CO2 streams containing associated components—A review of the thermodynamic and geochemical properties and assessment of some reactive transport codes

AbstractModelling of the impact on storage of “ CO2-associated components” has rarely been addressed so far. This review, performed within the European research project CO2ReMoVe, exposes a selection of CO2 streams compositions coming from thermal power plants emissions and those injected in pilot sites part of the CO2ReMoVe project. It highlights the lack of data coming from laboratory experiments to describe properly the physical properties of some relevant gas mixtures. The geochemical impact of only 2 components (SO2 and H2S) is evidenced by some geochemical studies. Concerning the numerical modelling, four reactive transport codes (PHREEQC, SCALE2000, TOUGHREACT and COORES) were assessed. Actual limitations lie mainly in the capacity of calculating the physical properties of the whole set of gases (CO2–O2–SO2–N2–Ar–NOx–H2S–COS–CO–H2–HCl–NH3–CH4–C2H6–H2O). The new data acquired within on-going French projects will complete the knowledge of such complex gas mixtures behaviour

Effect of Geological Heterogeneities on Reservoir Storage Capacity and migration of CO 2 Plume in a Deep Saline Fractured Carbonate Aquifer

In a reservoir characterization study of the Hontomín deep saline aquifer, the impact of geological heterogeneities on reservoir storage capacity and the migration of the CO2 plume is explored. This work presents, for the first time, very long-term (up to 200 years) simulations of CO2 injection into the naturally fractured Sopeña Formation, of the lower Jurassic age, at Hontomín. CO2 injection was simulated as a dual permeability case with Eclipse compositional software. The matrix permeability of the carbonate reservoir is quite low (0.5 mD) and thus fluid flow through the fractures dominates. The reservoir is dissected by eight normal faults which limited its southeast extension and divided it into several segments. The effect of geological heterogeneities was tested through scenario-based modeling and variation of parameters characterizing heterogeneity within realistic limits based on other similar formations. This modeling approach worked well in Hontomín where the database is completely scarce. The plume migration, the reservoir storage capacity, and pressure, were each influenced in diverse ways by incorporating particular types of heterogeneities. The effect of matrix heterogeneities on reservoir storage capacity was substantial (by factors up to ~2.8×), compared to the plume migration. As the reservoir matrix permeability heterogeneity increased, the reservoir storage capacity markedly decreased, whilst an increase in porosity heterogeneity significantly increased it. The vertical gas migration in the homogeneous base case was relatively larger compared to the heterogeneous cases, and gas accumulated underneath the caprock via hydrodynamic trapping. It was also observed that, in heterogeneous cases, gas saturation in rock layers from top to bottom was relatively high compared to the base case, for which most of the gas was stored in the topmost layer. In contrast, the impact on storage capacity and plume movement of matrix vertical to horizontal permeability ratio in the fractured carbonate reservoir was small. The impact of the transmissibility of faults on reservoir pressure was only observed when the CO2 plume reached their vicinity

Integrative Modeling of Caprock Integrity in the Context of CO2 Storage: Evolution of Transport and Geochemical Properties and Impact on Performance and Safety Assessment Modélisation intégrée de l’intégrité des roches de couverture dans le contexte du stockage du CO2 : évolution des propriétés de transport et impact sur les performances et la sûreté du stockage

