GECO

GECO – Geothermal Emission Gas Control

GECO (Geothermal Emission Gas Control) is a European project co-funded for four years (October 1, 2018 – September 30, 2022) by the European Commission under Horizon 2020, the Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development 2014–2020. The project involves 18 partners from nine different countries, including research institutions, universities, and companies active in the geothermal sector in Europe.
The project aims to study and develop the production of zero-emission geothermal energy at an industrial level. Geothermal fluids can naturally contain small, variable quantities of CO₂ and H₂S , which, if released into the atmosphere, can negatively contribute to ongoing climate change.

For this reason, the project involves the development and implementation of innovative technologies for the purification and use of escaping geothermal fluids and their reinjection at extraction sites in four distinct European geothermal areas. IGG-CNR is charged with studying scenarios for the safe confinement of reinjected CO₂ rich fluids , including their potential interaction with surrounding rocks, through a thorough program of geological, geophysical, hydrological, and geochemical monitoring, both experimentally and through geochemical modeling.

A second part of the project, in which IGG-CNR is actively involved, is dedicated to research on mineralogical CO₂storage , through which CO₂ contained in fluids reacts with minerals such as olivine, serpentine, and brucite, contained in mafic and ultramafic rocks, and is trapped in the form of newly formed carbonates (i.e., mineral CCS, CO₂ capture and storage).

Southern Tuscany is an ideal location to study this process because it is rich in mafic and ultramafic rocks (basalts, gabbros, serpentinized peridotites) that naturally react in the presence of CO₂ -rich fluids, resulting in the formation of magnesite deposits. The aim of the GECO project is to identify, through geological, geochemical, isotopic, experimental studies, and geochemical modeling, the optimal PTX conditions for the CCS mineral for its future industrial-scale application.

In addition to promoting sustainable, zero-emission energy technologies in Europe through the reinjection of non-condensable gases or their reconversion into carbonates through mineralogical CO₂sequestration, the GECO project works to contribute to increasing the social acceptability of geothermal energy in our society through public outreach and environmental education at all school levels.

The Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources is actively participating in the project with 20 staff members, including researchers and technicians, a postdoc, and two IGG associates from the University of Bari.

IGG-CNR scientific coordinator: Chiara Boschi.
Involved personnel: Ilaria Baneschi, Marco Bonini, Chiara Boschi, Serena Botteghi, Andrea Dini, Gianluca Gola, Matteo Lelli, Adele Manzella, Domenico Montanari, Giordano Montegrossi, Francesco Norelli, Andrea Orlando, Brunella Raco, Andrea Rielli, Giovanni Ruggieri, Alessandro Santilano, Eugenio Trumpy, Gabriele Bicocchi, Andrea Brogi (IGG-CNR associate); Domenico Liotta (IGG-CNR associate).