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Characterizing Tracer Transport Behavior in Two‐Phase Flow System: Implications for CO 2 Geosequestration
Author(s) -
Kim Minji,
Kim KueYoung,
Kim Chan Yeong,
Chae GiTak,
Han Weon Shik,
Park Eungyu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl089262
Subject(s) - tracer , plume , flow (mathematics) , homogeneous , scale (ratio) , phase (matter) , environmental science , materials science , chemistry , mechanics , thermodynamics , physics , nuclear physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Tracers are used to tag the injected carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) for verification of the storage performance and containment in geosequestration. Yet the characterization of the transport behavior of a chemical tracer in two‐phase flow system has not been fully investigated. We present experimental observations together with numerical results for both homogeneous and heterogeneous media from core scale to field scale. The key features of the breakthrough curves (BTCs) that include the tracer arrival time, peak concentration, and tailing pattern were examined. We identify distinct differences in BTCs depending on whether the formation was previously swept by CO 2 . When the tracer is released before CO 2 sweeps the formation, the tracer transports at the front of gas‐liquid interfaces with a narrow tracer plume distribution and the BTCs reflect the effect of local heterogeneity. Furthermore, a series of tracer pulse can be used to identify whether new pathways have been developed during CO 2 injection.