A review on pore-scale modeling and CT scan technique to characterize the trapped carbon dioxide in impermeable reservoir rocks during sequestration
TL;DR: An overview of pore-scale modeling and micro-CT scan imaging technique for CO2 sequestration including a background of basic concepts related to storage, CO2 enhanced oil recovery, simulators used, and storage estimation is provided in this paper.
Abstract: Global warming is increasing at a perpetual rate due to the emission of greenhouse gases in recent years. This spectacle has been mainly caused by the increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the environment. It is in need to find a path to reduce the greenhouse gases along with the additional benefit of energy demand in a sustainable way. A favorable long-term way out to mitigate global warming is to inject CO2 into geological formations of oil fields to achieve a goal of a combination of CO2 sequestration and enhanced oil recovery by CO2 flooding. Understanding the mechanism of CO2 sequestration under impermeable rock formation requires the knowledge of the pore-scale modeling concept. This review article provides an overview of pore-scale modeling and micro-CT scan imaging technique for CO2 sequestration including a background of basic concepts related to storage, CO2 enhanced oil recovery, simulators used, and storage estimation. Trapping mechanisms, geological description of the formation for CO2 sequestration, and reactions that have taken place during the trapping in underground formation are also discussed elaborately. Macro-scale and pore-scale modeling are depicted based on the current literature available. This review also presents petrophysical data that comes from the pore network modeling of CO2-brine pore structure for the formation of carbon-containing sandstone reservoirs. A discussion on the challenges of CO2 sequestration and modeling in pore-scale is also furnished to point out the problems and solutions in near future. Finally, the prospect of CO2 sequestration and pore-scale modeling are described for its uncountable value in greenhouse gas reduction from the environment.
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25 Apr 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors studied pore-scale wettability and alteration in supercritical CO(2)-silica-brine systems using engineered micromodels, at 8.5 MPa and 45 °C, over a wide range of NaCl concentrations up to 5.0 M.
Abstract: Wettability of reservoir minerals and rocks is a critical factor controlling CO(2) mobility, residual trapping, and safe-storage in geologic carbon sequestration, and currently is the factor imparting the greatest uncertainty in predicting capillary behavior in porous media. Very little information on wettability in supercritical CO(2) (scCO(2))-mineral-brine systems is available. We studied pore-scale wettability and wettability alteration in scCO(2)-silica-brine systems using engineered micromodels (transparent pore networks), at 8.5 MPa and 45 °C, over a wide range of NaCl concentrations up to 5.0 M. Dewetting of silica surfaces upon reactions with scCO(2) was observed through water film thinning, water droplet formation, and contact angle increases within single pores. The brine contact angles increased from initial values near 0° up to 80° with larger increases under higher ionic strength conditions. Given the abundance of silica surfaces in reservoirs and caprocks, these results indicate that CO(2) induced dewetting may have important consequences on CO(2) sequestration including reducing capillary entry pressure, and altering quantities of CO(2) residual trapping, relative permeability, and caprock integrity.
169 citations
01 Dec 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, a field-scale CO2 injection pilot project was conducted as part of the Southeast Regional Sequestration Partnership (SECARB) at Cranfield, Mississippi, where higher-order finite element simulations of the compositional two-phase CO2-brine flow and transport during the experiment were presented.
Abstract: In this study, a field-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) injection pilot project was conducted as part of the Southeast Regional Sequestration Partnership (SECARB) at Cranfield, Mississippi. We present higher-order finite element simulations of the compositional two-phase CO2-brine flow and transport during the experiment. High- resolution static models of the formation geology in the Detailed Area Study (DAS) located below the oil- water contact (brine saturated) are used to capture the impact of connected flow paths on breakthrough times in two observation wells. Phase behavior is described by the cubic-plus-association (CPA) equation of state, which takes into account the polar nature of water molecules. Parameter studies are performed to investigate the importance of Fickian diffusion, permeability heterogeneity, relative permeabilities, and capillarity. Simulation results for the pressure response in the injection well and the CO2 breakthrough times at the observation wells show good agreement with the field data. For the high injection rates and short duration of the experiment, diffusion is relatively unimportant (high P clet numbers), while relative permeabilities have a profound impact on the pressure response. High-permeability pathways, created by fluvial deposits, strongly affect the CO2 transport and highlight the importance of properly characterizing the formation heterogeneity in future carbon sequestrationmore » projects.« less
55 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of subsurface conditions viz., pressure, temperature, and salinity on CO2-foams prepared by non-ionic polymer (guar gum, 4000ppm) and surfactant (TX-100, 0.25 mM).
