Effects of Hydrogeological Heterogeneity on CO 2 Migration and Mineral Trapping: 3D Reactive Transport Modeling of Geological CO 2 Storage in the Mt. Simon Sandstone, Indiana, USA

Babak Shabani, Peng Lu, Ryan Kammer and Chen Zhu
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Babak Shabani: Indiana Geological and Water Survey, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Peng Lu: Saudi Aramco, Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia
Ryan Kammer: Indiana Geological and Water Survey, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Chen Zhu: Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-30

Abstract: We used three-dimensional (3D), high-resolution simulations facilitated by parallel computation to assess the effect of hydrogeological heterogeneity in the Mt. Simon Sandstone on CO 2 plume evolution and storage and geochemical reactions in a portion of the Illinois Basin, Indiana. Two scenarios were selected to investigate the effects of the hydrogeological heterogeneity in 3D reactive transport simulations: a heterogeneous case with variable porosity and permeability, and a homogenous case with constant porosity and permeability. The initial pressure, temperature, and mineralogical distributions are consistently applied in both the heterogeneous case and the homogeneous case. Results indicate that including hydrogeological heterogeneity in 3D reservoir simulations for geological CO 2 storage significantly impacts modeling results for plume migration patterns, CO 2 -water-mineral interaction, reservoir quality, and CO 2 plume containment. In particular, results indicate that (1) the CO 2 plume reached the top of the Mt. Simon Sandstone in the homogeneous case, but was restrained to the lower third of the formation when hydrogeologic heterogeneity was considered; (2) the dominant trapping mechanism in the heterogeneous case was mineral trapping (43%), while it was solubility trapping (47%) in the homogeneous case (at 10,000 years); (3) incorporating reservoir heterogeneity in the model leads to a higher likelihood of long-term containment.

Keywords: geological CO 2 storage; geochemical reactions; hydrogeological heterogeneity; reactive transport simulation (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: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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