Numerical and Stochastic Interpretation of CO2-Brine Primary Displacement
Research output: Thesis › Doctoral Thesis
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2024.
Research output: Thesis › Doctoral Thesis
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TY - BOOK
T1 - Numerical and Stochastic Interpretation of CO2-Brine Primary Displacement
AU - Amrollahinasab Mahdiabad, Omidreza
N1 - embargoed until 15-02-2025
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - The burning of fossil fuels leads to an increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and consequently to global climate change. Despite the shift towards renewable energy, the dominant role of fossil fuels in global energy consumption necessitates solutions like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS involves capturing CO2 from large emission sources and storing it deep underground, where CO2 displaces native fluids, such as brine. The efficiency of this displacement process is influenced by various geological and physical factors. Understanding and optimizing these factors is crucial. This work provides a comprehensive investigation of CO2 brine displacement in porous rock, using both experimental and numerical methods. The experimental data are analyzed more rigorously than in previous studies, leading to a robust stochastic description of the two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media. Additionally, numerical experiments were conducted to investigate the displacement stability, providing a new and unexpected scaling for viscous instabilities. Thus, this work provides a comprehensive and solid basis for risk analysis of CO2 plume migration in CCS processes. The migration of the CO2 plume and the efficiency of CO2 displacement are primarily determined by multiphase flow parameters, namely relative permeability, and capillary pressure saturation functions, which are usually derived experimentally. In the frame of this work, the underlying numerical data analysis was developed based on the solid foundation of a combined stochastic interpretation of complementary experimental data sets. In the developed approach, data from different experimental methods (Special Core Analysis - SCAL) are analyzed simultaneously, and their uncertainty is rigorously determined by state-of-the-art stochastic methods. The resulting uncertainty intervals of the saturation functions refer to the intrinsic uncertainty of SCAL experiments, however, not to variations in rock properties. By interpreting and combining experiments derived from various methods and on various samples, the analyses provide a certain access to the heterogeneity of the rock formation. To underscore the impact of rock heterogeneity on CO2 migration, the approach was lifted to a larger length scale at which rock heterogeneity cannot be ignored anymore. Traditional SCAL methodologies typically do not account for heterogeneity, leading to discrepancies in measurements and field observations in terms of multiphase-flow saturation functions. Heterogeneity is vital for understanding the dynamics of plume migration and is explored in depth in this thesis. The thesis introduces an upscaling workflow that combines SCAL interpretations with continuum-scale experiments, emphasizing the need for rigorous upscaling procedures for CO2 storage in heterogeneous formations, such as carbonates.Plume migration in heterogeneous formations is particularly affected when the mobility of the displacing fluid is higher than that of the displaced fluid. In this situation, viscous instabilities are to be expected, which can enhance fluid bypassing (sweep efficiency) in heterogeneous rock, depending on the characteristic length scale of the perturbation versus the finger width of the unstable front. This research challenges and extends existing theories on viscous fingering and its relation to interfacial tension and formation permeability. It further elucidates the findings from Darcy-scale numerical simulations that reveal finger wavelengths ranging from tens to a hundred meters under. Such a scale contrasts sharply with traditional predictions based on the Saffman & Taylor model, which significantly underpredicts the wavelengths. This insight is crucial for accurately predicting plume migration in CCS projects, as it accounts for the substantial deviation from expected behavior based on conventional models. The findings offer a novel perspective on the complexities of viscous-unstable displacement, challenging existing theories and providing a more accurate framework for understanding and predicting CO2 plume migration in CCS scenarios.This thesis substantially advances our understanding of CO2 plume migration, addressing critical aspects of CO2-brine displacement, uncertainties in ideal homogeneous and stabilized systems, and the effects of laboratory-scale heterogeneity and viscous instability. By rigorously investigating the scaling of finger wavelengths and their implications, this work reveals the significant impact of viscous-unstable displacement on plume migration, reshaping our approach to CCS modeling and implementation. The research's holistic examination, spanning from traditional measurements to advanced numerical methodologies, elevates the field's understanding of geological CO2 storage, paving the way for more informed and effective carbon sequestration strategies and the associated risk assessment.
