Dependence of CO2-Brine Interfacial Tension on Aquifer Pressure, Temperature and Water Salinity

Carbon dioxide storage in deep saline aquifers is a climate-change mitigation strategy that has significant potential in the short-to-medium term. The displacement of formation water by CO2 (drainage) and of CO2 by invading aquifer brine (imbibition) depend on the interfacial tension (IFT) of the CO2-brine system. To provide needed data, an extensive laboratory program was conducted for the measurement of the interfacial tension between CO2 and water or brine covering the ranges of 2 to 27 MPa pressure, 20°C to 125°C temperature, and 0 to 334,000 mg/l water salinity. The laboratory experiments were conducted using the pendant drop method combined with the Laplace solution for the profile of the brine drop in the CO2-rich environment. The analysis of the resulting set of 294 IFT measurements reveals that: 1) for conditions of constant temperature and water salinity, IFT decreases steeply with increasing pressure in the range P<Pc, and mildly for P>Pc, with an asymptotic trend towards a constant value for high pressures; 2) for the same conditions of constant pressure and temperature, IFT increases with increasing water salinity, reflecting decreasing CO2 solubility in brine as salinity increases; 3) the dependence of IFT on temperature is more complex, depending on the CO2 phase. For T<Tc, IFT increases with increasing temperature, around the critical temperature (Tc) IFT decreases significantly (dips), and then increases again with increasing temperature for T>Tc, with an asymptotic trend towards a constant value for high temperatures. These results indicate that, in the case of CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers, the formation water displacement by injected CO2 during the injection phase of CO2 storage and the CO2 displacement by invading brine during the CO2 migration phase depend on the in-situ conditions of pressure, temperature and water salinity through the effects that these primary variables have on the IFT between CO2 and aquifer brine. Since the IFT of CO2-brine systems affects relative permeability and capillary pressure, it is essential that the in-situ conditions and their effect of secondary variables are properly taken into account when evaluating the fate of the injected CO2 in deep saline aquifers.