A Numerical Simulation Study of Temperature and Pressure Effects on the Breakthrough Pressure of CO_(2)in Unsaturated Low-permeability Rock Core

Gas breakthrough pressure is a key parameter to evaluate the sealing capacity of caprock,and it also plays important roles in safety and capacity of CO_(2)geological storage.Based on the published experimental results,we present numerical simulations on CO_(2)breakthrough pressure in unsaturated low-permeability rock under 9 multiple P-T conditions(which can keep CO_(2)in gaseous,liquid and supercritical states)and thus,a numerical method which can be used to accurately predict CO_(2)breakthrough pressure on rock-core scale is proposed.The simulation results show that CO_(2)breakthrough pressure and breakthrough time are exponential correlated with P-T conditions.Meanwhile,pressure has stronger effects on experimental results than that of temperature.Moreover,we performed sensitivity studies on the pore distribution indexλ(0.6,0.7,0.8,and 0.9)in van Genuchten-Muale model.Results show that with the increase ofλ,CO_(2)breakthrough pressure and breakthrough time both show decreasing trends.In other words,the larger the value ofλis,the better the permeability of the caprock is,and the worse the CO_(2)sealing capacity is.The numerical method established in this study can provide an important reference for the prediction of gas breakthrough pressure on rock-core scale and for related numerical studies.

Geothermal energy exploitation from depleted high-temperature gas reservoirs by recycling CO_(2): The superiority and existing problems

CO_(2) can be used as an alternative injectant to exploit geothermal energy from depleted high-temperature gas reservoirs due to its high mobility and unique thermal properties.However,there has been a lack of systematic analysis on the heat mining mechanism and performance of CO_(2),as well as the problems that may occur during geothermal energy exploitation at specific gas reservoir conditions.In this paper,a base numerical simulation model of a typical depleted high-temperature gas reservoir was established to simulate the geothermal energy exploitation processes via recycling CO_(2) and water,with a view to investigate whether and/or at which conditions CO_(2) is more suitable than water for geothermal energy exploitation.The problems that may occur during the CO_(2)-based geothermal energy exploitation were also analyzed along with proposed feasible solutions.The results indicate that,for a depleted low-permeability gas reservoir with dimensions of 1000 m×500 m×50 m and temperature of 150℃ using a single injection-production well group for 40 years of operation,the heat mining rate of CO_(2) can be up to 3.8 MW at a circulation flow rate of 18 kg s^(-1)due to its high mobility along with the flow path in the gas reservoir,while the heat mining rate of water is only about 2 MW due to limitations on the injectivity and mobility.The reservoir physical property and injection-production scheme have some effects on the heat mining rate,but CO_(2)always has better performance than water at most reservoir and operation conditions,even under a high water saturation.The main problems for CO_(2) circulation are wellbore corrosion and salt precipitation that can occur when the reservoir has high water saturation and high salinity,in which serious salt precipitation can reduce formation permeability and result in a decline of CO_(2) heat mining rate (e.g.up to 24%reduction).It is proposed to apply a low-salinity water slug before CO_(2)injection to reduce the damage caused by salt precipitation.For high-permeability gas reservoirs with high water saturation and high salinity,the superiority of CO_(2) as a heat transmission fluid becomes obscure and water injection is recommended.

Physiological characteristics,geochemical properties and hydrological variables influencing pathogen migration in subsurface system:What we know or not?

The global outbreak of coronavirus infectious disease-2019(COVID-19)draws attentions in the transport and spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)in aerosols,wastewater,surface water and solid wastes.As pathogens eventually enter the subsurface system,e.g.,soils in the vadose zone and groundwater in the aquifers,they might survive for a prolonged period of time owing to the uniqueness of subsurface environment.In addition,pathogens can transport in groundwater and contaminate surrounding drinking water sources,possessing long-term and concealed risks to human society.This work critically reviews the influential factors of pathogen migration,unravelling the impacts of pathogenic characteristics,vadose zone physiochemical properties and hydrological variables on the migration of typical pathogens in subsurface system.An assessment algorithm and two rating/weighting schemes are proposed to evaluate the migration abilities and risks of pathogens in subsurface environment.As there is still no evidence about the presence and distribution of SARS-CoV-2 in the vadose zones and aquifers,this study also discusses the migration potential and behavior of SARS-CoV-2 viruses in subsurface environment,offering prospective clues and suggestions for its potential risks in drinking water and effective prevention and control from hydrogeological points of view.

Adsorption of Basic Dyes Using Walnut Shell-based Biochar Produced by Hydrothermal Carbonization

Hydrothermal carbon（HC） was prepared from walnut shells, which are abundant in Northeastern China. The prepared HC was used as a precursor to produce mtric acid modified carbon（MC）. The hydrothermal carbonization included dehydration and decarboxylation processes wherein the hemicellulose was completely decomposed and the celhilose was partly decomposed, with some oxygen-containing functional groups being produced. The aromati- city, specific surface area and pore content of the HC increased, but its polarity decreased. With 6 mol/L nitric acid and a modification time of 15 min, the specific surface area and pore content decreased, but the proportion of oxy- gen-containing fimctional groups on the surface increased significantly, thereby improving the dye adsorption performance. The adsorption of methylene blue and malachite green was best desclibed by the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. The adsorption capacity of MC was determined to be much larger than that of HC.