CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow
Injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into geological formations is widely regarded as a promising tool for reducing global atmospheric CO2 emissions. To evaluate injection scenarios, estimate reservoir capacity and assess leakage risks, an accurate understanding of the subsurface spreading and migratio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Cambridge University Press
2011
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/66554 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7370-2332 |
| _version_ | 1826195505241128960 |
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| author | MacMinn, Christopher W. Szulczewski, Michael Lawrence Juanes, Ruben |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering MacMinn, Christopher W. Szulczewski, Michael Lawrence Juanes, Ruben |
| author_sort | MacMinn, Christopher W. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into geological formations is widely regarded as a promising tool for reducing global atmospheric CO2 emissions. To evaluate injection scenarios, estimate reservoir capacity and assess leakage risks, an accurate understanding of the subsurface spreading and migration of the plume of mobile CO2 is essential. Here, we present a complete solution to a theoretical model for the subsurface migration of a plume of CO2 due to natural groundwater flow and aquifer slope, and subject to residual trapping. The results show that the interplay of these effects leads to non-trivial behaviour in terms of trapping efficiency. The analytical nature of the solution offers insight into the physics of CO2 migration, and allows for rapid, basin-specific capacity estimation. We use the solution to explore the parameter space via the storage efficiency, a macroscopic measure of plume migration. In a future study, we shall incorporate CO2 dissolution into the migration model and study the importance of dissolution relative to capillary trapping and the impact of dissolution on the storage efficiency. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:13:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/66554 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:13:42Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/665542022-09-26T16:36:16Z CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow MacMinn, Christopher W. Szulczewski, Michael Lawrence Juanes, Ruben Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Juanes, Ruben Juanes, Ruben MacMinn, Christopher W. Szulczewski, Michael Lawrence Injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into geological formations is widely regarded as a promising tool for reducing global atmospheric CO2 emissions. To evaluate injection scenarios, estimate reservoir capacity and assess leakage risks, an accurate understanding of the subsurface spreading and migration of the plume of mobile CO2 is essential. Here, we present a complete solution to a theoretical model for the subsurface migration of a plume of CO2 due to natural groundwater flow and aquifer slope, and subject to residual trapping. The results show that the interplay of these effects leads to non-trivial behaviour in terms of trapping efficiency. The analytical nature of the solution offers insight into the physics of CO2 migration, and allows for rapid, basin-specific capacity estimation. We use the solution to explore the parameter space via the storage efficiency, a macroscopic measure of plume migration. In a future study, we shall incorporate CO2 dissolution into the migration model and study the importance of dissolution relative to capillary trapping and the impact of dissolution on the storage efficiency. Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO Chair in Energy Studies) Reed Research Fund United States. Dept. of Energy (grant DE-FE0002041) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Martin Family Society of Fellows for Sustainability) 2011-10-24T16:49:25Z 2011-10-24T16:49:25Z 2010-11 2010-06 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0022-1120 1469-7645 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/66554 Macminn, C. W., M. L. Szulczewski, and R. Juanes. “CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow.” Journal of Fluid Mechanics 662 (2010): 329-351. © Cambridge University Press 2010. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7370-2332 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022112010003319 Journal of Fluid Mechanics Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf Cambridge University Press MIT web domain |
| spellingShingle | MacMinn, Christopher W. Szulczewski, Michael Lawrence Juanes, Ruben CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow |
| title | CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow |
| title_full | CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow |
| title_fullStr | CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow |
| title_full_unstemmed | CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow |
| title_short | CO2 migration in saline aquifers. Part 1. Capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow |
| title_sort | co2 migration in saline aquifers part 1 capillary trapping under slope and groundwater flow |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/66554 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7370-2332 |
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