Impact of Pore Structure and Hydrate Distribution on CO 2 -CH 4 Replacement in CH 4 Hydrate: A Pore-Scale Numerical Analysis

Yingfei Wang (), Xiangen Wu (), Yujie Zhang, Chunlin Yin, Bo Dong and Weizhong Li
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Yingfei Wang: Yazhou Bay Innovation Institute, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya 572022, China
Xiangen Wu: Yazhou Bay Innovation Institute, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya 572022, China
Yujie Zhang: Yazhou Bay Innovation Institute, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya 572022, China
Chunlin Yin: Yazhou Bay Innovation Institute, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya 572022, China
Bo Dong: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Weizhong Li: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-28

Abstract: The mining of CH 4 hydrate through the CO 2 -CH 4 replacement method mostly occurs within CH 4 hydrate-bearing sediments. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the replacement process on the pore scale. This study aims to explore the impacts of pore microstructure and the CH 4 hydrate non-uniform distribution on the replacement of CO 2 for CH 4 . A two-dimensional numerical model has been adopted to investigate this issue. A pore-scale numerical simulation is conducted in a physical model of real porous media. Then, the replacement process in a comparative model, in which the pore microstructure and the non-uniform distribution of the CH 4 hydrate are not considered, is simulated. The findings indicate that the CH 4 hydrate dissociation and the CO 2 -CH 4 mixed hydrate generation are affected by the effective throat length of pores. When the pore microstructure and CH 4 hydrate heterogeneous distribution are ignored, the replacement rate and CO 2 storage rate are underestimated. However, the effective throat length does not exert a significant impact on the pure CO 2 hydrate generation, which is produced by the reaction of water with dissolved CO 2 . In addition, in terms of gas migration, ignoring the heterogeneous distribution of CH 4 hydrate will underestimate the impact of initial water on the relative permeability of gas.

Keywords: CH 4 hydrate; CO 2 -CH 4 replacement; pore-scale; pore microstructure (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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