Capillary trapping in a vertically heterogeneous porous layer

Hinton, Edward M.; Woods, Andrew W.

doi:10.1017/jfm.2020.972

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 37 publications

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“…To explore the fraction of the storage capacity accessible to the injection fluid, in principle we need to calculate the flow path of the from the injection wells, up through the formation to the point of accumulation below the seal. However, many formations are heterogeneous and involve internal baffles and regions of different permeability, leading to very tortuous pathways for the through the formation (Hesse & Woods 2010) and the formation of long wakes of residually trapped (Hesse, Orr & Tchelepi 2008; Hinton & Woods 2021). Furthermore, the geological strata often includes multiple continuous layers of permeable rock, separated by thin layers of low permeability mudstone, often with a capillary entry pressure for the .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A dynamic model of storage in layered anticlines

Mortimer,

Mingotti,

Woods

2024

J. Fluid Mech.

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We explore ${\rm CO}_2$ injection into a layered permeable rock consisting of high permeability reservoir layers, separated by low permeability mudstone, and taking the shape of an anticline within a laterally extensive aquifer. We first show how the storage capacity of the formation depends on the capillary entry pressure of the inter-layer mudstone, so that ${\rm CO}_2$ cannot flow from one layer into the next. We then consider a formation composed of two layers, overlain by a cap rock. For injection into the lowest layer, we show that the injection rate, capillary entry pressure and buoyancy driven flux through the mudstone determine whether the lower or upper layer fills to the spill point first. We also show that at the end of the injection phase, ${\rm CO}_2$ may continue to flow from the lower to the upper layer. This implies that injection should be stopped once the injected volume matches the static capacity of the formation in order to prevent spilling after injection. We present a series of analogue experiments of a two layered system that illustrate some of the principles described by the model, and assess the implications of the results for field scale systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A dynamic model of storage in layered anticlines

Mortimer,

Mingotti,

Woods

2024

J. Fluid Mech.

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Microbial growth within porous gravity currents

Hinton

2024

J. Fluid Mech.

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The effect of microbial activity on buoyancy-driven flow within a porous layer is analysed. The input fluid provides an energy source for the growth of biofilms on the porous rock. At each location within the porous layer, the porosity and permeability begin to decrease once the input fluid has invaded. This leads to an evolving rock heterogeneity that depends on the passing time of the input fluid. Hence, the evolution of the flow is partly controlled by its own history. We present an axisymmetric gravity current model, accounting for this effect. In general, a reduction in permeability leads to the flow having a lesser extent in the radial direction and greater thickness (extent in the cross-flow direction), whilst a reduction in porosity has negligible effect on the thickness but leads to a much greater radial extent. The flow is fastest near the free surface where the permeability is greatest. In the case where the porosity and permeability reduce as power-law functions of fluid residence time, the evolution of the flow and the rock properties are self-similar. Consumption of the input fluid by the microbes is also incorporated in the model and it generally leads to flows with lesser radial extent but little change in the thickness. The three impacts of microbial growth (volume loss owing to consumption and the reduction in permeability and porosity) each influence the flow in substantially different ways and the interplay is analysed. A motivation of the study, the underground storage of hydrogen, is briefly discussed.

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Enhanced carbon dioxide drainage observed in digital rock under intermediate wetting conditions

Azpiroz,

Giro,

Neumann Barros Ferreira

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Carbon dioxide (CO$$_2$$ 2 ) trapping in capillary networks of reservoir rocks is a pathway to long-term geological storage. At pore scale, CO$$_2$$ 2 drainage displacement depends on injection pressure, temperature, and the rock’s interaction with the surrounding fluids. Modeling this interaction requires adequate representations of both capillary volume and surface. For the lack of scalable representations, however, the prediction of a rock’s CO$$_2$$ 2 storage potential has been challenging. Here, we report how to represent a rock’s pore space by statistically sampled capillary networks (ssCN) that preserve morphological rock characteristics. We have used the ssCN method to simulate CO$$_2$$ 2 drainage within a representative sandstone sample at reservoir pressures and temperatures, exploring intermediate- and CO$$_2$$ 2 -wet conditions. This wetting regime is often neglected, despite evidence of plausibility. By raising pressure and temperature we observe increasing CO$$_2$$ 2 penetration within the capillary network. For contact angles approaching 90$$^\circ$$ ∘ , the CO$$_2$$ 2 saturation exhibits a pronounced maximum reaching 80$$\%$$ % of the accessible pore volume. This is about twice as high as the saturation values reported previously. For enabling validation of our results and a broader application of our methodology, we have made available the rock tomography data, the digital rock computational workflows, and the ssCN models used in this study.

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Capillary trapping in a vertically heterogeneous porous layer

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 3 publications

References 37 publications

A dynamic model of storage in layered anticlines

A dynamic model of storage in layered anticlines

Microbial growth within porous gravity currents

Enhanced carbon dioxide drainage observed in digital rock under intermediate wetting conditions

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