A parametric analysis of capillary pressure effects during geologic carbon sequestration in a sandstone reservoir

Wu, Hao; Jayne, Richard S.; Pollyea, Ryan M.

doi:10.1002/ghg.1815

Title: A parametric analysis of capillary pressure effects during geologic carbon sequestration in a sandstone reservoir

Journal Article · Tue Sep 11 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/ghg.1815· OSTI ID:1469710

^[1];

^[1]

Department of Geosciences Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg VA USA

Abstract During carbon capture and sequestration, capillary forces and buoyancy effects strongly influence CO ₂ migration and plume geometry. To understand interactions between these processes, we implement a numerical modeling experiment of CO ₂ injections in a sandstone reservoir to understand how parametric variability reported in the literature affects numerical predictions of CO ₂ migration. We simulate ten years of supercritical CO ₂ (scCO ₂ ) injections for 189 unique parameter combinations (entry pressure, P _o , and van Genuchten fitting parameter, λ ) that control the van Genuchten capillary pressure model. Results are analyzed on the basis of a dimensionless ratio, ω , which is a modified Bond number that defines the relationship between buoyancy pressure and capillary pressure. When ω > 1, buoyancy governs the system and CO ₂ plume geometry is governed by upward flow. In contrast, when ω < 1, then buoyancy is smaller than capillary force and lateral flow governs CO ₂ plume geometry. We show that the ω ratio is an easily implemented screening tool for qualitative assessment of CO ₂ distribution characteristics. We also show how parametric variability affects the relationship between buoyancy and capillary force, and thus controls CO ₂ plume geometry: (1) small entry pressure P _o encourages vertical flow and large entry pressure P _o inhibits vertical flow; and (2) the van Genuchten fitting parameter λ exhibits minimal control on the spatial distribution of CO ₂ , as evidenced by the 2 × difference between the ∂ ω /∂ P _o and ∂ ω /∂ λ gradients quantified using response surface analysis of the ω ratio. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Cite

Export

Save

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

OSTI ID:: 1469710

Journal Information:: Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Journal Name: Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology Vol. 8 Journal Issue: 6; ISSN 2152-3878

Publisher:: Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 14 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (43)

