NETL experimenting with bees, balloons to trace CO2 leaks

Researchers at the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) believe bees, pollen, and helium-filled balloons possibly can help monitor for carbon dioxide leaks from sequestration sites.

NETL injected chemical tracers at low levels to fingerprint CO2 being sequestered, differentiating it from natural CO2. Researchers will determine if pollen collected by bees contains tracer or if bees bring back tracer from direct contact with foliage in a field near the sequestration site.

In cooperation with bee experts at Montana State University in Bozeman, NETL researchers placed hives about 150 m from a controlled CO2 release source marked with tracers. A third control hive was located some distance from the test plot.

NETL researchers used a large helium-filled balloon to elevate a carousel containing sealed sorbent tubes to determine if atmospheric plume monitoring of tracer will be feasible.

Monitoring consists of exposing sorbent in a small packet of sorbent tubes to the atmosphere. The tubes are heated while helium gas is flowing through them. This desorbs the tracer which is then analyzed, researchers said.