Salt caverns have long been utilized as hydrogen storage containers by oil refineries and the petroleum industry. Recent research shows salt deposits play an important role in renewable energy and hydrogen storage. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology. discovered that these salt crystals might potentially be used to store or contain hydrogen bound for energy generation.
Energy storage in the form of gas, such as compressed air and hydrogen, it might lead to the production of CO2 storage, and geothermal energy, which can lead to the transition to low-carbon energy sources. Salt cavities are artificial cavities in subsurface salt deposits formed by the controlled dissolving of rock salt through water injection during the solution mining process.
Salt has a significant impact on the formation of the Earth subterranean layers. With many underground salt caverns taller than Mount Everest, Geologic processes strain them into huge salt deposits. These structures, as well as the geology surrounding them, provide several potentials for energy production and pollution management.
There are various possible advantages to co-locating blue hydrogen (natural gas-derived hydrogen) with CO2 storage. While the H2 created is delivered to salt caverns, the carbon dioxide emissions produced by blue hydrogen production might be permanently retained in the surrounding rock, keeping these emissions from entering the atmosphere.
Because of its multiple salt domes, the Texas Gulf Coast is a good location for this sort of combined production and storage, according to the experts. Research also discusses how salt can help accelerate the adoption of next-generation geothermal technology by conducting heat from warmer underlying rocks to generate geothermal electricity.
Also Read: Aging Hydrogen Fuel Cells Get New Life in Honda
After this recent research shows salt deposits play an important role in renewable energy and hydrogen storage experts see possibilities in using expertise and data accumulated from decades of salt basin study, hydrocarbon exploration, and mining to energy transition technologies. Finally, a better knowledge of how salt behaves will allow us to optimize the design, lower risk, and increase the efficiency of a variety of innovative energy transition technologies.
Source: UT News
