Simulation and visualization of the displacement between CO2 and formation fluids at pore-scale levels and its application to the recovery of shale gas

This article reports recent developments and advances in the simulation of the CO2-formation fluid displacement behaviour at the pore scale of subsurface porous media. Roughly, there are three effective visualization approaches to detect and observe the CO2-formation fluid displacement mechanism at the micro-scale, namely, magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray computed tomography and fabricated micromodels, but they are not capable of investigating the dis- placement process at the nano-scale. Though a lab-on-chip approach for the direct visualization of the fluid flow behaviour in nanoscale channels has been developed using an advanced epi-fluorescence microscopy method combined with a nanofluidic chip, it is still a qualitative analysis method. The lattice Boltzmann method （LBM） can simulate the CO2 displacement processes in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional （3D） pore structure, but until now, the CO2 displace- ment mechanisms had not been thoroughly investigated and the 3D pore structure of real rock had not been directly taken into account in the simulation of the CO2 displacement process. The status of research on the applications of CO2 displacement to enhance shale gas recovery is also analyzed in this paper. The coupling of molecular dynamics and LBM in tandem is proposed to simulate the CO2-shale gas displacement process based on the 3D digital model of shale obtained from focused ion beams and scanning electron microscopy.

The potential role of fluids during regional granulitefacies dehydration in the lower crust

High-grade dehydration of amphibolite-facies rocks to granulite-facies is a process that can involve partial melting, fluid-aided solid-state dehydration, or varying degrees of both. On the localized meter scale, solid-state dehydration, due to CO：-rich fluids traveling along some fissure or crack and subsequently outwards along the mineral grain boundaries of the surrounding rock, normally is the means by which the breakdown of biotite and amphibole to orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene occur. Various mineral textures and changes in mineral chemistry seen in these rocks are also seen in more regional orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-bearing rocks which, along with accompanying amphibolite-facies rocks, form traverses of lower crust. This suggests that solid-state dehydration during high-grade metamorphism could occur on a more regional scale. The more prominent of these fluid-induced textures in the granulite- facies portion of the traverse take the form of micro-veins of K-feldspar along quartz grain boundaries and the formation of monazite inclusions in fluorapatite. The fluids believed responsible take the form of concentrated NaCl- and KCl- brines from a basement ultramafic magma heat source traveling upwards along grain boundaries. Additional experimental work involving CaSO4 dissolution in NaCl-brines, coupled with natural observation of oxide and sulfide mineral associations in granulite-facies rocks, have demonstrated the possibility that NaCl-brines, with a CaSO4 component, could impose the oxygen fugacity on these rocks as opposed to the oxygen fugacity being inherent in their protoliths. These results, taken together, lend credence to the idea that regional chemical modification of the lower crust is an evolutionary process controlled by fluids migrating upwards from the lithospheric mantle along grain boundaries into and through the lower crust where they both modify the rock and are modified by it.Their presence allows for rapid mass and heat transport and subsequent mineral genesis and mineral re- equilibration in the rocks through which they pass.

Experimental and petrological constraints on local-scale interaction of biotite-amphibole gneiss with H_2O-CO_2-(K,Na) Cl fluids at middle-crustal conditions:Example from the Limpopo Complex,South Africa

Reaction textures and fluid inclusions in the -2.0 Ga pyroxene-bearing dehydration zones within the Sand River biotite-hornblende orthogneisses （Central Zone of the Limpopo Complex） suggest that the formation of these zones is a result of close interplay between dehydration process along ductile shear zones triggered by H2O-CO2-salt fluids at 750--800 ℃ and 5.5--6.2 kbar, partial melting, and later exsolution of residual brine and H2O-CO2 fluids during melt crystallization at 650--700 ℃. These processes caused local variations of water and alkali activity in the fluids, resulting in various mineral assemblages within the dehydration zone. The petrological observations are substantiated by experiments on the interaction of the Sand River gneiss with the H2O-CO2-（K, Na）Cl fluids at 750 and 800 ℃ and 5.5 kbar. It follows that the interaction of biotite-amphibole gneiss with H2O-CO2-（K, Na）CI fluids is accompanied by partial melting at 750--800 ℃. Orthopyroxene-bearing assemblages are characteristic for temperature 800 ℃ and are stable in equilibrium with fluids with low salt concentrations, while salt-rich fluids produce clinopyroxene-bearing assemblages. These observations are in good agreement with the petrological data on the dehydration zones within the Sand River olthogneisses.

Experimental Study on Water-rock Reactions with CO2 Fluid in a Deep Sandstone Formation under High Temperature and Pressure

