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Title: Reactive transport modeling of the enhancement of density-driven CO2 convective mixing in carbonate aquifers and its potential implication on geological carbon sequestration

Journal Article · · Scientific Reports
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep24768· OSTI ID:1257782
 [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
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We study the convection and mixing of CO2 in a brine aquifer, where the spread of dissolved CO2 is enhanced because of geochemical reactions with the host formations (calcite and dolomite), in addition to the extensively studied, buoyancy-driven mixing. The nonlinear convection is investigated under the assumptions of instantaneous chemical equilibrium, and that the dissipation of carbonate rocks solely depends on flow and transport and chemical speciation depends only on the equilibrium thermodynamics of the chemical system. The extent of convection is quantified in term of the CO2 saturation volume of the storage formation. Our results suggest that the density increase of resident species causes significant enhancement in CO2 dissolution, although no significant porosity and permeability alterations are observed. Furthermore, early saturation of the reservoir can have negative impact on CO2 sequestration.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Frontiers of Subsurface Energy Security (CFSES)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
FE0012231; SC000114
OSTI ID:
1257782
Journal Information:
Scientific Reports, Vol. 6; ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 17 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (31)

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Cited By (1)

Density‐Driven Convection in a Fractured Porous Media: Implications for Geological CO 2 Storage journal July 2019

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Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
geochemistry
hydrology