Pore-scale Bubble Population Dynamics of CO2-Foam at Reservoir Pressure

Benali, Benyamine; Føyen, Tore; Alcorn, Zachary Paul; Haugen, Malin; Gauteplass, Jarand; Kovscek, A. R.; Fernø, Martin A.

doi:10.1002/essoar.10506876.1

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Micromodel properties are summarized in Table 2. The porosity and permeability were calculated to be 0.61 and 2.97 Darcy, respectively (Benali 2019). The pore volume (PV) with a constant etching depth of 30 μm was 11.1 μL (Benali 2019).…”

Section: Micromodel and Holdermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pore-level Ostwald ripening of CO2 foams at reservoir pressure

Benali,

Sæle,

Liu

et al. 2023

Transp Porous Med

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The success of foam to reduce CO2 mobility in CO2 enhanced oil recovery and CO2 storage operations depends on foam stability in the reservoir. Foams are thermodynamically unstable, and factors such as surfactant adsorption, the presence of oil, and harsh reservoir conditions can cause the foam to destabilize. Pore-level foam coarsening and anti-coarsening mechanisms are not, however, fully understood and characterized at reservoir pressure. Using lab-on-a-chip technology, we probe dense (liquid) phase CO2 foam stability and the impact of Ostwald ripening at 100 bars using dynamic pore-scale observations. Three types of pore-level coarsening were observed: (1) large bubbles growing at the expense of small bubbles, at high aqueous phase saturations, unrestricted by the grains; (2) large bubbles growing at the expense of small bubbles, at low aqueous phase saturation, restricted by the grains; and (3) equilibration of plateau borders. Type 3 coarsening led to stable CO2 foam states eight times faster than type 2 and ten times faster than type 1. Anti-coarsening where CO2 diffused from a large bubble to a small bubble was also observed. The experimental results also compared stabilities of CO2 foam generated with hybrid nanoparticle–surfactant solution to CO2 foam stabilized by only surfactant or nanoparticles. Doubling the surfactant concentration from 2500 to 5000 ppm and adding 1500 ppm of nanoparticles to the 2500 ppm surfactant-based solution resulted in stronger foam, which resisted Ostwald ripening. Dynamic pore-scale observations of dense phase CO2 foam revealed gas diffusion from small, high-curvature bubbles to large, low-curvature bubbles and that the overall curvature of the bubbles decreased with time. Overall, this study provides in situ quantification of CO2 foam strength and stability dynamics at high-pressure conditions.Article Highlights A comprehensive laboratory investigation of CO2 foam stability and the impact of Ostwald ripening. Pore-level foam coarsening and anti-coarsening mechanisms insights.

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Section: Micromodel and Holdermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The porosity and permeability were calculated to be 0.61 and 2.97 Darcy, respectively (Benali 2019). The pore volume (PV) with a constant etching depth of 30 μm was 11.1 μL (Benali 2019). The pores were classified using snow algorithm (Gostick et al 2019), and the average pore size was 3896 μm 2 .…”

Section: Micromodel and Holdermentioning

confidence: 99%

Pore-level Ostwald ripening of CO2 foams at reservoir pressure

Benali,

Sæle,

Liu

et al. 2023

Transp Porous Med

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Calcite-functionalized micromodels for pore-scale investigations of CO₂ storage security

Haugen

Benali²,

Føyen³

et al. 2023

E3S Web Conf.

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Carbon capture and subsequent storage (CCS) is identified as a necessity to achieve climate commitments. Permanent storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in subsurface saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas reservoirs is feasible, but large-scale implementation of such storage has so far been slow. Although sandstone formations are currently most viable for CO2 sequestration, carbonates play an important role in widespread implementation of CCS; both due to the world-wide abundancy of saline aquifers in carbonate formations, and as candidates for CO2-EOR with combined storage. Acidification of formation brine during CO2 injection cause carbonate dissolution and development of reactive flow patterns. Using calcite-functionalization of micromodels we experimentally investigate fundamental pore-scale reactive transport dynamics relevant for carbonate CO2 storage security. Calcite-functionalized, two-dimensional and siliconbased, pore scale micromodels were used. Calcite precipitation was microbially induced from the bacteria Sporosarcina pasteurii and calcite grains were formed in-situ. This paper details an improved procedure for achieving controlled calcite precipitation in the pore space and characterizes the precipitation/mineralization process. The experimental setup featured a temperature-controlled micromodel holder attached to an automatic scanning stage. A high-resolution microscope enabled full-model (22x27 mm) image capture at resolution of 1.1 µm/pixel within 82 seconds. An in-house developed image-analysis python script was used to quantify porosity alterations due to calcite precipitation. The calcite-functionalized micromodels were found to replicate natural carbonate pore geometry and chemistry, and thus may be used to quantify calcite dissolution and reactive flow at the pore-scale.

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Pore-scale Bubble Population Dynamics of CO2-Foam at Reservoir Pressure

Cited by 2 publications

References 46 publications

Pore-level Ostwald ripening of CO2 foams at reservoir pressure

Pore-level Ostwald ripening of CO2 foams at reservoir pressure

Calcite-functionalized micromodels for pore-scale investigations of CO₂ storage security

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Pore-scale Bubble Population Dynamics of CO2-Foam at Reservoir Pressure

Cited by 2 publications

References 46 publications

Pore-level Ostwald ripening of CO2 foams at reservoir pressure

Pore-level Ostwald ripening of CO2 foams at reservoir pressure

Calcite-functionalized micromodels for pore-scale investigations of CO2 storage security

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Product

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Calcite-functionalized micromodels for pore-scale investigations of CO₂ storage security