Impacts of Methane on Carbon Dioxide Storage in Brine Formations

Soltanian, Mohamad R.; Amooie, Mohammad A.; Cole, David R.; Darrah, Thomas H.; Graham, David E.; Pfiffner, Susan M.; Phelps, Tommy J.; Moortgat, Joachim

doi:10.1111/gwat.12633

Impacts of Methane on Carbon Dioxide Storage in Brine Formations

Journal Article · Mon Jan 15 23:00:00 EST 2018 · Ground Water

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12633· OSTI ID:1479685

Soltanian, Mohamad R. ^[1]; Amooie, Mohammad A. ^[2]; Cole, David R. ^[2]; Darrah, Thomas H. ^[2]; Graham, David E. ^[3]; Pfiffner, Susan M. ^[4]; Phelps, Tommy J. ^[3]; ^[2]

The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Southern States Energy Board
The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
The Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

In the context of geological carbon sequestration (GCS), carbon dioxide (CO₂) is often injected into deep formations saturated with a brine that may contain dissolved light hydrocarbons, such as methane (CH₄). In this multicomponent multiphase displacement process, CO₂ competes with CH₄ in terms of dissolution, and CH₄ tends to exsolve from the aqueous into a gaseous phase. Because CH₄ has a lower viscosity than injected CO₂, CH₄ is swept up into a ‘bank’ of CH₄–rich gas ahead of the CO₂ displacement front. On the one hand, this may provide a useful tracer signal of an approaching CO₂ front. On the other hand, the emergence of gaseous CH₄ is undesirable because it poses a leakage risk of a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO₂ if the cap rock is compromised. Open fractures or faults and wells could result in CH₄ contamination of overlying groundwater aquifers as well as surface emissions. We investigate this process through detailed numerical simulations for a large–scale GCS pilot project (near Cranfield, Mississippi) for which a rich set of field data is available. An accurate cubic–plus–association equation–of–state is used to describe the non–linear phase behavior of multiphase brine–CH₄–CO₂ mixtures, and breakthrough curves in two observation wells are used to constrain transport processes. Furthermore, both field data and simulations indeed show the development of an extensive plume of CH₄–rich (up to 90 mol%) gas as a consequence of CO₂ injection, with important implications for the risk assessment of future GCS projects.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Southern States Energy Board, Norcross, GA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)

Grant/Contract Number:: FC26-05NT42590

OSTI ID:: 1479685

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1417124
OSTI ID: 1422790

Report Number(s):: DOE-SSEB--42590-8

Journal Information:: Ground Water, Journal Name: Ground Water Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 56; ISSN 0017-467X

Publisher:: Wiley - NGWACopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (49)

