Dynamics of salt precipitation at pore scale during CO subsurface storage in saline aquifer.

J Colloid Interface Sci

Delft University of Technology, Department of Geoscience and Engineering, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the Netherlands; Shell Global Solutions International B.V., Grasweg 31, 1031 HW Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Published: January 2025

CO storage in deep saline aquifers is an effective strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emission. However, salt precipitation triggered by evaporation of water into injected dry CO causes injectivity reduction. Predicting the distribution of precipitated salts and their impact on near-well permeability remains challenging. Therefore, a detailed investigation of the interactions between salt precipitation and porous domain is essential for of revealing the mechanisms of pore blockage due to salt crystallization. Through series of microfluidic experiments, direct observations, coupled with detailed imaging processing, form the basis for explaining these phenomena and provide a relationship between water and salt saturations, highlighting the critical roles played by local capillary-driven flow and water film along grains in influencing water relocation. The results reveal two distinct types of salt crystallization: occurring inside the brine with smooth edges and at the CO-brine interface with rough edges. Furthermore, the impact of local heterogeneity and surface wettability on salt precipitation patterns is discussed. The transition region between the porous domains and inlet/outlet channels exhibits brine backflow and a larger amount of salt accumulation. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the dynamic process of salt dry-out occurring during CO injection at the pore scale.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2024.08.265DOI Listing

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