Geological Carbon Sequestration in the Context of Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media: A Review

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology on 21 May 2014, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2014.924184In this review, various aspects of geological carbon sequestration are discussed in relation to the principles of two-phase flow in porous media. Literature reports on geological sequestration of CO2 show that the aquifer storage capacity, sealing integrity of the caprock and the in situ processes, e.g., the displacement of brine by supercritical CO2 (scCO2), convection-diffusion-dissolution processes involving scCO2 and brine, geochemical reactions, and mineral precipitation depend on the fluid-fluid-rock characteristics as well as the prevailing subsurface conditions. Considering the complexity of the interrelationships among various processes, experimental investigations and network of mathematical functions are required for the ideal choice of geological site with predictable fluid-fluid-rock behaviours that enhance effective monitoring. From a thorough appraisal of the existing publications, recommendations are made for improvement in the existing simulators to fully couple the entire processes involved in the sequestration operations and in situ mechanisms which include injection rate and pressure, brine displacement, simultaneous flow of free and buoyant phases of CO2, various trapping mechanisms, convection-diffusion-dissolution processes, scCO2-brine-rock reactions, precipitation of the rock minerals and the consequences on the hydraulic and hydrogeological properties in the course of time as well as the quantity of injected CO2. Suggestion is made for the inclusion of leakage parameters on site-specific basis to quantify the risks posed by the prevailing fluid-fluid-rock characteristics as well as their immediate and future tendencies. Calls are also made for thorough investigations of factors that cause non-uniqueness of the two-phase flow behaviour with suggestions for the use of appropriate experimental techniques. The review comprehensively synthesizes the available knowledge in the geological carbon sequestration in a logical sequence

Induced polarization applied to biogeophysics: recent advances and future prospects

This paper provides an update on the fast-evolving topic of the induced polarization (IP) method applied to biogeophysics. It emphasizes new understandings of the IP phenomena associated with biological activity, pointing out new developments and applications, and identifying existing knowledge gaps. The focus is on the use of IP as related to living organisms, including micro-organisms and plants (both roots and stems). We first discuss observed links between the IP signal and microbial cell structure, activity and biofilm formation. We provide an up-to-date conceptual model of the electrical behavior of the microbial cell and biofilm and examine the role of extracellular electron transfer mechanisms on the functionality and development of biofilms. We review the latest biogeophysical studies, including work on hydrocarbon biodegradation, contaminant sequestration, soil strengthening and peatland characterization. We then elaborate on the IP signature of the plant root zone, relying on a state-of-the-art conceptual model of the biogeophysical mechanisms of a plant root cell. The first laboratory surveys show that single roots and root system are highly polarizable. They also present encouraging results for imaging the root system embeded in a medium and gaining information on the mass density, the structure or the physiological characteristics of the root system. IP is also used to characterize wood and tree structures in the lab but also at the field scale, through tomography of the stem. Finally, we discuss up- and down-scaling between lab and field studies as well as joint interpretation. We emphasize the need for intermediate scale studies and the benefits of using IP as a time-lapse monitoring method. We conclude with the promising integration of IP in global mechanistic models to better understand and quantify subsurface biogeochemical processes