A Method for Evaluating the Suitability of CO2 Geological Storage in Deep Saline Aquifers

This work established an evaluation index system based on a comprehensive analysis of those factors affecting the suitability of CO2 geological storage.This evaluation index system includes three evaluation index layers of geological safety,storage scale and social economy,nine evaluation index sub-layers,and 28 evaluation index factors,and adopts the analytic hierarchy process（AHP）and index overlay methods.Taking the Xining Basin in northwest China as an example,we conducted comprehensive analysis of geological conditions and performed quantitative evaluation based on this evaluation index system,which indicates that the Shuangshu depression of the Xining Basin is comparatively suitable for CO2 geological storage.It is suggested that this evaluation index system and the evaluation method proposed in this study are suitable for most continental sedimentary basins in China and should be widely applied.

Effect of reactive surface area of minerals on mineralization trapping of CO_2 in saline aquifers

The reactive surface area, an important parameter controlling mineral reactions, affects the amount of mineralization trapping of CO2 which affects the long-term CO2 storage. The effect of the reactive surface area on the mineralization trapping of CO2 was numerically simulated for CO2 storage in saline aquifers. Three kinds of minerals, including anorthite, calcite and kaolinite, are involved in the mineral reactions. This paper models the relationship between the specific surface area and the grain diameter of anorthite based on experimental data from literature （Brantley and Mellott, 2000）. When the reactive surface areas of anorthite and calcite decrease from 838 to 83.8 m^2/m^3, the percentage of mineralization trapping of CO： after 500 years decreases from 11.8% to 0.65%. The amount of dissolved anorthite and the amounts of precipitated kaolinite and calcite decrease significantly when the reactive surface areas ofanorthite and calcite decrease from 838 to 83.8 m2/m3. Calcite is initially dissolved in the brine and then precipitates during the geochemical reactions between CO2-H20 and the minerals. Different reactive surface areas of anorthite and calcite lead to different times from dissolution to precipitation. The pH of the brine decreases with decreasing reactive surface areas of anorthite and calcite which influences the acidity of the saline aquifer. The gas saturation between the upper and lower parts of the saline aquifer increases with decreasing reactive surface areas of anorthite and calcite. The mass density distribution of brine solution shows that the CO2^＋brine solution region increases with decreasing reactive surface areas ofanorthite and calcite.

Numerical investigation of CO2 storage in hydrocarbon field using a geomechanical-fluid coupling model

Increasing pore pressure due to CO2 injection can lead to stress and strain changes of the reservoir.One of the safely standards for long term CO2 storage is whether stress and strain changes caused by CO2 injection will lead to irreversible mechanical damages of the reservoir and impact the integrity of caprock which could lead to CO2 leakage through previously sealing structures.Leakage from storage will compromise both the storage capacity and the perceived security of the project,therefore,a successful CO2 storage project requires large volumes of CO2 to be injected into storage site in a reliable and secure manner.Yougou hydrocarbon field located in Orods basin was chosen as storage site based on it's stable geological structure and low leakage risks.In this paper,we present a fluid pressure and stress-strain variations analysis for CO2 geological storage based on a geomechanical-fluid coupling model.Using nonlinear elasticity theory to describe the geomechanical part of the model,while using the Darcy's law to describe the fluid flow.Two parts are coupled together using the poroelasticity theory.The objectives of our work were:1)evaluation of the geomechanical response of the reservoir to different CO2 injection scenarios.2)assessment of the potential leakage risk of the reservoir caused by CO2 injection.

Pore-scale visualization on a depressurization-induced CO2 exsolution

The pore-scale behavior of the exsolved CO_2 phase during the depressurization process in CO_2 geological storage was investigated.The reservoir pressure decreases when the injection stops or when a leaking event or fluid extraction occurs.The exsolution characteristics of CO_2 affect the migration and fate of CO_2 in the storage site significantly.Here,a micromodel experimental system that can accommodate a large pressure variation provides a physical model with homogeneous porous media to dynamically visualize the nucleation and growth of exsolved CO_2 bubbles.The pressure decreased from 9.85 to 3.95 MPa at different temperatures and depressurization rates,and the behavior of CO_2 bubbles was recorded.At the pore-scale,the nuclei became observable when the CO_2 phase density was significantly reduced,and the pressure corresponding to this observation was slightly lower than that of the severe expansion pressure region.The lower temperature and faster depressurization rate produced more CO_2 nuclei.The exsolved CO_2 bubble preferentially grew into the pore body instead of the throat.The progress of smaller CO_2 bubbles merging into a larger CO_2 bubble was first captured,which validated the existence of the Ostwald ripening mechanism.The dispersed CO_2 phase after exsolution shows similarity with the residually trapped CO_2.This observation is consistent with the low mobility and high residual trapping ratio of exsolved CO_2 measured in the core-scale measurement,which is considered to be a self-sealing mechanism during depressurization process in CO_2 geological storage.