Phase‐Field Simulation of Hydraulic Fracturing by CO₂, Water and Nitrogen in 2D and Comparison With Laboratory Data

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing by pressurized water is widely used in stimulation of wells in bedrock formations. The method requires an enormous amount of water and introduces many potential environmental issues in relation to fresh water consumption and potential contamination of drinking water supplies (Thomas et al., 2019). CO 2 is considered a more environmentally friendly alternative because it adsorbs to the rock surface, has no flowback, and does not block pores (Middleton et al., 2015). Moreover, water-based fluids tend to be trapped in formations, inhibiting oil-and gas-phase flow due to clay-mineral swelling which reduces permeability. CO 2 fracturing is a promising alternative as it results in a lower breakdown pressure and creates more extensive fractures, which increases gas and oil production rate. In recent years, hydraulic fracturing by water and by CO 2 has been extensively studied in the laboratory. In the field scale, one comprehensive trial by CO 2 for fracturing and viscosified CO 2 for proppant placement has been conducted in an

Effective viscosification of supercritical carbon dioxide by oligomers of 1-decene

“…The captured CO 2 can be used in the production of useful chemicals ( Fiorani et al., 2015 ), including synthesis of cyclic organic carbonates ( Arayachukiat et al., 2017 ; Al Maksoud et al., 2020 ; Natongchai et al., 2021 ). Use of CO 2 may also help to drastically improve efficiency of oil recovery (CO 2 -IOR) and hydraulic fracturing ( Feng et al., 2021 ). CO 2 sequestration in saline aquifers, CO 2 -IOR, and CO 2 fracturing depend on CO 2 viscosification.…”

A coupled phase-field and reactive-transport framework for fracture propagation in poroelastic media

“…( 9), we get Fracture module. Phase-field models of fracture based on energy minimization have been widely used in recent years due to their ability to model fracture nucleation and growth for complex fracture topologies 21,31,37,43,51 . In contrast to the discrete representation of a fracture, the phase-field variable embodies a regularized and smooth transition from a fully damaged material state (that is, fracture surface) and the intact solid by using a phasefield parameter.…”

“…Case 2: fluid-driven fracture generation in cement mortar. This case follows the simulation studies by 43,44 to assess the influence of pore pressure on fracture development and growth for non-reactive fluid flow. The matrix material is cement mortar, and the injected fluid is water.…”

“…We consider 2D simulations with an unstructured triangle finite element gridding. We choose unstructured meshes to avoid a grid orientation effect, which commonly results in numerical instabilities when modeling fracture propagation 43,59 . Furthermore, throughout the finite element mesh, the fracture regulation condition l > 2h , is always satisfied, where, in this case, the maximum element size is, h < 5mm.…”

Adsorption behavior and mechanism of CO2in the Longmaxi shale gas reservoir

“…9,10 Furthermore, the drawbacks such as freshwater resource loss, groundwater pollution, and groundwater level decline caused by hydraulic fracturing could be effectively avoided. 11,12 Nevertheless, the mechanism of CO 2 injection and interaction in the shale gas reservoir is complex and not well understood. Therefore, enhanced CH 4 recovery through CO 2 injection is still need further research.…”