The objective of the “Géocarbone-Intégrité” project (2005-2008) was to develop a methodology to assess the integrity of the caprock involved in the geological storage of CO2. A specific work package of the project (WP5) was dedicated to the integration of (1) the phenomenology describing the evolution of the storage system with a focus on the mechanisms occurring in the caprock and at the interface with the caprock, and (2) the data obtained from the investigation of petrographical, geomechanical, and geochemical properties, before and after reaction with CO2-rich solutions, performed in the other work packages (WP1 to WP4). This knowledge was introduced in numerical models and specific safety scenarios were defined in order to assess the performance of the CO2 storage system. The results of the modeling show that the injection of CO2 can potentially have a significant effect on the caprock by changing the porosity due to the dissolution and precipitation of minerals, but that the impact is limited to a zone from several decimeters to several meters of the caprock close to the interface with the reservoir depending on whether the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) plume enters into the caprock and if fractures are present at this location. The methodology used in this project can be applied to a pilot site for the injection of CO2 in the Paris Basin. A key aspect of the safety of such a facility will be to look at the coupling of geochemical alteration and the evolution of geomechanical properties in the short and medium terms (several hundreds of years). The challenge for the future will be to structure and apply the safety assessment methodology with an operational finality, in order to support the robustness of the transition step to CGS projects at the industrial scale. Le Volet 5 du projet « Géocarbone-Intégrité » visait à intégrer l’ensemble des mécanismes étudiés dans les quatre premiers volets du projet pour une évaluation de performance des couvertures et une étude de sûreté afin de s’assurer de leur préservation et de leur intégrité sur le long terme (de l’ordre du millénaire). L’objectif est, d’une part, d’aboutir à la construction d’un modèle phénoménologique multi-échelle global, puis à un modèle numérique décrivant le confinement du CO2 par les couvertures, et, d’autre part, de déterminer les performances du confinement en identifiant les processus clés et les paramètres les plus influents. Une première partie du programme a consisté en une intégration spatiale de l’ensemble des données phénoménologiques et structurales disponibles à la suite des travaux réalisés dans les différents volets (WP1 à WP4) et à la définition des scénarios types d’évolution du site de stockage (niveaux réservoirs et encaissants). Ce travail a permis de définir les cas tests à prendre en compte et de réaliser les calculs de performance par rapport aux scénarios d’injection et par rapport aux hétérogénéités majeures identifiées dans les niveaux de confinement (notamment les fractures). Les résultats montrent que l’injection de CO2 peut avoir un effet significatif, en altérant la porosité par dissolution et précipitation de minéraux, mais que l’impact est limité dans l’espace, de quelques décimètres à quelques mètres de l’interface réservoir-couverture, selon que la bulle de CO2 supercritique pénètre ou non dans la couverture et selon la présence ou l’absence de fractures. La prise en compte des résultats issus de l’analyse de sensibilité et l’analyse des incertitudes permettra de conduire des calculs de sûreté plus précis. Appliqués au futur site d’injection, ces calculs permettront d’évaluer la pérennité des propriétés de confinement des couvertures et de valider la qualité de confinement du site de stockage de CO2. Il conviendra notamment d’évaluer l’impact du couplage entre les phénomènes géochimiques et géomécaniques sur le court et moyen terme (de l’ordre de la centaine d’années). Le défi pour l’avenir est de structurer et d’appliquer la méthodologie de l’analyse de sûreté, en mettant en avant la finalité opérationnelle, de manière à assurer la robustesse de la transition vers les projets de CGS à l’échelle industrielle

Well integrity assessment by a 1:1 scale wellbore experiment: Exposition to dissolved CO2 and overcoring

In this work, we present the results of a new in situ experiment to complete the existing scientific dataset on well integrity in the context of CO2 storage. This experimentation has been designed to evaluate the sealing behaviour of a monitored well after mechanical and chemical stresses due to pressure and temperature changes (stage A) and due to the exposure to carbonated brine (stage B), before a final overcoring stage for retrieving the well system and the surrounding clay. The stage A has been the subject of a first publication (Manceau et al., 2015; Water Resour. Res., 51, 6093–6109) and the two latter stages are described in this paper. Multidisciplinary methods (hydraulic tests and modelling, fluid sampling and modelling, analysis of cement and clay samples on the overcore) are used to get better insight, in a realistic wellbore context, on the interplay between the geochemical questions, and the operational and construction issues. In particular, this study shows that when good integrity pre-exists before a well is in contact with carbonated water, the exposure to dissolved CO2 does not seem to lead to a degradation of the well hydraulic properties but rather to their improvement. © 2016 Elsevier Lt

Integrative Modeling of Caprock Integrity in the Context of CO

The objective of the “Géocarbone-Intégrité” project (2005-2008) was to develop a methodology to assess the integrity of the caprock involved in the geological storage of CO2. A specific work package of the project (WP5) was dedicated to the integration of (1) the phenomenology describing the evolution of the storage system with a focus on the mechanisms occurring in the caprock and at the interface with the caprock, and (2) the data obtained from the investigation of petrographical, geomechanical, and geochemical properties, before and after reaction with CO2-rich solutions, performed in the other work packages (WP1 to WP4). This knowledge was introduced in numerical models and specific safety scenarios were defined in order to assess the performance of the CO2 storage system. The results of the modeling show that the injection of CO2 can potentially have a significant effect on the caprock by changing the porosity due to the dissolution and precipitation of minerals, but that the impact is limited to a zone from several decimeters to several meters of the caprock close to the interface with the reservoir depending on whether the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) plume enters into the caprock and if fractures are present at this location. The methodology used in this project can be applied to a pilot site for the injection of CO2 in the Paris Basin. A key aspect of the safety of such a facility will be to look at the coupling of geochemical alteration and the evolution of geomechanical properties in the short and medium terms (several hundreds of years). The challenge for the future will be to structure and apply the safety assessment methodology with an operational finality, in order to support the robustness of the transition step to CGS projects at the industrial scale