AB - The burning of fossil fuels leads to an increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and consequently to global climate change. Despite the shift towards renewable energy, the dominant role of fossil fuels in global energy consumption necessitates solutions like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS involves capturing CO2 from large emission sources and storing it deep underground, where CO2 displaces native fluids, such as brine. The efficiency of this displacement process is influenced by various geological and physical factors. Understanding and optimizing these factors is crucial. This work provides a comprehensive investigation of CO2 brine displacement in porous rock, using both experimental and numerical methods. The experimental data are analyzed more rigorously than in previous studies, leading to a robust stochastic description of the two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media. Additionally, numerical experiments were conducted to investigate the displacement stability, providing a new and unexpected scaling for viscous instabilities. Thus, this work provides a comprehensive and solid basis for risk analysis of CO2 plume migration in CCS processes. The migration of the CO2 plume and the efficiency of CO2 displacement are primarily determined by multiphase flow parameters, namely relative permeability, and capillary pressure saturation functions, which are usually derived experimentally. In the frame of this work, the underlying numerical data analysis was developed based on the solid foundation of a combined stochastic interpretation of complementary experimental data sets. In the developed approach, data from different experimental methods (Special Core Analysis - SCAL) are analyzed simultaneously, and their uncertainty is rigorously determined by state-of-the-art stochastic methods. The resulting uncertainty intervals of the saturation functions refer to the intrinsic uncertainty of SCAL experiments, however, not to variations in rock properties. By interpreting and combining experiments derived from various methods and on various samples, the analyses provide a certain access to the heterogeneity of the rock formation. To underscore the impact of rock heterogeneity on CO2 migration, the approach was lifted to a larger length scale at which rock heterogeneity cannot be ignored anymore. Traditional SCAL methodologies typically do not account for heterogeneity, leading to discrepancies in measurements and field observations in terms of multiphase-flow saturation functions. Heterogeneity is vital for understanding the dynamics of plume migration and is explored in depth in this thesis. The thesis introduces an upscaling workflow that combines SCAL interpretations with continuum-scale experiments, emphasizing the need for rigorous upscaling procedures for CO2 storage in heterogeneous formations, such as carbonates.Plume migration in heterogeneous formations is particularly affected when the mobility of the displacing fluid is higher than that of the displaced fluid. In this situation, viscous instabilities are to be expected, which can enhance fluid bypassing (sweep efficiency) in heterogeneous rock, depending on the characteristic length scale of the perturbation versus the finger width of the unstable front. This research challenges and extends existing theories on viscous fingering and its relation to interfacial tension and formation permeability. It further elucidates the findings from Darcy-scale numerical simulations that reveal finger wavelengths ranging from tens to a hundred meters under. Such a scale contrasts sharply with traditional predictions based on the Saffman & Taylor model, which significantly underpredicts the wavelengths. This insight is crucial for accurately predicting plume migration in CCS projects, as it accounts for the substantial deviation from expected behavior based on conventional models. The findings offer a novel perspective on the complexities of viscous-unstable displacement, challenging existing theories and providing a more accurate framework for understanding and predicting CO2 plume migration in CCS scenarios.This thesis substantially advances our understanding of CO2 plume migration, addressing critical aspects of CO2-brine displacement, uncertainties in ideal homogeneous and stabilized systems, and the effects of laboratory-scale heterogeneity and viscous instability. By rigorously investigating the scaling of finger wavelengths and their implications, this work reveals the significant impact of viscous-unstable displacement on plume migration, reshaping our approach to CCS modeling and implementation. The research's holistic examination, spanning from traditional measurements to advanced numerical methodologies, elevates the field's understanding of geological CO2 storage, paving the way for more informed and effective carbon sequestration strategies and the associated risk assessment.
KW - Kohlendioxid (CO2)
KW - globaler Klimawandel
KW - erneuerbare Energien
KW - Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
KW - Emissionsquellen
KW - unterirdische Speicherung
KW - CO2-Wasser-Verdrängung
KW - poröses Gestein
KW - experimentelle Methoden
KW - numerische Methoden
KW - Zweiphasenströmung
KW - heterogene poröse Medien
KW - viskose Instabilitäten
KW - CO2-Migration
KW - Risikoanalyse
KW - Mehrphasenströmungsparameter
KW - relative Fluidphasen Permeabilität
KW - Kapillardruck-Sättigungsfunktionen
KW - Spezialkernanalyse (SCAL)
KW - stochastische Methoden
KW - Gesteinsheterogenität
KW - Upscaling-Workflow
KW - großskalige Experimente
KW - Karbonatformationen
KW - viskoses Fingering
KW - Sweep-Effizienz
KW - Saffman & Taylor-Modell
KW - Darcy-Skala Simulationen
KW - CO2-Sole-Verdrängung
KW - Labormaßstab-Heterogenität
KW - viskose Instabilität
KW - CCS-Modellierung
KW - Kohlenstoffabscheidungsstrategien
KW - geologische CO2-Speicherung.
KW - carbon dioxide
KW - global climate change
KW - renewable energy
KW - Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
KW - CO2 emission sources
KW - underground storage
KW - CO2 brine displacement
KW - porous rock
KW - experimental methods
KW - numerical methods
KW - two-phase flow
KW - heterogeneous porous media
KW - viscous instabilities
KW - CO2 plume migration
KW - risk analysis
KW - multiphase flow parameters
KW - relative permeability
KW - capillary pressure saturation functions
KW - Special Core Analysis (SCAL)
KW - stochastic methods
KW - rock heterogeneity
KW - upscaling workflow
KW - continuum-scale experiments
KW - carbonate formations
KW - viscous fingering
KW - sweep efficiency
KW - Saffman & Taylor model
KW - Darcy-scale simulations
KW - CO2-brine displacement
KW - laboratory-scale heterogeneity
KW - viscous instability
KW - CCS modeling
KW - carbon sequestration strategies
KW - geological CO2 storage.
U2 - 10.34901/mul.pub.2024.138
DO - 10.34901/mul.pub.2024.138
M3 - Doctoral Thesis
ER -