Numerical Simulation of Sulfur Deposit with Particle Release

Sulfur deposition commonly occurs during the development of a high-sulfur gas reservoirs. Due to the high gas flow velocity near the wellbore, some of the deposited sulfur particles re-enter the pores and continue to migrate driven by the high-speed gas flow. The current mathematical model for sulfu...

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Main Authors: Zhongyi Xu, Shaohua Gu, Daqian Zeng, Bing Sun, Liang Xue
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-03-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/6/1522
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author Zhongyi Xu
Shaohua Gu
Daqian Zeng
Bing Sun
Liang Xue
author_facet Zhongyi Xu
Shaohua Gu
Daqian Zeng
Bing Sun
Liang Xue
author_sort Zhongyi Xu
collection DOAJ
description Sulfur deposition commonly occurs during the development of a high-sulfur gas reservoirs. Due to the high gas flow velocity near the wellbore, some of the deposited sulfur particles re-enter the pores and continue to migrate driven by the high-speed gas flow. The current mathematical model for sulfur deposition ignores the viscosity between particles, rising flow caused by turbulence, and the corresponding research on the release ratio of particles. In order to solve the above problems, firstly, the viscous force and rising force caused by turbulence disturbance are introduced, and the critical release velocity of sulfur particles is derived. Then, a release model of sulfur particles that consider the critical release velocity and release ratio is proposed by combining the probability theory with the hydrodynamics theory. Notably, based on the experimental data, the deposition ratio of sulfur particles and the damage coefficient in the sulfur damage model are determined. Finally, a comprehensive particle migration model considering the deposition and release of sulfur particles is established. The model is then applied to the actual gas wells with visible sulfur deposition that target the Da-wan gas reservoir, and the results show that the model correctly reflects flow transport during the process of sulfur deposition in porous media. In addition, through the numerical simulation experiments, it was found that considering the release of sulfur particles reduces the saturation of sulfur particles within a specific range around the well and improve the reservoir permeability in this range. From the perspective of gas production rate, the release of sulfur particles has a limited effect on the gas production rate, which is mainly due to the sulfur particle release being limited, having only a 5 m range near the wellbore area, and thus the amount of gas flow from the unaffected area is basically unchanged.
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spelling doaj.art-76e8abb6a6fc48c2a7750e0b5c6360132022-12-22T02:20:21ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732020-03-01136152210.3390/en13061522en13061522Numerical Simulation of Sulfur Deposit with Particle ReleaseZhongyi Xu0Shaohua Gu1Daqian Zeng2Bing Sun3Liang Xue4State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing 100083 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing 100083 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing 100083 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing 100083 ChinaState Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum - Beijing, Beijing 102249, ChinaSulfur deposition commonly occurs during the development of a high-sulfur gas reservoirs. Due to the high gas flow velocity near the wellbore, some of the deposited sulfur particles re-enter the pores and continue to migrate driven by the high-speed gas flow. The current mathematical model for sulfur deposition ignores the viscosity between particles, rising flow caused by turbulence, and the corresponding research on the release ratio of particles. In order to solve the above problems, firstly, the viscous force and rising force caused by turbulence disturbance are introduced, and the critical release velocity of sulfur particles is derived. Then, a release model of sulfur particles that consider the critical release velocity and release ratio is proposed by combining the probability theory with the hydrodynamics theory. Notably, based on the experimental data, the deposition ratio of sulfur particles and the damage coefficient in the sulfur damage model are determined. Finally, a comprehensive particle migration model considering the deposition and release of sulfur particles is established. The model is then applied to the actual gas wells with visible sulfur deposition that target the Da-wan gas reservoir, and the results show that the model correctly reflects flow transport during the process of sulfur deposition in porous media. In addition, through the numerical simulation experiments, it was found that considering the release of sulfur particles reduces the saturation of sulfur particles within a specific range around the well and improve the reservoir permeability in this range. From the perspective of gas production rate, the release of sulfur particles has a limited effect on the gas production rate, which is mainly due to the sulfur particle release being limited, having only a 5 m range near the wellbore area, and thus the amount of gas flow from the unaffected area is basically unchanged.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/6/1522acid gas reservoirsolid sulfur depositparticle releasereservoir numerical simulation
spellingShingle Zhongyi Xu
Shaohua Gu
Daqian Zeng
Bing Sun
Liang Xue
Numerical Simulation of Sulfur Deposit with Particle Release
Energies
acid gas reservoir
solid sulfur deposit
particle release
reservoir numerical simulation
title Numerical Simulation of Sulfur Deposit with Particle Release
title_full Numerical Simulation of Sulfur Deposit with Particle Release
title_fullStr Numerical Simulation of Sulfur Deposit with Particle Release
title_full_unstemmed Numerical Simulation of Sulfur Deposit with Particle Release
title_short Numerical Simulation of Sulfur Deposit with Particle Release
title_sort numerical simulation of sulfur deposit with particle release
topic acid gas reservoir
solid sulfur deposit
particle release
reservoir numerical simulation
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/6/1522
work_keys_str_mv AT zhongyixu numericalsimulationofsulfurdepositwithparticlerelease
AT shaohuagu numericalsimulationofsulfurdepositwithparticlerelease
AT daqianzeng numericalsimulationofsulfurdepositwithparticlerelease
AT bingsun numericalsimulationofsulfurdepositwithparticlerelease
AT liangxue numericalsimulationofsulfurdepositwithparticlerelease