Open AccessCO{sub 2} Geologic Storage: Coupled Hydro-Chemo-Thermo-Mechanical Phenomena - From Pore-scale Processes to Macroscale Implications -
Author(s) -
J. Carlos Santamarina
Publication year - 2013
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/1110800
Subject(s) - dissolution , oil shale , advection , environmental science , pore water pressure , carbon capture and storage (timeline) , petroleum engineering , mineralogy , materials science , geology , geotechnical engineering , chemical engineering , thermodynamics , climate change , engineering , paleontology , oceanography , physics
Global energy consumption will increase in the next decades and it is expected to largely rely on fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels is intimately related to CO{sub 2} emissions and the potential for global warming. Geological CO{sub 2} storage aims to mitigate the global warming problem by sequestering CO{sub 2} underground. Coupled hydro-chemo-mechanical phenomena determine the successful operation and long term stability of CO{sub 2} geological storage. This research explores coupled phenomena, identifies different zones in the storage reservoir, and investigates their implications in CO{sub 2} geological storage. In particular, the research: Explores spatial patterns in mineral dissolution and precipitation (comprehensive mass balance formulation); experimentally determines the interfacial properties of water, mineral, and CO{sub 2} systems (including CO{sub 2}-water-surfactant mixtures to reduce the CO{sub 2}- water interfacial tension in view of enhanced sweep efficiency); analyzes the interaction between clay particles and CO{sub 2}, and the response of sediment layers to the presence of CO{sub 2} using specially designed experimental setups and complementary analyses; couples advective and diffusive mass transport of species, together with mineral dissolution to explore pore changes during advection of CO{sub 2}-dissolved water along a rock fracture; upscales results to a porous medium using pore network simulations; measures CO{sub 2} breakthrough in highly compacted fine-grained sediments, shale and cement specimens; explores sealing strategies; and experimentally measures CO{sub 2}-CH{sub 4} replacement in hydrate-bearing sediments during. Analytical, experimental and numerical results obtained in this study can be used to identify optimal CO{sub 2} injection and reservoir-healing strategies to maximize the efficiency of CO{sub 2} injection and to attain long-term storage