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Title: Impacts of Methane on Carbon Dioxide Storage in Brine Formations

Abstract

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 wellsmore » 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.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [3]; ORCiD logo [2]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH (United States)
  2. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
  3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. The Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Southern States Energy Board, Norcross, GA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
OSTI Identifier:
1479685
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1417124
Report Number(s):
DOE-SSEB-42590-8
Journal ID: ISSN 0017-467X
Grant/Contract Number:  
FC26-05NT42590; AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Ground Water
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 56; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 0017-467X
Publisher:
Wiley - NGWA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES

Citation Formats

Soltanian, Mohamad R., Amooie, Mohammad A., Cole, David R., Darrah, Thomas H., Graham, David E., Pfiffner, Susan M., Phelps, Tommy J., and Moortgat, Joachim. Impacts of Methane on Carbon Dioxide Storage in Brine Formations. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1111/gwat.12633.
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Soltanian, Mohamad R., Amooie, Mohammad A., Cole, David R., Darrah, Thomas H., Graham, David E., Pfiffner, Susan M., Phelps, Tommy J., & Moortgat, Joachim. Impacts of Methane on Carbon Dioxide Storage in Brine Formations. United States. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12633
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Soltanian, Mohamad R., Amooie, Mohammad A., Cole, David R., Darrah, Thomas H., Graham, David E., Pfiffner, Susan M., Phelps, Tommy J., and Moortgat, Joachim. Tue . "Impacts of Methane on Carbon Dioxide Storage in Brine Formations". United States. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12633. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1479685.
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@article{osti_1479685,
title = {Impacts of Methane on Carbon Dioxide Storage in Brine Formations},
author = {Soltanian, Mohamad R. and Amooie, Mohammad A. and Cole, David R. and Darrah, Thomas H. and Graham, David E. and Pfiffner, Susan M. and Phelps, Tommy J. and Moortgat, Joachim},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {10.1111/gwat.12633},
journal = {Ground Water},
number = 2,
volume = 56,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jan 16 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Tue Jan 16 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}
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Journal Article:
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Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12633
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Cited by: 29 works
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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Location of Cranfield site (yellow circle) with respect to the source of natural CO2 in the Jackson Dome and numerous wells in the Tuscaloosa Formation (map inset). Aerial view of the DAS, which contains the injection well F1 and two observation wells F2 and F3 at 60 andmore » 98 m, respectively. The numerical grid for the DAS is 195 × 155 × 24 m3, has 257,856 hexahedral elements, and is inclined in both the x (5◦) and y (12◦) directions. The top and bottom boundaries are impermeable confining shale layers, while the lateral boundaries are open to flow at a fixed pressure corresponding to each change in injection rate. Contours indicate the formation permeability heterogeneity.« less
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text, January 2012

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