The influence of heterogeneous structure on salt precipitation during CO2 geological storage

Abstract

The presence of rock heterogeneity and fractures may cause abrupt spatial changes in capillary action and flow characteristics, which eventually change the precipitation behavior during CO2 geological storage. Therefore, the salt precipitation mechanism of the heterogeneous structure needs to be studied. In this paper, the salt precipitation behavior in different heterogeneous structures was studied through pore-scale experiments at room temperature and atmospheric conditions. In the up-down heterogeneous structure, the salt precipitation has little effect on the injectivity regardless of the CO2 injection rate. When the CO2 injection rate is low, the salt tends to precipitate in situ in the small pore structure to form a crystal structure. When the CO2 injection rate is high, the salt tends to precipitate in the large pore structure to form a cluster structure. In the left-right heterogeneous structure, regardless of the CO2 injection rate, the precipitated salt is mainly in the cluster structure, and the salt is more dispersed in distribution, the impact on injectivity is small. The injection well can be selected in the formation with strong heterogeneity, to alleviate the blockage caused by salt precipitation. When CO2 leaks in the fractures, salt tends to grow until the fracture is plugged, which is of great significance for the self-healing of the fracture for the caprock.

Document Type: Original article

Cited as: He, D., Jiang, P., Xu, R. The influence of heterogeneous structure on salt precipitation during CO2 geological storage. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2023, 7(3): 189-198. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2023.03.05

References

Akindipe, D., Saraji, S., Piri, M. Salt precipitation during geological sequestration of supercritical CO2 in saline aquifers: A pore-scale experimental investigation. Advances in Water Resources, 2021, 155: 104011.

Bacci, G., Durucan, S., Korre, A. Experimental and numerical study of the effects of halite scaling on injectivity and seal performance during CO2 injection in saline aquifers. Energy Procedia, 2013, 37: 3275-3282.

Bacci, G., Korre, A., Durucan, S. Experimental investigation into salt precipitation during CO2 injection in saline aquifers. Energy Procedia, 2011, 4: 4450-4456.

Baumann, G., Henninges, J., De Lucia, M. Monitoring of saturation changes and salt precipitation during CO2 injection using pulsed neutron-gamma logging at the ketzin pilot site. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2014, 28: 134-146.

Bentham, M., Kirby, M. CO2 storage in saline aquifers. Oil and Gas Science and Technology, 2005, 60(3): 559-567.

Bergstad, M., Or, D., Withers, P. J., et al. Retracted: Evaporation dynamics and NaCl precipitation on capillarity-coupled heterogeneous porous surfaces. Water Resources Research, 2018, 54(6): 3876-3885.

Cai, J., Chen, Y., Liu, Y., et al. Capillary imbibition and flow of wetting liquid in irregular capillaries: A 100-year review. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 2022, 304: 102654.

Cai, J., Perfect, E., Cheng, C., et al. Generalized modeling of spontaneous imbibition based on hagen-poiseuille flow in tortuous capillaries with variably shaped apertures. Langmuir, 2014, 30(18): 5142-5151.

Cui, G., Hu, Z., Ning, F., et al. A review of salt precipitation during CO2 injection into saline aquifers and its potential impact on carbon sequestration projects in China. Fuel, 2023, 334: 126615.

De Yoreo, J. J., Vekilov, P. G. Principles of crystal nucleation and growth. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 2003, 54(1): 57-93.

Duong, C., Bower, C., Hume, K., et al. Quest carbon capture and storage offset project: Findings and learnings from 1st reporting period. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2019, 89: 65-75.

Grude, S., Landrø, M., Dvorkin, J. Pressure effects caused by CO2 injection in the Tubåen Fm., the Snøhvit field. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2014, 27: 178-187.

He, D., Jiang, P., Xu, R. Pore-scale experimental investigation of the supercritical CO2 injection rate and the surface wettability on salt precipitation. Environmental Science and Technology, 2019, 53(24): 14744-14751.