Screening and ranking of sedimentary basins for sequestration of CO2 in geological media in response to climate change Bachu, Stefan Environmental Geology, Vol. 44, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0762-9	journal	June 2003
Effects of permeability on CO ₂ trapping mechanisms and buoyancy-driven CO ₂ migration in saline formations : EFFECT OF PERMEABILITY ON CO Han, Weon Shik; Lee, Si-Yong; Lu, Chuan Water Resources Research, Vol. 46, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR007850	journal	July 2010
Experimental and numerical study on supercritical CO2/brine transport in a fractured rock: Implications of mass transfer, capillary pressure and storage capacity Oh, Junho; Kim, Kue-Young; Han, Weon Shik Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2013.03.007	journal	December 2013
Nonaqueous phase liquid transport and cleanup: 1. Analysis of mechanisms Hunt, James R.; Sitar, Nicholas; Udell, Kent S. Water Resources Research, Vol. 24, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1029/WR024i008p01247	journal	August 1988
Capillary pressure and heterogeneity for the CO2/water system in sandstone rocks at reservoir conditions Pini, Ronny; Krevor, Samuel C. M.; Benson, Sally M. Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 38 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2011.12.007	journal	March 2012
History Matching Gas Injection Processes with In-Situ Saturation Measurements and Process Hysteresis Yu, S. Y.; Akervoll, I.; Torsaeter, O. SPE International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in China https://doi.org/10.2118/48842-MS	conference	April 2013
Multiphase flow dynamics during CO2 disposal into saline aquifers Pruess, Karsten; García, Julio Environmental Geology, Vol. 42, Issue 2-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-001-0498-3	journal	March 2002
Long-term effectiveness and consequences of carbon dioxide sequestration Shaffer, Gary Nature Geoscience, Vol. 3, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo896	journal	June 2010
CO2 Sequestration in Deep Sedimentary Formations Benson, S. M.; Cole, D. R. Elements, Vol. 4, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.4.5.325	journal	October 2008
Effects of heterogeneities on capillary pressure–saturation–relative permeability relationships Ataie-Ashtiani, Behzad; Majid Hassanizadeh, S.; Celia, Michael A. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol. 56, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7722(01)00208-X	journal	June 2002
Supercritical CO2 core flooding and imbibition in Tako sandstone—Influence of sub-core scale heterogeneity Shi, Ji-Quan; Xue, Ziqiu; Durucan, Sevket International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2010.07.003	journal	January 2011
Well injectivity during CO2 storage operations in deep saline aquifers – Part 2: Numerical simulations of drying, salt deposit mechanisms and role of capillary forces André, Laurent; Peysson, Yannick; Azaroual, Mohamed International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 22 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2013.10.030	journal	March 2014
Capillary effects in drainage in heterogeneous porous media: continuum modelling, experiments and pore network simulations Chaouche, M.; Rakotomalala, N.; Salin, D. Chemical Engineering Science, Vol. 49, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2509(94)E0040-W	journal	August 1994
Case study of geochemical reactions at the Nagaoka CO2 injection site, Japan Mito, S.; Xue, Z.; Ohsumi, T. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 2, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2008.04.007	journal	July 2008
The effect of heterogeneity on the drainage capillary pressure-saturation relation Ferrand, Lin A.; Celia, Michael A. Water Resources Research, Vol. 28, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1029/91WR02679	journal	March 1992
An Integrated Approach to Parameterize Reservoir Models for CO2 Injection in Aquifers Egermann, Patrick; Chalbaud, Carlos Antonio; Duquerroix, Jean SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition https://doi.org/10.2118/102308-MS	conference	April 2013
Relative permeability from tomographic images; effect of correlated heterogeneity Arns, Ji-Youn; Arns, Christoph H.; Sheppard, Adrian P. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 39, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0920-4105(03)00066-4	journal	September 2003
Influence of relative permeability on injection pressure and plume configuration during CO2 injections in a mafic reservoir Pollyea, Ryan M. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 46 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2015.12.025	journal	March 2016
Competition of gravity, capillary and viscous forces during drainage in a two-dimensional porous medium, a pore scale study Lovoll, G. Energy, Vol. 30, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2004.03.100	journal	May 2005
Remediation of possible leakage from geologic CO2 storage reservoirs into groundwater aquifers Esposito, Ariel; Benson, Sally M. Energy Procedia, Vol. 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2011.02.238	journal	January 2011
Impact of relative permeability hysteresis on geological CO ₂ storage : IMPACT OF HYSTERESIS ON GEOLOGICAL CO Juanes, R.; Spiteri, E. J.; Orr, F. M. Water Resources Research, Vol. 42, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004806	journal	December 2006
Capillary heterogeneity trapping of CO ₂ in a sandstone rock at reservoir conditions : CAPILLARY HETEROGENEITY TRAPPING OF CO Krevor, Samuel C. M.; Pini, Ronny; Li, Boxiao Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 38, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048239	journal	August 2011
Effects of in-situ conditions on relative permeability characteristics of CO2-brine systems Bachu, Stefan; Bennion, Brant Environmental Geology, Vol. 54, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0946-9	journal	July 2007
