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 ...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.展开更多
CO_2 is now considered as a novel heat transmission fluid to extract geothermal energy. It can be used for both energy exploitation and CO_2 geological sequestration. Here, a 3-D, "two-spot" pattern well mod...CO_2 is now considered as a novel heat transmission fluid to extract geothermal energy. It can be used for both energy exploitation and CO_2 geological sequestration. Here, a 3-D, "two-spot" pattern well model is developed to analyze the mechanism of CO_2-water displacement and heat extraction. To obtain a deeper understanding of CO_2-geothermal system under some more realistic conditions, heterogeneity of reservoir's hydrological properties is taken into account. Due to the fortissimo mobility of CO_2, as long as the existence of highly permeable zone between the two wells, it is more likely to flow through the highly permeable zone to reach the production well, even though the flow path is longer. The preferential flow shortens circulation time and reduces heat-exchange area, probably leading to early thermal breakthrough, which makes the production fluid temperature decrease rapidly. The analyses of flow dynamics of CO_2-water fluid and heat may be useful for future design of a CO_2-based geothermal development system.展开更多
基金The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant Nos. 51374213 and 51674251）, the State Key Research Development Program of China （Grant No. 2016YFC0600705）, the National Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China （Grant No. 51125017）, the Fund for Innovative Research and Development Group Program of Jiangsu Province （Grant No. 2014- 27）, the Science Fund for Creative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant No. 51421003）, and the Priority Academic Program Development of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions （PAPD 2014）.
文摘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.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.41272254 and No.41572215)
文摘CO_2 is now considered as a novel heat transmission fluid to extract geothermal energy. It can be used for both energy exploitation and CO_2 geological sequestration. Here, a 3-D, "two-spot" pattern well model is developed to analyze the mechanism of CO_2-water displacement and heat extraction. To obtain a deeper understanding of CO_2-geothermal system under some more realistic conditions, heterogeneity of reservoir's hydrological properties is taken into account. Due to the fortissimo mobility of CO_2, as long as the existence of highly permeable zone between the two wells, it is more likely to flow through the highly permeable zone to reach the production well, even though the flow path is longer. The preferential flow shortens circulation time and reduces heat-exchange area, probably leading to early thermal breakthrough, which makes the production fluid temperature decrease rapidly. The analyses of flow dynamics of CO_2-water fluid and heat may be useful for future design of a CO_2-based geothermal development system.
