Geologic Heterogeneity Controls on Trapping and Migration of CO2

Krishnamurthy, Prasanna G.; DiCarlo, David; Meckel, Tip

doi:10.1029/2022gl099104

Geologic Heterogeneity Controls on Trapping and Migration of CO₂

Journal Article · Mon Jul 25 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl099104· OSTI ID:1884517

^[1]; ^[2]; Meckel, Tip ^[2]

Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology
Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

When CO₂ is injected into sedimentary basins, the fate of the buoyant CO₂ will be determined by how it interacts with the underlying geologic heterogeneities. Here we geologically print a cross-bedded pattern using two different bead sizes, and then conduct flow experiments to observe buoyant flow pathways, migration speed, and immobilized volumes. The amount of buoyant phase trapped under the heterogeneities is observed to vary by two orders of magnitude, with the controlling parameter being the size contrast between the coarse and fine grains that make up the structure. Furthermore, the results allow an estimate of heterogeneity trapping, and show how CO₂ trapping in aquifers can be experimentally evaluated before injection.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE), Clean Coal and Carbon Management; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: FE0031558; SC0001114

OSTI ID:: 1884517

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 16 Vol. 49; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (41)

Migration behavior of supercritical and liquid CO ₂ in a stratified system: Experiments and numerical simulations Oh, Junho; Kim, Kue‐Young; Han, Weon Shik Water Resources Research, Vol. 51, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015wr017022	journal	October 2015
Experimental analysis of spatial correlation effects on capillary trapping of supercritical CO ₂ at the intermediate laboratory scale in heterogeneous porous media Trevisan, Luca; Pini, Ronny; Cihan, Abdullah Water Resources Research, Vol. 51, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015wr017440	journal	November 2015
Imaging and quantification of spreading and trapping of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers using meter-scale laboratory experiments: EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF CO Trevisan, Luca; Pini, Ronny; Cihan, Abdullah Water Resources Research, Vol. 53, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016wr019749	journal	January 2017
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
A modified light transmission visualization method for DNAPL saturation measurements in 2-D models Bob, Mustafa M.; Brooks, Michael C.; Mravik, Susan C. Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 31, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2008.01.016	journal	May 2008
Influence of small-scale heterogeneity on upward CO2 plume migration in storage aquifers Li, Boxiao; Benson, Sally M. Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 83 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2015.07.010	journal	September 2015
Visualization of gas dissolution following upward gas migration in porous media: Technique and implications for stray gas Van De Ven, C. J. C.; Mumford, Kevin G. Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 115 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2018.02.015	journal	May 2018
Buoyancy-driven Flow in Heterogeneous Materials Meckel, T. A.; Bryant, S. L. Energy Procedia, Vol. 63 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.582	journal	January 2014
Investigation of mechanisms of supercritical CO2 trapping in deep saline reservoirs using surrogate fluids at ambient laboratory conditions Trevisan, Luca; Cihan, Abdullah; Fagerlund, Fritjof International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 29 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2014.07.012	journal	October 2014
Characterization and prediction of CO2 saturation resulting from modeling buoyant fluid migration in 2D heterogeneous geologic fabrics Meckel, T. A.; Bryant, S. L.; Ravi Ganesh, P. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 34 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2014.12.010	journal	March 2015
Capillary trapping for geologic carbon dioxide storage – From pore scale physics to field scale implications Krevor, Samuel; Blunt, Martin J.; Benson, Sally M. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 40 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2015.04.006	journal	September 2015
Impact of 3D capillary heterogeneity and bedform architecture at the sub-meter scale on CO2 saturation for buoyant flow in clastic aquifers Trevisan, L.; Krishnamurthy, P. G.; Meckel, T. A. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 56 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2016.12.001	journal	January 2017
Capillary trapping of CO2 in heterogeneous reservoirs during the injection period Gershenzon, Naum I.; Ritzi, Robert W.; Dominic, David F. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 59 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2017.02.002	journal	April 2017
Predicting CO2 residual trapping ability based on experimental petrophysical properties for different sandstone types Ni, Hailun; Boon, Maartje; Garing, Charlotte International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 86 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2019.04.024	journal	July 2019
Illuminating the geology: Post-injection reservoir characterisation of the CO2CRC Otway site Dance, Tess; LaForce, Tara; Glubokovskikh, Stanislav International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 86 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2019.05.004	journal	July 2019
Quantification of the turning point saturation for cross bedded CO2 storage reservoirs Mishra, Achyut; Haese, Ralf R. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 103 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2020.103185	journal	December 2020
Modelling CO2 plume spreading in highly heterogeneous rocks with anisotropic, rate-dependent saturation functions: A field-data based numeric simulation study of Otway Shao, Qi; Boon, Maartje; Youssef, AbdAllah International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 119 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2022.103699	journal	September 2022
Comparison of Darcy's law and invasion percolation simulations with buoyancy-driven CO2-brine multiphase flow in a heterogeneous sandstone core Krishnamurthy, Prasanna G.; Senthilnathan, Siddharth; Yoon, Hongkyu Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 155 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2016.10.022	journal	July 2017