Qiongdongnan Basin has a tectonic geological background of high temperature and high pressure in a deep reservoir setting,with mantle-derived CO2.A water-rock reaction device was used under high temperature and high pressure conditions,in conjunction with scanning electron microscope(SEM)observations,to carry out an experimental study of the diagenetic reaction between sandstone at depth and CO2-rich fluid,which is of great significance for revealing the dissolution of deep clastic rock reservoirs and the developmental mechanism of secondary pores,promoting deep oil and gas exploration.In this study,the experimental scheme of the water-rock reaction system was designed according to the parameters of the diagenetic background of the deep sandstone reservoir in the Qiongdongnan Basin.Three groups of single mineral samples were prepared in this experiment,including K-feldspar samples,albite samples and calcite samples.Using CO2 as a reaction solution,a series of diagenetic reaction simulation experiments were carried out in a semi-closed high temperature and high pressure simulation system.A field emission scanning electron microscope(SEM)was used to observe the microscopic appearance of the mineral samples after the water-rock reaction,the characteristics of dissolution under high temperature and high pressure,as well as the development of secondary pores.The experimental results showed that the CO2-rich fluid has an obvious dissolution effect on K-feldspar,albite and calcite under high temperature and high pressure.For the three minerals,the main temperature and pressure window for dissolution ranged from 150℃to 300℃and 45 MPa to 60 MPa.Scanning electron microscope observations revealed that the dissolution effect of K-feldspar is most obvious under conditions of 150℃and 45 MPa,in contrast to conditions of200℃and 50 MPa for albite and calcite.Through the comparative analysis of experimental conditions and procedures,a coupling effect occurred between the temperature and pressure change and the dissolution strength and calcite.Under high temperature and high pressure,pressure changed the solubility of CO2,furthermore,the dissolution effect and strength of the sandstone components were also affected.The experiment revealed that high temperature and high pressure conditions with CO2-rich fluid has a significant dissolution effect on aluminosilicate minerals and is conducive to the formation of secondary pores and effective reservoirs.Going forward with the above understanding has important implications for the promotion of deep oil and gas exploration.

Science Letters:Discovery of ultrahigh-T spinel-garnet granulite with pure CO_2 fluid inclusions from the Altay erogenic belt, NW China

We first report discovery of the spinel-garnet-orthopyroxene granulite with pure CO2 fluid inclusions from the Fuyun region of the late Paleozoic Altay orogenic belt in Central Asia, NW China. The rock is characterized by an assemblage of garnet, orthopyroxene, spinel, cordierite, biotite, plagioclase and quartz. Symplectites of orthopyroxene and spinel, and orthopyroxene and cordierite indicate decompression under UHT conditions. Mineral chemistry shows that the or-thopyroxenes have high XMg and A12O3 contents (up to 9.23 wt%). Biotites are enriched in TiO2 and XMg and are stable under granulite facies conditions. The garnet and quartz from the rock carry monophase fluid inclusions which show peak melting temperatures of around -56.7℃, indicating a pure CO2 species being presented during the ultrahigh-T metamorphism in the Altay orogenic belt. The inclusions homogenize into a liquid phase at temperatures around 15.3-23.8℃ translating into CO2 densities of the order of 0.86-0.88 g/cm3. Based on preliminary mineral paragenesis, reaction textures and petrogenetic grid considerations, we infer that the rock was subjected to UHT conditions. The CO2-rich fluids were trapped during exhumation along a clockwise P-T path following isothermal decompression under UHT conditions.

Relationship between CO_2-bearing fluid and gold mineralization in Haigou gold deposit of Jilin

Haigou gold deposit is a typical orogenic gold deposit. There are a reasonable amount of fluid inclusions in the gold deposit,including three types: CO2-H2O-Na Cl inclusions,pure CO2 inclusions and Na Cl-H2 O inclusions,of which most of them are CO2-bearing inclusions. The fluid salinity is 1. 43%- 9. 08%,mainly concentrated in the range of 4. 69%- 5. 41%,the density of CO2 is 0. 69- 0. 80 g / cm3,indicating that the mineralization fluid is low-medium salinity and low density fluid. A series of studies on gold-bearing quartz vein and fluid inclusions show that there exists a positive correlation between the degree of the gold mi-neralization and the amount of CO2 in the inclusions,which means the more CO2-bearing inclusions there are,the higher the content of gold is. CO2 is mainly derived from mantle fluid,and the ore-forming fluid should be derived from mantle fluid and the crust shallow fluid. The conclusions have important denotative meaning on the metallogenic mechanism of orogenic gold deposit and the deep prospecting on metal deposit.

Process of Microcellular Propellants with Adjustable Skin Thickness

Microcellular propellants show a vast applicable prospect due to their special shell-pore structure. The effects of saturation pressure and desorption time on skin thickness are studied. The skin thickness is observed and measured using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that the skin thickness decreases when saturation pressure increases from 15 MPa to 30 MPa. In contrast, the skin thickness increases as the desorption time changes from 2 min to 20 min.Therefore, the microcellular propellants with adjustable skin thickness can be obtained under the variable process conditions such as saturation pressure and desorption time.

A supercritical CO_2 fluid technique for the preparation and evaluation of rhBMP-2-loaded PLLA microspheres

Introduction The use of supercritical fluids such as supercritical CO2（scCO2） has provided a ’clean’ and effective alternative to traditional methods of protein delivery systems.Here。

Analysis of Fragrance Composition in Three Cultivars of Osmanthus fragrans Albus Group Flower by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

With supercritical CO2 fluid extraction（SCFE）, essential oil was extracted from three cultivars of Xianning osmanthus. The fresh osmanthus flower was processed with a petroleum ether digestion method to produce the extractum. The yields of essential oil and extractum were 0.19 % and 0.13 % （m/m） respectively. The essential oil and fragrance composition and content extracted were analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometer （GC-MS）. The result showed that essential oil contained 36.99%（area/total area） of ionone, ionol and 13.11% of linalool; ionone and ionol contained in extractum were as high as up to 33.33%, while linalool up to 21.92%. Whether essential oil or extractum contains only about 40% fat acid and other ester matters. None of environmental estrogen （phthalic ester） was found in fragrance ingredients. The result also showed that the quality of O. fragrans Albus group fragrance in Xianning is better than that produced in Hangzhou and Anhui districts.