Hydrothermodynamic mixing of fluids across phases in porous media: HYDROTHERMODYNAMIC MIXING Amooie, Mohammad Amin; Soltanian, Mohamad Reza; Moortgat, Joachim Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016gl072491	journal	April 2017
Phase equilibria of oil, gas and water/brine mixtures from a cubic equation of state and henry's law Li, Yau-Kun; Nghiem, Long X. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol. 64, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/cjce.5450640319	journal	June 1986
Viscous and gravitational fingering in multiphase compositional and compressible flow Moortgat, Joachim Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 89 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.01.002	journal	March 2016
Monitoring a large volume CO2 injection: Year two results from SECARB project at Denbury’s Cranfield, Mississippi, USA Hovorka, Susan D.; Meckel, Timothy A.; Trevino, Ramon H. Energy Procedia, Vol. 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2011.02.274	journal	January 2011
The geochemistry of naturally occurring methane and saline groundwater in an area of unconventional shale gas development Harkness, Jennifer S.; Darrah, Thomas H.; Warner, Nathaniel R. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 208 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2017.03.039	journal	July 2017
Monitoring a large-volume injection at Cranfield, Mississippi—Project design and recommendations Hovorka, Susan D.; Meckel, Timothy A.; Treviño, Ramón H. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 18 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2013.03.021	journal	October 2013
Sequestration of CO2 in geological media: criteria and approach for site selection in response to climate change Bachu, Stefan Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 41, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/s0196-8904(99)00149-1	journal	June 2000
Fickian Diffusion in Discrete-Fractured Media from Chemical Potential Gradients and Comparison to Experiment Moortgat, Joachim; Firoozabadi, Abbas Energy & Fuels, Vol. 27, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1021/ef401141q	journal	September 2013
Interfacial tension of nonassociating pure substances and binary mixtures by density functional theory combined with Peng–Robinson equation of state Li, Zhidong; Firoozabadi, Abbas The Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 130, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3100237	journal	April 2009
Noble gases identify the mechanisms of fugitive gas contamination in drinking-water wells overlying the Marcellus and Barnett Shales Darrah, Thomas H.; Vengosh, Avner; Jackson, Robert B. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, Issue 39 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1322107111	journal	September 2014
CO2-rock-brine interactions in Lower Tuscaloosa Formation at Cranfield CO2 sequestration site, Mississippi, U.S.A. Lu, J.; Kharaka, Y. K.; Thordsen, J. J. The University of Texas at Austin https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/10352	text	January 2012
Analysis of convergent flow tracer tests in a heterogeneous sandy box with connected gravel channels Molinari, Antonio; Pedretti, D.; Fallico, C. Water Resources Research, Vol. 51, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016216	journal	July 2015
Hydrothermodynamic mixing of fluids across phases in porous media: HYDROTHERMODYNAMIC MIXING Amooie, Mohammad Amin; Soltanian, Mohamad Reza; Moortgat, Joachim Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072491	journal	April 2017
Cubic-plus-association equation of state for water-containing mixtures: Is “cross association” necessary? Li, Zhidong; Firoozabadi, Abbas AIChE Journal, Vol. 55, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.11784	journal	July 2009
Modeling CO ₂ injection at Cranfield, Mississippi: Investigation of methane and temperature effects : Modeling and Analysis: Modeling CO Doughty, Christine; Freifeld, Barry M. Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Vol. 3, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1002/ghg.1363	journal	August 2013
Analytical Model for CO2 Injection into Brine Aquifers-Containing Residual CH4 Hosseini, Seyyed Abolfazl; Mathias, Simon A.; Javadpour, Farzam Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 94, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-012-0025-x	journal	June 2012
The Sim-SEQ Project: Comparison of Selected Flow Models for the S-3 Site Mukhopadhyay, Sumit; Doughty, Christine; Bacon, Diana Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 108, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-014-0361-0	journal	July 2014
Mixing and spreading of multiphase fluids in heterogeneous bimodal porous media Amooie, Mohammad Amin; Soltanian, Mohamad Reza; Xiong, Fengyang Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources, Vol. 3, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40948-017-0060-8	journal	April 2017
Solute transport through preferential pathways in municipal solid waste Rosqvist, Håkan; Destouni, Georgia Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol. 46, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7722(00)00127-3	journal	November 2000
Sequestration of CO2 in geological media: criteria and approach for site selection in response to climate change Bachu, Stefan Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 41, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-8904(99)00149-1	journal	June 2000
Implicit finite volume and discontinuous Galerkin methods for multicomponent flow in unstructured 3D fractured porous media Moortgat, Joachim; Amooie, Mohammad Amin; Soltanian, Mohamad Reza Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 96 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.08.007	journal	October 2016
Optimum design of CO2 storage and oil recovery under geological uncertainty Ampomah, W.; Balch, R. S.; Cather, M. Applied Energy, Vol. 195 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.03.017	journal	June 2017
CO2–rock–brine interactions in Lower Tuscaloosa Formation at Cranfield CO2 sequestration site, Mississippi, U.S.A. Lu, Jiemin; Kharaka, Yousif K.; Thordsen, James J. Chemical Geology, Vol. 291 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2011.10.020	journal	January 2012
Gas source attribution techniques for assessing leakage at geologic CO2 storage sites: Evaluating a CO2 and CH4 soil gas anomaly at the Cranfield CO2-EOR site Anderson, Jacob S.; Romanak, Katherine D.; Yang, Changbing Chemical Geology, Vol. 454 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2017.02.024	journal	April 2017
