Parameters Variation and Flow Characteristics when CO2 Displacing Brine
in Four Micromodels Simulating Carbon Sequestration in Saline Aquifers
Abstract
Two-phase flow of CO2/brine in porous media is critical
to the capacity and safety of carbon sequestration into the brine
aquifer. In order to provide valuable information and important
theoretical basis for site selection and CO2 injection,
the microscopic visualization technology was employed in this study to
conduct displacement experiments of CO2/brine at the
pore scale. Four micromodels with different sizes and structures, five
injection rates of CO2 and six salinities of brine were
used to study the effects of micromodel’s structure and displacement
pattern on two-phase flow. Several parameters including the differential
pressure, contact angle, permeability, velocity field and force field
were obtained by experimental measurement, image post-processing and
theoretical analysis, and then these parameters’ variation was
investigated. Phenomena such as thin film, corner flow and Haines jump
were also found during the displacement. Although brine could be
completely displaced by CO2 in the capillary duct, the
backflow of wetting phase would occur at low injection rate. Phenomena
different from the theoretical analysis also occurred in pore doublet
models: some brine was residual in the homogeneous pore doublet model at
low injection rate, while the heterogeneous pore doublet model was fully
occupied by CO2 at high injection rate. These phenomena
are very useful for two-phase flow, and multiple factors need to be
comprehensively considered to determine the operating conditions of
CO2 storage into the brine aquifer.