The impact of background water flow on the early migration of a CO2 plume in a tilted aquifer during the post-injection period
Abstract view|105|times PDF download|66|times
Abstract
The study presents a numerical modelling analysis on CO2 plume migration in a dipping storage aquifer with background flux, which incorporates residual and dissolution trapping of CO2. The purpose of this analysis is to investigate the effect of the background flow velocity on the CO2 plume migration during the early post-injection period. Different velocities of groundwater flow from low to high were considered in the aquifer model. The distribution, migration distance and velocity of the injected CO2 plume as well as the remaining mobile CO2 plume extent are estimated to determine how fast and far the plume propagates with time. Comparison of the results indicate that increasing the background flux velocity causes the plume to migrate longer distances up-dip, while it reduces the height distribution of the plume with time. This reduces the volume of mobile CO2 in the storage aquifer at larger velocities of background flux, hence decreasing the leakage risk of CO2 to the surface. In addition, the CO2 plume decelerates immediately after cessation of injection as its bottom rises vertically and the buoyancy force reduces as the thickness of the plume reduces. However, the plume then accelerates during the initial period of its subsequent lateral migration, as the plume becomes extended, and the buoyancy forces increases somewhat. The degree of lateral extension increases with increasing background water flow velocity, with the leading tip of the plume migrating faster than the trailing edge, until residual and dissolution trapping sufficiently reduce the volume of free phase CO2 that its migration is arrested.
Document Type: Original article
Cited as: Awag, M., Mackay, E., Ghanbari, A. The impact of background water flow on the early migration of a CO2 plume in a tilted aquifer during the post-injection period. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2023, 9(2): 125-135. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2023.08.06
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Awag, M., Mackay, E., Ghanbari, S. CO2 plume migration in tilted aquifers subject to groundwater flow. Paper Presented at 83rd EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition, Madrid, Spain, 1-5 June, 2022.
Bachu, S. CO2 storage in geological media: Role, means, status and barriers to deployment. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 2008, 34(2): 254-273.
Bachu, S., Gunter, W., Perkins, E. Aquifer disposal of CO2: Hydrodynamic and mineral trapping. Energy Conversion and Management, 1994, 35(4): 269-279.
Bennaceur, K. CO2 Capture and Sequestration, in Future Energy (2nd), edited by T. M. Letcher, Elsevier, pp. 583-611. 2014.
Benson, S. M., Cole, D. R. CO2 sequestration in deep sedimentary formations. Elements, 2008, 4(5): 325-331.
Birkholzer, J. T., Oldenburg, C. M., Zhou, Q. CO2 migration and pressure evolution in deep saline aquifers. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2008, 40: 203-220.
CMG-GEM. Computer Modelling Group, 2022.
Elenius, M., Voskov, D., Tchelepi, H. Interactions between gravity currents and convective dissolution. Advances in Water Resources, 2015, 83: 77-88.
Emami-Meybodi, H., Hassanzadeh, H., Ennis-King J. CO2 dissolution in the presence of background flow of deep saline aquifers. Water Resources Research, 2015, 51(4): 2595-2615.
Goater, A. L., Bijeljic, B., Blunt, M. J. Dipping open aquifers-the effect of top-surface topography and heterogeneity on CO2 storage efficiency. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2013, 17: 318-331.
Gunter, W., Wiwchar, B., Perkins, E. Aquifer disposal of CO2-rich greenhouse gases: Extension of the time scale of experiment for CO2-sequestering reactions by geochemical modelling. Mineralogy and Petrology, 1997, 59: 121-140.
Han, W. S., Kue-Young, K., Esser, R. P., et al. Sensitivity study of simulation parameters controlling CO2 trapping mechanisms in saline formations. Transport in Porous Media, 2011, 90: 807-829.
Harter, T. Basic concepts of groundwater hydrology. California, University of California, 2003.
Harvey, A. H. Semiempirical correlation for henry’s constants over large temperature ranges. AIChE Journal, 1996, 42(5): 1491-1494.
Hassanzadeh, H., Pooladi-Darvish, M., Keith, D. The effect of natural flow of aquifers and associated dispersion on the onset of buoyancy-driven convection in a saturated porous medium. AIChE Journal, 2009, 55(2): 475-485.
Hesse, M., Orr, F., Tchelepi, H. Gravity currents with residual trapping. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2008, 611: 35-60.