Reservoir Fluid Monitoring in Carbon Dioxide Sequestration at Cranfield Verma, S.; Oakes, C. S.; Chugunov, N. Energy Procedia, Vol. 37 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2013.06.337	journal	January 2013
The evolution of Devonian hydrocarbon gases in shallow aquifers of the northern Appalachian Basin: Insights from integrating noble gas and hydrocarbon geochemistry Darrah, Thomas H.; Jackson, Robert B.; Vengosh, Avner Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 170 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2015.09.006	journal	December 2015
Static and dynamic reservoir modeling for geological CO2 sequestration at Cranfield, Mississippi, U.S.A. Hosseini, Seyyed Abolfazl; Lashgari, Hamidreza; Choi, Jong W. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 18 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2012.11.009	journal	October 2013
Modeling and simulation of carbon sequestration at Cranfield incorporating new physical models Delshad, Mojdeh; Kong, Xianhui; Tavakoli, Reza International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 18 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2013.03.019	journal	October 2013
Simulating the Cranfield geological carbon sequestration project with high-resolution static models and an accurate equation of state Soltanian, Mohamad Reza; Amooie, Mohammad Amin; Cole, David R. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 54 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2016.10.002	journal	November 2016
Using noble gas fingerprints at the Kerr Farm to assess CO 2 leakage allegations linked to the Weyburn-Midale CO 2 monitoring and storage project Gilfillan, Stuart M. V.; Sherk, George William; Poreda, Robert J. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 63 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2017.05.015	journal	August 2017
CO ₂ Accounting and Risk Analysis for CO ₂ Sequestration at Enhanced Oil Recovery Sites Dai, Zhenxue; Viswanathan, Hari; Middleton, Richard Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 50, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b01744	journal	June 2016
Dissolution Trapping of Carbon Dioxide in Heterogeneous Aquifers Soltanian, Mohamad Reza; Amooie, Mohammad Amin; Gershenzon, Naum Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 51, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b01540	journal	June 2017
Compositional modeling of three-phase flow with gravity using higher-order finite element methods: COMPOSITIONAL MODELING OF 3-PHASE FLOW Moortgat, Joachim; Sun, Shuyu; Firoozabadi, Abbas Water Resources Research, Vol. 47, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR009801	journal	May 2011
Complex fluid flow revealed by monitoring CO ₂ injection in a fluvial formation : MONITOR FLUID FLOW IN FLUVIAL RESERVOIR Lu, Jiemin; Cook, Paul J.; Hosseini, Seyyed A. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 117, Issue B3 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JB008939	journal	March 2012
Three-phase compositional modeling of CO ₂ injection by higher-order finite element methods with CPA equation of state for aqueous phase : THREE-PHASE MODELING WITH CPA EOS Moortgat, Joachim; Li, Zhidong; Firoozabadi, Abbas Water Resources Research, Vol. 48, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR011736	journal	December 2012
Critical Dynamics of Gravito-Convective Mixing in Geological Carbon Sequestration Soltanian, Mohamad Reza; Amooie, Mohammad Amin; Dai, Zhenxue Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep35921	journal	November 2016
Identification and characterization of high methane-emitting abandoned oil and gas wells Kang, Mary; Christian, Shanna; Celia, Michael A. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 113, Issue 48 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1605913113	journal	November 2016
The Influence of Streambed Heterogeneity on Hyporheic Flow in Gravelly Rivers: Y. Zhou etal. Ground Water XX, no. X: XXXX Zhou, YaoQuan; Ritzi, Robert W.; Soltanian, Mohamad Reza Groundwater, Vol. 52, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12048	journal	April 2013
Numerical Modeling of Methane Leakage from a Faulty Natural Gas Well into Fractured Tight Formations Moortgat, Joachim; Schwartz, Franklin W.; Darrah, Thomas H. Groundwater, Vol. 56, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12630	journal	January 2018
Investigation of Small-Scale Preferential Flow with a Forced-Gradient Tracer Test Bianchi, Marco; Zheng, Chunmiao; Tick, Geoffrey R. Ground Water, Vol. 49, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.2010.00746.x	journal	August 2010
How does the connectivity of open-framework conglomerates within multi-scale hierarchical fluvial architecture affect oil-sweep efficiency in waterflooding? Gershenzon, Naum I.; Soltanian, Mohamad Reza; Ritzi, Robert W. Geosphere, Vol. 11, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01115.1	journal	October 2015
Geological storage of carbon dioxide Baines, Shelagh J.; Worden, Richard H. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, Vol. 233, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2004.233.01.01	journal	January 2004
Understanding the impact of open-framework conglomerates on water–oil displacements: the Victor interval of the Ivishak Reservoir, Prudhoe Bay Field, Alaska Gershenzon, Naum I.; Soltanian, Mohamadreza; Ritzi, Robert W. Petroleum Geoscience, Vol. 21, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1144/petgeo2014-017	journal	December 2014
Extraction of Dissolved Methane in Brines by CO2 Injection: Implication for CO2 Sequestration Taggart, Ian J. SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, Vol. 13, Issue 05 https://doi.org/10.2118/124630-PA	journal	October 2010
Extraction of Dissolved Methane in brines by CO2 Injection: Implication for CO2 Sequestration Taggart, Ian James SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, All Days https://doi.org/10.2118/124630-ms	conference	October 2009
General Strategy for Stability Testing and Phase-Split Calculation in Two and Three Phases Li, Zhidong; Firoozabadi, Abbas SPE Journal, Vol. 17, Issue 04 https://doi.org/10.2118/129844-PA	journal	December 2012
Capillary Behavior in Porous Solids Leverett, M. C. Transactions of the AIME, Vol. 142, Issue 01 https://doi.org/10.2118/941152-G	journal	December 1941
Viscous and Gravitational Fingering in Multiphase Compositional and Compressible Flow Moortgat, Joachim arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1601.03097	text	January 2016
Implicit Finite Volume and Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for Multicomponent Flow in Unstructured 3D Fractured Porous Media Moortgat, Joachim; Amooie, Mohammad Amin; Soltanian, Mohamad Reza arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1608.06894	text	January 2016