Multiphase Flow in Permeable Media Blunt, Martin J. Cambridge University Press https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316145098	book	January 2017
Two-phase gravity currents in layered porous media Benham, Graham P.; Bickle, Mike J.; Neufeld, Jerome A. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 922 https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2021.523	journal	July 2021
Water-CO ₂ -mineral systems: Interfacial tension, contact angle, and diffusion-Implications to CO ₂ geological storage : WATER CO Espinoza, D. Nicolas; Santamarina, J. Carlos Water Resources Research, Vol. 46, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009wr008634	journal	July 2010
Relative permeability and trapping of CO ₂ and water in sandstone rocks at reservoir conditions : MULTIPHASE FLOW OF CO Krevor, Samuel C. M.; Pini, Ronny; Zuo, Lin Water Resources Research, Vol. 48, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011wr010859	journal	February 2012
Characterizing Drainage Multiphase Flow in Heterogeneous Sandstones Jackson, Samuel J.; Agada, Simeon; Reynolds, Catriona A. Water Resources Research, Vol. 54, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1029/2017wr022282	journal	April 2018
Mimicking Geologic Depositional Fabrics for Multiphase Flow Experiments Krishnamurthy, Prasanna G.; Meckel, Tip A.; DiCarlo, David Water Resources Research, Vol. 55, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr025664	journal	November 2019
Pore Network Model Predictions of Darcy‐Scale Multiphase Flow Heterogeneity Validated by Experiments Zahasky, Christopher; Jackson, Samuel J.; Lin, Qingyang Water Resources Research, Vol. 56, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr026708	journal	May 2020
Small‐Scale Capillary Heterogeneity Linked to Rapid Plume Migration During CO ₂ Storage Jackson, Samuel J.; Krevor, Samuel Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 47, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl088616	journal	September 2020
Impact of Sub‐core‐scale Heterogeneity on Meter‐Scale Flow and Brine Displacement in Drainage by CO ₂ Moreno, Z.; Rabinovich, A. Water Resources Research, Vol. 57, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020wr028332	journal	January 2021
Observations of the Impacts of Millimeter‐ to Centimeter‐Scale Heterogeneities on Relative Permeability and Trapping in Carbonate Rocks Manoorkar, Sojwal; Jackson, Samuel J.; Krevor, Samuel Water Resources Research, Vol. 57, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020wr028597	journal	April 2021
Characterizing the Effect of Capillary Heterogeneity on Multiphase Flow Pulsation in an Intermediate‐Scale Beadpack Experiment Using Time Series Clustering and Frequency Analysis Ni, Hailun; Meckel, T. A. Water Resources Research, Vol. 57, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1029/2021wr030876	journal	November 2021
Geologic Heterogeneity Controls on Trapping and Migration of CO ₂ Krishnamurthy, Prasanna G.; DiCarlo, David; Meckel, Tip Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 49, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099104	journal	August 2022
X ray and visible light transmission for laboratory measurement of two-dimensional saturation fields in thin-slab systems Tidwell, Vincent C.; Glass, Robert J. Water Resources Research, Vol. 30, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1029/94wr00953	journal	November 1994
Centimeter scale heterogeneities and microstratifaction in sedimentary rocks Murphy, W. F.; Roberts, J. N.; Yale, D. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 11, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1029/gl011i008p00697	journal	August 1984
Onshore Geologic Storage of CO2 Orr, F. M. Science, Vol. 325, Issue 5948 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1175677	journal	September 2009
Controls on two-phase fluid flow in heterogeneous sandstones Ringrose, P. S.; Corbett, P. W. M. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, Vol. 78, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1144/gsl.sp.1994.078.01.12	journal	January 1994
Secondary oil migration: oil-rock contact volumes, flow behaviour and rates Carruthers, Dan; Ringrose, Philip Geological Society, London, Special Publications, Vol. 144, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1144/gsl.sp.1998.144.01.16	journal	January 1998
Quantitative analysis of time-lapse seismic monitoring data at the Sleipner CO2 storage operation Chadwick, Andy; Williams, Gareth; Delepine, Nicolas The Leading Edge, Vol. 29, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1190/1.3304820	journal	February 2010
Measuring permanence of CO2 storage in saline formations: the Frio experiment Hovorka, Susan D.; Benson, Sally M.; Doughty, Christine Environmental Geosciences, Vol. 13, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1306/eg.11210505011	journal	June 2006
Digital Rendering of Sedimentary-Relief Peels: Implications for Clastic Facies Characterization and Fluid Flow Meckel, T. A. Journal of Sedimentary Research, Vol. 83, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2013.43	journal	June 2013
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
Laminated Clastic Reservoirs: The Interplay of Capillary Pressure and Sedimentary Architecture Corbett, P. W. M.; Ringrose, P. S.; Jensen, J. L. SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition https://doi.org/10.2118/24699-MS	conference	April 2013
Buoyancy-Dominated Multiphase Flow and Its Impact on Geological Sequestration of CO2 Bryant, Steven Lawrence; Lakshminarasimhan, Srivatsan; Pope, Gary Arnold SPE/DOE Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, All Days https://doi.org/10.2118/99938-MS	conference	April 2006

Similar Records

Imaging and quantification of spreading and trapping of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers using meter-scale laboratory experiments

Journal Article · Mon Dec 26 19:00:00 EST 2016 · Water Resources Research · OSTI ID:1393603

Intermediate Scale Laboratory Testing to Understand Mechanisms of Capillary and Dissolution Trapping during Injection and Post-Injection of CO₂ in Heterogeneous Geological Formations

Technical Report · Tue Mar 31 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · OSTI ID:1222579

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES

Geologic Heterogeneity Controls on Trapping and Migration of CO2

Citation Formats

References (41)

Similar Records

Related Subjects

Geologic Heterogeneity Controls on Trapping and Migration of CO₂