Hesse, M., Tchelepi, H., Cantwel, B., Orr, F. Gravity currents in horizontal porous layers: transition from early to late self-similarity. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2007, 577: 363-383.
Hesse, M. A., Tchelepi, H. A., Orr Jr, F. M. Scaling analysis of the migration of CO2 in saline aquifers. Paper SPE 102796 Presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 24-27 September, 2006.
Iglauer, S. Dissolution trapping of carbon dioxide in reservoir formation brine-A carbon storage mechanism, in Mass Transfer-Advanced Aspects, edited by H. Nakajima, In-Tech, pp. 233-262, 2011.
IPCC. IPCC special report on carbon dioxide capture and storage. Prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change., Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Jossi, J. A., Stiel, L. I., Thodos , G. The viscosity of pure substances in the dense gaseous and liquid phase. AIChE J, 1962, 8(1): 59-63.
Juanes, R., MacMinn, C. W. Upscaling of capillary trapping under gravity override: Application to CO2 sequestration in Aquifers. Paper SPE 113496 Presented at SPE Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery. Tulsa, Oklahoma, 20-23 April, 2008.
Juanes, R., MacMinn, C. W., Szulczewski, M. L. The footprint of the CO2 plume during carbon dioxide storage in saline aquifers: Storage efficiency for capillary trapping at the basin scale. Transport in Porous Media, 2009, 82(1): 19- 30.
Kestin, J., Khalifa, H. E., Correia, R. J. Tables of the dynamic and kinematic viscosity of aqueous NaCl solutions in the temperature range 20-150 ◦C and the pressure range 0.1-35 MPa. Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, 1981, 10(1): 71-88.
Land, C.E. Calculation of imbibition relative permeability for two- and three-phase flow from rock properties. Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, 1968, 8(2): 149-156.
Li, Y. K., Nghiem, L. X. Phase Equilibria of Oil, Gas and Water/Brine Mixtures from a Cubic Equation of State and Henry’s Law. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 64(3): 486-496.
MacMinn, C. W., Juanes, R. Post-injection spreading and trapping of CO2 in saline aquifers: Impact of the plume shape at the end of injection. Computational Geosciences, 2009, 13(4): 483-491.
MacMinn, C., Szulczewski, M., Juanes, R. CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2010, 662: 329-351.
Nordbotten, J. M., Celia, M. A. Similarity solutions for fluid injection into confined aquifers. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2006, 561: 307-327.
Nordbotten, J., Celia, M., Bachu, S. Injection and storage of CO2 in deep saline aquifers: Analytical solution for CO2 plume evolution during injection. Transport in Porous Media, 2005, 58(3): 339-360.
Oelkers, E., Gislason , S., Matter , J. Mineral carbonation of CO2. Elements, 2008, 4: 333-337.
Pawar, R., Chu, S., Makedonska, N., et al. Assessment of relationship between post-injection plume migration and leakage risks at geologic CO2 storage site. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2020, 101: 103138.
Peng, D.Y. and Robinson, D.B. A new two-constant equation of state. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Fundamentals, 1976, 15(1): 59-64.
Pentland, C. H., El-Maghraby, R., Iglauer, S., et al. Measurements of the capillary trapping of super-critical carbon dioxide in berea sandstone. Geophysical Research Letters, 2011. 38: 1-4.
Pruess, K., Nordbotten, J. Numerical simulation studies of the long-term evolution of a CO2 plume in a saline aquifer with a sloping caprock. Transport in Porous Media, 2011, 90: 135-151.
Riaz, A., Cinar, Y. Carbon dioxide sequestration in saline formations: Part I-Review of the modeling of solubility trapping. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2014, 124: 367-380.
Rosenbauer, R. J., Thomas, B. Carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in deep saline aquifers and formations, in Developments and Innovation in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Capture and Storage Technology, edited by M. M. Maroto-Valer. Woodhead Publishing, pp. 57-103, 2010.
Rowe, A. M., Chou, J. C. Pressure-volume-temperature-concentration relation of aqueous sodium chloride solutions. Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, 1970, 15(1): 61-66.
Zhang, D., Song, J. Mechanisms for geological carbon sequestration. Procedia IUTAM, 2014, 10: 319-327.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2023.08.06
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2023 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.