Comparison of CO2 trapping in highly heterogeneous reservoirs with Brooks-Corey and van Genuchten type capillary pressure curves

Gershenzon, Naum I.; Ritzi Jr., Robert W.; Dominic, David F.; Mehnert, Edward; Okwen, Roland T.

doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.07.022

Comparison of CO₂ trapping in highly heterogeneous reservoirs with Brooks-Corey and van Genuchten type capillary pressure curves

Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Advances in Water Resources

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.07.022· OSTI ID:1388384

Gershenzon, Naum I. ^[1]; Ritzi Jr., Robert W. ^[1]; Dominic, David F. ^[1]; Mehnert, Edward ^[2]; Okwen, Roland T. ^[2]

Wright State Univ., Dayton, OH (United States)
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)

Geological heterogeneities affect the dynamics of carbon dioxide (CO₂) plumes in subsurface environments in important ways. Previously, we showed how the dynamics of CO₂ plumes are influenced by the multiscaled sedimentary architecture in deep brine fluvial-type reservoirs. The results confirm that representing small-scale features and the corresponding heterogeneity in saturation functions, along with hysteresis in saturation functions, are all critical to understanding capillary trapping processes. Here, we show that when heterogeneity and hysteresis are represented, the two conventional approaches for defining saturation functions, Brooks-Corey and van Genuchten, represent fundamentally different physical systems. The Brooks-Corey approach represents heterogeneity in entry pressures, and leads to trapping by capillary pinning. The van Genuchten approach represents a network of pores transporting the nonwetting fluid, across rock types, with negligible capillary entry pressure, and leads to capillary retardation. We conclude these differences significantly affect the large-scale characteristics of CO₂ plumes (i.e., their mass, shape, and position).

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Geologic Storage of CO2 (GSCO2)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012504

OSTI ID:: 1388384

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1358733

Journal Information:: Advances in Water Resources, Journal Name: Advances in Water Resources Journal Issue: C Vol. 96; ISSN 0309-1708

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
Brooks-Corey
CO2 geosequestration
Capillary trapping
Heterogeneity
Sedimentary architecture
carbon sequestration
defects
mechanical behavior
mesostructured materials
van Genuchten