LSU Civil, Environmental Engineering Professor Assesses Impact of Sulphur Mines Salt Dome Cavern Collapse on Well Water
November 18, 2024
BATON ROUGE, LA – The Gulf Coast is home to more than 500 salt domes, and at least 200 of those are located in Louisiana. While salt domes and their caverns can be beneficial, such as being used to hold petroleum reserves, they can also be a possible hazard should the caverns collapse. The Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR) currently has its eye on two caverns in Sulphur, La., and have awarded a $156,602 grant to LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Frank Tsai to assess the impact a collapse would have on well water in the area.
Tsai, who is also the director of LSU’s Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute (LWRRI), was asked to design a groundwater model for the LDENR Office of Conservation that shows how long it would take brine and sulfide from a collapsed Sulphur Mines Salt Dome cavern to reach public supply wells, tapping into the Chicot Aquifer.
“In Sulphur and Lake Charles, there are two major aquifers for drinking water and industry,” Tsai said. “One is 500 feet below the surface, and the other is 700 feet below the surface. I’m working on predicting how long it will take brine and sulfide to travel to the water supply wells.”
The two aquifers Tsai is referring to are within the Chicot Aquifer. According to LWRRI, the Chicot Aquifer is one of the most important aquifers in Louisiana and a major water resource in the southwest part of the state that supplies water for agriculture, aquaculture, industry, and public section. It provides approximately 660 million gallons per day that is mostly used for irrigating rice and soybean fields, as well as raising crawfish. Brine or hydrogen sulfide from a collapsed salt dome cavern could be catastrophic to this water supply.
Concern of the leak into the Chicot Aquifer was so great that, in 2023, former Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards issued an emergency regarding the situation.
The two caverns in the Sulphur Mines Salt Dome that are being carefully observed by the LDENR Office of Conservation due to their structural and mechanical integrity are Caverns 6 and 7. Combined, they can both hold nearly 20 million barrels of oil. Should one collapse, it could leak a substantial amount of brine and sulfide into the Chicot Aquifer, as well as create a giant sinkhole similar to the one in Bayou Corn in 2013.
“The cavern will leak once it starts to lose pressure, and once it collapses, it will likely create a sinkhole in the land surface,” Tsai said.
Caverns 6 and 7 were originally drilled as brine mining wells to supply salt water for petrochemical processes in the mid-1950s until the U.S. Department of Energy took them to use as a petroleum reserve until the mid-1990s, when they were transferred back to a private company, PPG Industries, now known as Westlake Chemical. Both caverns have remained inactive since 2014 and have been monitored since. In 2021, it was discovered that both caverns, particularly Cavern 7, had pressure issues that led to oil seepage around the dome along with seismic activity. To prevent collapse, Westlake Chemical has been pumping saltwater into Cavern 7 to prevent a rapid decline in pressure.
Though the clock is ticking, Tsai hopes that his research will help Calcasieu Parish prepare for what’s to come.
Like us on Facebook (@lsuengineering) or follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram (@lsuengineering).
###
Contact: Libby Haydel
Communications Manager
225-578-4840
ehaydel1@lsu.edu
Latest College of Engineering News
- Meet the LSU Cybersecurity Student Whose Work CISA Calls “Staggering”Last week, LSU cybersecurity graduate student George Buras from Baton Rouge received a shoutout from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, for the “Staggering!” impact his work, and the work of other interns, is having on the nation. Here, Buras explains what he’s working on, and why.
- LSU BAE Professor, Team Work to Create Eyedrop for Retinoblastoma TreatmentBATON ROUGE, LA - Retinoblastoma is a rare, malignant tumor in the retina that mostly affects children under the age of 5 and can lead to blindness or even death if not treated. Since many patients are unable to access current treatments that include chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, LSU Biological and Agricultural Engineering Assistant Professor Qi Cai and a team of LSU researchers are creating an eyedrop gel that will be more accessible to retinoblastoma patients, thanks to a $75,000 Provost Award grant.
- LSU, PNNL Research Team Study Microplastics in the AtmosphereNovember 14, 2024BATON ROUGE, LA - Microplastics are sub-millimeter-sized plastic fragments, similar to or smaller than the thickness of a human hair, that present a relatively new and increasingly prevalent type of environmental pollutant. In fact, they have been widely detected in the air we breathe and at altitudes where clouds form.
- LSU Engineering, Chance Maritime Collaborate on Uncrewed Underwater ResearchNovember 13, 2024BATON ROUGE, LA - In an old quarry near Lafayette, La., an uncrewed boat is dropping a remote-controlled robot down to the bottom of a lakebed before retrieving it and returning to shore. If a passerby stumbled upon this scene, he or she might think it was something out of a spy movie. Instead, it's a cutting-edge project that shows how advanced robotic systems can help monitor and protect marine environments, as well as inspect and maintain offshore infrastructure.
- LSU Computer Science Senior Conquers School, Raising Four KidsBATON ROUGE, LA - Though Baton Rouge native Malana Fuentes grew up with the cards stacked against her, she has come out on the other side, hoping to inspire younger generations, including her own kids, that they can do it all if they want it badly enough.
- LSU Computer Science Division Adds World-Class FacultyNovember 4, 2024BATON ROUGE, LA - Over the course of the last year, the LSU Division of Computer Science (CS) and Engineering has bolstered its faculty ranks with nearly a dozen talented academics and researchers with a wide breadth of expertise. It's a development indicative of a rapidly-growing major in the College of Engineering and a priority area for the university as a whole.