Simulations of CO 2 Dissolution in Porous Media Using the Volume-of-Fluid Method

Mohammad Hossein Golestan () and Carl Fredrik Berg
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Mohammad Hossein Golestan: PoreLab, Department of Geoscience and Petroleum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, 7031 Trondheim, Norway
Carl Fredrik Berg: PoreLab, Department of Geoscience and Petroleum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, 7031 Trondheim, Norway

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: Traditional investigations of fluid flow in porous media often rely on a continuum approach, but this method has limitations as it does not account for microscale details. However, recent progress in imaging technology allows us to visualize structures within the porous medium directly. This capability provides a means to confirm and validate continuum relationships. In this study, we present a detailed analysis of the dissolution trapping dynamics that take place when supercritical CO 2 (scCO 2 ) is injected into a heterogeneous porous medium saturated with brine. We present simulations based on the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method to model the combined behavior of two-phase fluid flow and mass transfer at the pore scale. These simulations are designed to capture the dynamic dissolution of scCO 2 in a brine solution. Based on our simulation results, we have revised the Sherwood correlations: We expanded the correlation between Sherwood and Peclet numbers, revealing how the mobility ratio affects the equation. The expanded correlation gave improved correlations built on the underlying displacement patterns at different mobility ratios. Further, we analyzed the relationship between the Sherwood number, which is based on the Reynolds number, and the Schmidt number. Our regression on free parameters yielded constants similar to those previously reported. Our mass transfer model was compared to experimental models in the literature, showing good agreement for interfacial mass transfer of CO 2 into water. The results of this study provide new perspectives on the application of non-dimensional numbers in large-scale (field-scale) applications, with implications for continuum scale modeling, e.g., in the field of geological storage of CO 2 in saline aquifers.

Keywords: porous media; dissolution; CO 2 geological storage; pore-scale simulations; dissolution trapping; Sherwood correlation (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: 2024
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