101
Phone: +61 2 9351 2145
Fax: +61 2 9351 3343
Email: mmas5225@uni.sydney.edu.au

Research project - Chemo-Hydro-Mechanical Interactions in Coal Geosequestration of Carbon Dioxide

Supervisor: A/Prof David Airey
Associate Supervisor: A/Prof Abbas El-Zein

Australia relies heavily on coal for power generation. To meet concerns of climate change and CO2 emissions it is proposed to pump CO2 back into deep unmineable coal deposits. Coal is attractive because it can adsorb large amounts of CO2.

Studies suggested that coal may swell and soften as it adsorbs CO2 and if so this would have significant consequences on the safety and economic viability of this scheme. This project aims to perform tests to explore the ease with which CO2 flows through coal, and how this may change as adsorbtion occurs, and to investigate the resulting change in mechanical strength and stiffness. Numerical models will be developed to describe the CO2 transport within coal.