Evaluation of large-scale CO2 storage on fresh-water sections of aquifers: An example from the Texas Gulf Coast Basin Nicot, Jean-Philippe International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 2, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2008.03.004	journal	October 2008
CO ₂ SOLUBILITY IN WATER AND BRINE UNDER RESERVOIR CONDITIONS Enick, Robert M.; Klara, Scott M. Chemical Engineering Communications, Vol. 90, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/00986449008940574	journal	April 1990
Core-scale experimental study of relative permeability properties of CO2 and brine in reservoir rocks Perrin, Jean-Christophe; Krause, Michael; Kuo, Chia-Wei Energy Procedia, Vol. 1, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2009.02.144	journal	February 2009
Displacement and mass transfer between saturated and unsaturated CO2–brine systems in sandstone Berg, S.; Oedai, S.; Ott, H. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2011.04.005	journal	January 2013
Liquids in porous media Lenormand, R. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, Vol. 2, Issue S https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/2/S/008	journal	December 1990
Capillary Pressure Investigations Brown, Harry W. Journal of Petroleum Technology, Vol. 3, Issue 03 https://doi.org/10.2118/951067-G	journal	March 1951
TOUGH2 User's Guide Version 2 Pruess, K.; Oldenburg, C.M.; Moridis, G.J. https://doi.org/10.2172/751729 LBNL--43134	report	November 1999
Geological storage of CO2 in saline aquifers—A review of the experience from existing storage operations Michael, K.; Golab, A.; Shulakova, V. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 4, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2009.12.011	journal	July 2010
Gravity currents with residual trapping Hesse, M. A.; Orr, F. M.; Tchelepi, H. A. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 611 https://doi.org/10.1017/S002211200800219X	journal	September 2008
Numerical models and experiments on immiscible displacements in porous media Lenormand, Roland; Touboul, Eric; Zarcone, Cesar Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 189 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112088000953	journal	April 1988
Aquifer disposal of CO2: Hydrodynamic and mineral trapping Bachu, Stefan; Gunter, W. D.; Perkins, E. H. Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 35, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0196-8904(94)90060-4	journal	April 1994
Characterization and scaling of mesoscale heterogeneities in sandstones: CAPILLARY HETEROGENEITY AND SCALING Pini, Ronny; Benson, Sally M. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 40, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50756	journal	August 2013
TOUGH3: A new efficient version of the TOUGH suite of multiphase flow and transport simulators Jung, Yoojin; Pau, George Shu Heng; Finsterle, Stefan Computers & Geosciences, Vol. 108 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2016.09.009	journal	November 2017
A Closed-form Equation for Predicting the Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated Soils1 van Genuchten, M. Th. Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 44, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x	journal	January 1980
Residual CO ₂ imaged with X-ray micro-tomography : RESIDUAL CO Iglauer, Stefan; Paluszny, Adriana; Pentland, Christopher H. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 38, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049680	journal	November 2011
Lifetime of carbon capture and storage as a climate-change mitigation technology Szulczewski, M. L.; MacMinn, C. W.; Herzog, H. J. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 109, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1115347109	journal	March 2012
ECO2N: A TOUGH2 Fluid Property Module for Mixtures of Water, NaCl,and CO2 Pruess, Karsten https://doi.org/10.2172/877331	report	August 2005
Capillary-Driven Transport of Dissolved Salt to the Drying Zone During $$\hbox {CO}_{2}$$ CO 2 Injection in Homogeneous and Layered Porous Media Roels, Saskia M.; El Chatib, Ntiana; Nicolaides, Costas Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 111, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-015-0601-y	journal	January 2016
Investigations regarding the storage of carbon dioxide in aquifers in the Netherlands van der Meer, L. G. H. Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 33, Issue 5-8 https://doi.org/10.1016/0196-8904(92)90063-3	journal	May 1992
Relative Permeability Characteristics for Supercritical CO2 Displacing Water in a Variety of Potential Sequestration Zones Bennion, Brant; Bachu, Stefan SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition https://doi.org/10.2118/95547-MS	conference	April 2013

Similar Records

Influence of local capillary trapping on containment system effectiveness

Technical Report · Mon Mar 31 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · OSTI ID:1469710

Bryant, Steven

The Role of Capillary Hysteresis and Pore-Scale Heterogeneity in Limiting the Migration of Buoyant Immiscible Fluids in Porous Media

Journal Article · Wed Jun 06 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Water Resources Research · OSTI ID:1469710

Cihan, Abdullah; Wang, Shibo; Tokunaga, Tetsu K.; +1 more

Connecting Pressure-Saturation and Relative Permeability Models to Fracture Properties: The Case of Capillary-Dominated Flow of Supercritical CO₂ and Brine

Journal Article · Mon Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Water Resources Research · OSTI ID:1469710

Wang, Lichun; Cardenas, M. Bayani

Title: A parametric analysis of capillary pressure effects during geologic carbon sequestration in a sandstone reservoir

Citation Formats

References (43)

Similar Records

Related Subjects