Experiment and Simulation Study of Hydrodynamic Dispersion and Finger Dynamics for Convective Dissolution of Carbon Dioxide

Abstract:

Carbon capture and storage in deep geological formations has the potential to reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions from industrial point sources. Dissolution of CO2 into the brine, resulting in stable stratification, has been identified as the key to long-term storage security. Here we present new analogue laboratory experiment method, advanced image processing method and optimized simulation method to characterize CO2 convective dissolution trapping process and gravitational finger behaviors, in order to study the effect of hydrodynamic dispersion on the CO2 convective dissolution process, as well as to study the effect of control physical parameters on the gravitational finger dynamics. Figure 1 shows the image processing method to analyze the finger dynamics. Understanding the effect of hydrodynamic dispersion and the finger dynamics are essential to evaluate whether convective dissolution occurs, as well as to predict how fast it occurs at the geological CO2 storage field scale. The effect of hydrodynamics dispersion and the finger dynamics can be applied to estimate the security of geological CO2 storage fields, in turn. Optimiezed simulation work is conducted to predict the CO2 dissolution rate at geological CO2 storage field.

The large experimental assembly will allow us to quantify in detail for the first time the relationship between convective dissolution rate and the controlling factors of the system, including permeability and driven force, which could be essential to trapping process at Bravo Dome geological CO2 storage field. We complement the homogeneous experiments with a detailed study of the scaling law of the convective flux with dispersion effect. The advanced image processing method with Fourier’s transform method allow us to understand the finger dynamics and corresponding control factors in porous media, for the first time. By applying the dispersion effect and finger dynamics we found from the experimental study, we optimize the simulation method of CO2 convective dissolution process, which will allow us have a better understanding of the convective dissolution trapping mechanism at natural geological CO2 scale.