Glossary
Absorption: Chemical or physical take-up of molecules into the bulk of a solid or liquid, forming either a solution or compound.
Adsorption: The uptake of molecules on the surface of a solid or a liquid.
Amine: Organic chemical compound containing one or more nitrogens in -NH2, -NH or -N groups.
Amino acid: Any of a group of organic molecules that consist of a basic amino group (-NH2), an acidic carboxyl group (-COOH), and a side chain which is unique to each amino acid.
Basin: A geological region with strata dipping towards a common axis or centre.
Caprock: Rock of very low permeability that acts as an upper seal to prevent fluid flow out of a reservoir.
Carbon dioxide (CO2): Carbon dioxide occurs naturally in the atmosphere, is exhaled by humans and other animals and is used by plants in photosynthesis. Growing plants and the oceans act as carbon sinks, taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing the carbon. As plant material decomposes, the carbon is released back into the atmosphere, largely as carbon dioxide. Burning fossil fuels, land clearing and other activities of modern industrial society have caused the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to climb from about 280 parts per million to 380 parts per million, causing warming and other climate changes.
Carbonate: Those minerals containing the carbonate ion, CO32-. These include calcite, dolomite, and limestone.
Cryogenic: Pertaining to low temperatures.
Geophone: A geophone is a small instrument which picks up seismic vibrations and enables them to be accurately measured.
Giga: Prefix meaning one billion (109).
Hydrophone: An electrical instrument for detecting or monitoring sound under water.
IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IGCC: Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle
Ion: An atom or molecule that has acquired a charge by either gaining or losing electrons.
Ionic liquid: A liquid that is essentially ions.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): Established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC does not carry out research nor does it monitor climate related data or other relevant parameters. It bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature. Learn more...
Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC): A process where fossil fuel is not combusted but is reacted at high pressure and temperature to form a synthesis gas, which is further reacted with water, to produce carbon dioxide (which can be captured) and hydrogen (which is combusted for energy).
Isotope: An isotope is a variant on a basic element, a substance made of atoms with a different number of neutrons than is typical. Most elements have both stable and radioactive isotopes. Isotopes have many applications and are used in medical diagnostics and imaging, cancer therapy, smoke detectors, oil well logging, testing structural integrity of aircraft and bridges, and many different kinds of research.
Kyoto Protocol: An international agreement which seeks to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by developed nations in its first commitment period, 2008-2012, to 5 per cent less than 1990 emissions. It seeks to achieve this by imposing mandatory emissions targets on developed nations that ratify the Protocol. Learn more...
Mega: Prefix meaning one million (106).
Mesoporous: Mesoporous materials are those with pores in the range 20-500Å in diameter. They have huge surface areas, providing a vast number of sites where sorption processes can occur.
Membrane: Material that selectively separates the components of a fluid mixture by preferentially separating molecules from one component from other components.
Nanoporous materials consist of a regular organic or inorganic framework supporting a regular, porous structure. Pores are by definition roughly in the nanometre range, that is between 1x10-7 and 0.2x10-9 m.
Oxyfiring (also oxyfuel): Burning of fuel in an artificially created atmosphere of oxygen instead of air, resulting in flue gases with high concentrations of carbon dioxide.
Oxyfuel (also oxyfiring): Burning of fuel in an artificially created atmosphere of oxygen instead of air, resulting in flue gases with high concentrations of carbon dioxide.
PCC: Post-combustion capture. The capture of carbon dioxide (usually involving separation of carbon dioxide from other flue gases) after fossil fuel has been combusted.
Petrophysical: Petrophysical properties of rocks include properties that pertain to fluid behavior within the rock, such as porosity, capillary pressure, permeabilities or saturations.
Post-combustion capture (PCC):The capture of carbon dioxide (usually involving separation of carbon dioxide from other flue gases) after fossil fuel has been combusted.
Pre-combustion capture: The capture of carbon dioxide before the combustion of fuel. This could be done through Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, where the fossil fuel is not combusted but reacted at high pressure and temperature to form a synthesis gas, which is further reacted with water, to produce carbon dioxide (which is captured) and hydrogen (which is combusted for energy).
Saline formation: Sediment or rock body containing brackish water or brine.
Sedimentary basin: Natural large-scale depression in the earth’s surface that is filled with sediments.
Seismic: A method of exploring the underlying strata of the earth, in which shocks are created, the resulting vibrations providing geological information
Supercritical state: Carbon dioxide (or any substance) is said to be in a supercritical state when its temperature and pressure are above its critical point. The critical point is the highest temperature and pressure at which it can exist as a gas and liquid in equilibrium. In its supercritical state, a substance shows properties of both liquids and gases, expanding to fill its container like a gas, but with the density of a liquid. The critical point for carbon dioxide occurs at a pressure of 73.8 bar (73 atm) and a temperature of 31.1°C.
UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): Sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. The Convention, which entered into force in 1994, enjoys almost universal global membership, with 189 countries having ratified it. Learn more...
Zeolite: A mineral with a micro-porous structure.
