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Title: On sorption and swelling of CO2 in clays

Journal Article · · Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [1]
  1. Shell Global Solutions International, Rijswijk (Netherlands)
  2. RWTH Aachen Univ. (Germany)
  3. Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  5. Univ. of Utrecht (Netherlands)

One well-studied technology is the geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2), and a number of demonstration projects around the world have proven its feasibility and challenges. Storage conformance and seal integrity are among the most important aspects, as they determine risk of leakage as well as limits for storage capacity and injectivity. By providing evidence for safe storage is critical for improving public acceptance. Most caprocks are composed of clays as dominant mineral type which can typically be illite, kaolinite, chlorite or smectite. A number of recent studies addressed the interaction between CO2 and these different clays and it was shown that clay minerals adsorb considerable quantities of CO2. For smectite this uptake can lead to volumetric expansion followed by the generation of swelling pressures. On the one hand CO2 adsorption traps CO2, on the other hand swelling pressures can potentially change local stress regimes and in unfavourable situations shear-type failure is assumed to occur. Moreover, for storage in a reservoir having high clay contents the CO2 uptake can add to storage capacity which is widely underestimated so far. Smectite-rich seals in direct contact with a dry CO2 plume at the interface to the reservoir might dehydrate leading to dehydration cracks. Such dehydration cracks can provide pathways for CO2 ingress and further accelerate dewatering and penetration of the seal by supercritical CO2. At the same time, swelling may also lead to the closure of fractures or the reduction of fracture apertures, thereby improving seal integrity. Finally, the goal of this communication is to theoretically evaluate and discuss these scenarios in greater detail in terms of phenomenological mechanisms, but also in terms of potential risks or benefits for carbon storage.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2 (NCGC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1279398
Journal Information:
Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources, Vol. 2, Issue 2; ISSN 2363-8419
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (4)

Water, CO2 and Argon Permeabilities of Intact and Fractured Shale Cores Under Stress journal September 2018
Tracking CO 2 Plumes in Clay‐Rich Rock by Distributed Fiber Optic Strain Sensing (DFOSS): A Laboratory Demonstration journal January 2019
Supercritical CO 2 uptake by nonswelling phyllosilicates journal January 2018
A Damage Constitutive Model for the Effects of CO 2 -Brine-Rock Interactions on the Brittleness of a Low-Clay Shale journal May 2018

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