The Impact of Rock Morphology on Gas Dispersion in Underground Hydrogen Storage

Tri Pham, Rouhi Farajzadeh and Quoc P. Nguyen ()
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Tri Pham: Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystem Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Rouhi Farajzadeh: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
Quoc P. Nguyen: Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystem Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-20

Abstract: Fluid dispersion directly influences the transport, mixing, and efficiency of hydrogen storage in depleted gas reservoirs. Pore structure parameters, such as pore size, throat geometry, and connectivity, influence the complexity of flow pathways and the interplay between advective and diffusive transport mechanisms. Hence, these factors are critical for predicting and controlling flow behavior in the reservoirs. Despite its importance, the relationship between pore structure and dispersion remains poorly quantified, particularly under elevated flow conditions. To address this gap, this study employs pore network modeling (PNM) to investigate the influence of sandstone and carbonate structures on fluid flow properties at the micro-scale. Eleven rock samples, comprising seven sandstone and four carbonate, were analyzed. Pore network extraction from CT images was used to obtain detailed pore structure parameters and their statistical measures. Pore-scale simulations were conducted across 60 scenarios with varying average interstitial velocities and water as the injected fluid. Effluent hydrogen concentrations were measured to generate elution curves as a function of injected pore volumes (PV). This approach enables the assessment of the relationship between the dispersion coefficient and pore structure parameters across all rock samples at consistent average interstitial velocities. Additionally, dispersivity and n-exponent values were calculated and correlated with pore structure parameters.

Keywords: carbonate; sandstone; dispersion; pore network modeling; hydrogen storage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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