32 citations
15 Dec 2014
TL;DR: In this article, a detailed comparison of pore-scale simulations and experiments for unstable primary drainage in porous micromodels is presented, which can be used to complement experimental observations with information about quantities that are difficult or impossible to measure.
Abstract: The simulation of unstable invasion patterns in porous media flow is very challenging because small perturbations are amplified, so that slight differences in geometry or initial conditions result in significantly different invasion structures at later times. We present a detailed comparison of pore-scale simulations and experiments for unstable primary drainage in porous micromodels. The porous media consist of Hele-Shaw cells containing cylindrical obstacles. By means of soft lithography, we have constructed two experimental flow cells, with different degrees of heterogeneity in the grain size distribution. As the defending (wetting) fluid is the most viscous, the interface is destabilized by viscous forces, which promote the formation of preferential flow paths in the form of a branched finger structure. We model the experiments by solving the Navier-Stokes equations for mass and momentum conservation in the discretized pore space and employ the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method to track the evolution of the interface. We test different numerical models (a 2-D vertical integrated model and a full-3-D model) and different initial conditions, studying their impact on the simulated spatial distributions of the fluid phases. To assess the ability of the numerical model to reproduce unstable displacement, we compare several statistical and deterministic indicators. We demonstrate the impact of three main sources of error: (i) the uncertainty on the pore space geometry, (ii) the fact that the initial phase configuration cannot be known with an arbitrarily small accuracy, and (iii) three-dimensional effects. Although the unstable nature of the flow regime leads to different invasion structures due to small discrepancies between the experimental setup and the numerical model, a pore-by-pore comparison shows an overall satisfactory match between simulations and experiments. Moreover, all statistical indicators used to characterize the invasion structures are in excellent agreement. This validates the modeling approach, which can be used to complement experimental observations with information about quantities that are difficult or impossible to measure, such as the pressure and velocity fields in the two fluid phases.
26 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the displacement and capillary trapping of hydrogen by brine in a Clashach sandstone core at 2-7 MPa pore fluid pressure using X-ray computed microtomography was studied.
11 citations
References
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TL;DR: Van Genuchten et al. as mentioned in this paper proposed a closed-form analytical expression for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils based on the Mualem theory, which can be used to predict the unsaturated hydraulic flow and mass transport in unsaturated zone.