He, D., Xu, R., Ji, T., et al. Experimental investigation of the mechanism of salt precipitation in the fracture during CO2 geological sequestration. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2022, 118: 103693.

Hu, X., Wang, J., Zhang, L., et al. Direct visualization of nanoscale salt precipitation and dissolution dynamics during CO2 injection. Energies, 2022, 15(24): 9567.

Kim, M., Sell, A., Sinton, D. Aquifer-on-a-chip: Understanding pore-scale salt precipitation dynamics during CO2 sequestration. Lab on a Chip, 2013, 13(13): 2508-2518.

Li, R., Jiang, P., Gao, C., et al. Experimental investigation of silica-based nanofluid enhanced oil recovery: The effect of wettability alteration. Energy & Fuels, 2017, 31(1): 188-197.

Liu, N., Liu, L., Qu, X., et al. Genesis of authigene carbonate minerals in the upper cretaceous reservoir, honggang anticline, songliao basin: A natural analog for mineral trapping of natural CO2 storage. Sedimentary Geology, 2011, 237(3-4): 166-178.

Liu, H., Zhu, Z., Patrick, W., et al. Pore-scale numerical simulation of supercritical CO2 migration in porous and fractured media saturated with water. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2020, 4(4): 419-434.

Nooraiepour, M., Fazeli, H., Miri, R., et al. Effect of CO2 phase states and flow rate on salt precipitation in shale caprocks-a microfluidic study. Environmental Science and Technology, 2018, 52(10): 6050-6060.

Norouzi, A. M., Niasar, V., Gluyas, J. G., et al. Analytical solution for predicting salt precipitation during CO2 injection into saline aquifers in presence of capillary pressure. Water Resources Research, 2022, 58(6): 032612.

Ott, H., Roels, S. M., De Kloe, K. Salt precipitation due to supercritical gas injection: I. Capillary-driven flow in unimodal sandstone. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2015, 43: 247-255.

Piao, J., Han, W. S., Choung, S., et al. Dynamic behavior of CO2 in a wellbore and storage formation: Wellbore-coupled and salt-precipitation processes during geologic CO2 sequestration. Geofluids, 2018, 2018: 1789278.

Ren, J., Wang, Y., Feng, D., et al. CO2 migration and distribution in multiscale-heterogeneous deep saline aquifers. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2021, 5(3): 333-346.

Salih, H. H., Li, J., Kaplan, R., et al. Life cycle assessment of treatment and handling options for a highly saline brine extracted from a potential CO2 storage site. Water Research, 2017, 122: 419-430.

Shepherd, T. J., Rankin, A. H., Alderton, D. H. M. A Practical Guide to Fluid Inclusion Studies. New York, USA, Blackie Chapman and Hall, 1985.

Tang, Y., Yang, R., Du, Z., et al. Experimental study of formation damage caused by complete water vaporization and salt precipitation in sandstone reservoirs. Transport in Porous Media, 2015, 107: 205-218.

Vialle, S., Druhan, J. L., Maher, K. Multi-phase flow simulation of CO2 leakage through a fractured caprock in response to mitigation strategies. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2016, 44: 11-25.

Wang, Y., Luce, T., Ishizawa, C., et al. Halite precipitation and permeability assessment during supercritical CO2 core flood. Paper SCA2010-18 Presented at International Symposium of the Society of Core Analysts, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 4-7 October, 2010.

Wang, Y., Mackie, E., Rohan, J., et al. Experimental study on halite precipitation during CO2 sequestration. Paper SCA2009-25 Presented at International Symposium of the Society of Core Analysts, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 27-30 September, 2009.

Xu, R., Li, R., Huang, F., et al. Pore-scale visualization on a depressurization-induced CO2 exsolution. Science Bulletin, 2017, 62(11): 795-803.

Yang, F., Bai, B., Dunn-Norman, S., et al. Factors affecting CO2 storage capacity and efficiency with water withdrawal in shallow saline aquifers. Environmental Earth Sciences, 2014, 71: 267-275.