Numerical and analogue modelling of the propagation and dissolution of CO2 into reservoir brines: implications for CO2 sequestration
Abstract
The release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is recognised as the principal cause of the current changes observed in the Earth's climate. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) within reservoirs is seen as a solution to combat these changes through long-term and secure geological storage of CO2. The viability of long-term storage however, is reliant on an accurate knowledge of CO2 trapping mechanisms, as well as an understanding of the effect of the injected supercritical CO2 on the reservoir formations themselves. One prospective stable trapping mechanism is the dissolution of CO2 into ambient reservoir brine. Developing a greater understanding of the flow of CO2 through reservoir rocks and the associated reactions between the host rock formation and the fluid is therefore of great importance to understanding whether a CO2 storage site will succeed. This study examines the enhanced rates of dissolution found during injection into a layered, heterogeneous formation through analogue experiments and numerical modelling. The analogue experiments are designed to approximate an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) setting and show that during fluid propagation, pore-scale viscous fingers grow and retreat. This will provide an increased surface area between the flow and the ambient reservoir fluid which is likely to enhance the dissolution of CO2 in reservoir brines. The numerical simulations provide a useful comparison with the analogue experiments and give constraints on the timescales and magnitude of CO2 dissolution and the resultant fluid-mineral reactions in a heterogeneous reservoir. The study begins to address whether the dissolution of carbonate or silicate minerals can provide the CO2 with a leakage pathway through corroded caprocks and fault seals, or help with pathway sealing.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.V41A2765D
- Keywords:
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- 1009 GEOCHEMISTRY Geochemical modeling