Cited By (5)

An Intelligent IoT-Based Food Quality Monitoring Approach Using Low-Cost Sensors Popa, Alexandru; Hnatiuc, Mihaela; Paun, Mirel Symmetry, Vol. 11, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.3390/sym11030374	journal	March 2019
Transport of perfluorocarbon tracers in the Cranfield Geological Carbon Sequestration Project: Modeling and Analysis: Transport of perfluorocarbon tracers in the Cranfield Geological Carbon Sequestration Project Soltanian, Mohamad Reza; Amooie, Mohammad Amin; Cole, David Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Vol. 8, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/ghg.1786	journal	June 2018
Convective Dissolution of Carbon Dioxide in Deep Saline Aquifers: Insights from Engineering a High-Pressure Porous Visual Cell Mahmoodpour, Saeed; Rostami, Behzad; Soltanian, Mohamad Reza Physical Review Applied, Vol. 12, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.12.034016	journal	September 2019
Numerical Investigation of a Methane Leakage from a Geothermal Well into a Shallow Aquifer D'Aniello, Andrea; Fabbricino, Massimiliano; Ducci, Daniela Groundwater, Vol. 58, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12943	journal	November 2019
Convective dissolution of carbon dioxide in deep saline aquifers: Insights from engineering a high-pressure porous Hele-Shaw cell Mahmoodpour, Saeed; Rostami, Behzad; Soltanian, Mohamad Reza Unpublished https://doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.23210.88002	text	January 2018