Abstract: A new and relatively simple equation for the soil-water content-pressure head curve, 8(h), is described in this paper. The particular form of the equation enables one to derive closedform analytical expressions for the relative hydraulic conductivity, Kr, when substituted in the predictive conductivity models of N.T. Burdine or Y. Mualem. The resulting expressions for Kr(h) contain three independent parameters which may be obtained by fitting the proposed soil-water retention model to experimental data. Results obtained with the closed-form analytical expressions based on the Mualem theory are compared with observed hydraulic conductivity data for five soils with a wide range of hydraulic properties. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is predicted well in four out of five cases. It is found that a reasonable description of the soil-water retention curve at low water contents is important for an accurate prediction of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Additional Index Words: soil-water diffusivity, soil-water retention curve. van Genuchten, M. Th. 1980. A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44:892-898. T USE OF NUMERICAL MODELS for simulating fluid flow and mass transport in the unsaturated zone has become increasingly popular the last few years. Recent literature indeed demonstrates that much effort is put into the development of such models (Reeves and Duguid, 1975; Segol, 1976; Vauclin et al., 1979). Unfortunately, it appears that the ability to fully characterize the simulated system has not kept pace with the numerical and modeling expertise. Probably the single most important factor limiting the successful application of unsaturated flow theory to actual field problems is the lack of information regarding the parameters entering the governing transfer equations. Reliable estimates of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity are especially difficult to obtain, partly because of its extensive variability in the field, and partly because measuring this parameter is time-consuming and expensive. Several investigators have, for these reasons, used models for calculating the unsaturated conductivity from the more easily measured soil-water retention curve. Very popular among these models has been the Millington-Quirk method (Millington and Quirk, 1961), various forms of which have been applied with some success in a number of studies (cf. Jackson et al., 1965; Jackson, 1972; Green and Corey, 1971; Bruce, 1972). Unfortunately, this method has the disadvantage of producing tabular results which, for example when applied to nonhomogeneous soils in multidimensional unsaturated flow models, are quite tedious to use. Closed-form analytical expressions for predicting 1 Contribution from the U. S. Salinity Laboratory, AR-SEA, USDA, Riverside, CA 92501. Received 29 June 1979. Approved 19 May I960. 'Soil Scientist, Dep. of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521. The author is located at the U. S. Salinity Lab., 4500 Glenwood Dr., Riverside, CA 92502. the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity have also been developed. For example, Brooks and Corey (1964) and Jeppson (1974) each used an analytical expression for the conductivity based on the Burdine theory (Burdine, 1953). Brooks and Corey (1964, 1966) obtained fairly accurate predictions with their equations, even though a discontinuity is present in the slope of both the soil-water retention curve and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curve at some negative value of the pressure head (this point is often referred to as the bubbling pressure). Such a discontinuity sometimes prevents rapid convergence in numerical saturated-unsaturated flow problems. It also appears that predictions based on the Brooks and Corey equations are somewhat less accurate than those obtained with various forms of the (modified) Millington-Quirk method. Recently Mualem (1976a) derived a new model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity from knowledge of the soil-water retention curve and the conductivity at saturation. Mualem's derivation leads to a simple integral formula for the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity which enables one to derive closed-form analytical expressions, provided suitable equations for the soil-water retention curves are available. It is the purpose of this paper to derive such expressions using an equation for the soil-water retention curve which is both continuous and has a continuous slope. The resulting conductivity models generally contain three independent parameters which may be obtained by matching the proposed soil-water retention curve to experimental data. Results obtained with the closedform equations based on the Mualem theory will be compared with observed data for a few soils having widely varying hydraulic properties. THEORETICAL Equations Based on Mualem's Model The following equation was derived by Mualem (1976a) for predicting the relative hydraulic conductivity (Kr) from knowledge of the soil-water retention curve
22,781 citations
20 Jun 2005
TL;DR: A new measure, the method noise, is proposed, to evaluate and compare the performance of digital image denoising methods, and a new algorithm, the nonlocal means (NL-means), based on a nonlocal averaging of all pixels in the image is proposed.
Abstract: We propose a new measure, the method noise, to evaluate and compare the performance of digital image denoising methods. We first compute and analyze this method noise for a wide class of denoising algorithms, namely the local smoothing filters. Second, we propose a new algorithm, the nonlocal means (NL-means), based on a nonlocal averaging of all pixels in the image. Finally, we present some experiments comparing the NL-means algorithm and the local smoothing filters.
6,804 citations
TL;DR: Pore water profiles of total CO 2, pH, PO 3−4, NO − 3 plus NO − 2, SO 2− 4, S 2−, Fe 2+ and Mn 2+ have been obtained in cores from pelagic sediments of the eastern equatorial Atlantic under waters of moderate to high productivity as mentioned in this paper.
3,045 citations
TL;DR: The current status of the development of CO2 capture technology is discussed in this article, where a wide variety of separation techniques are being pursued, including gas phase separation, absorption into a liquid, and adsorption on a solid, as well as hybrid processes, such as adhesions/membrane systems.
2,058 citations