Simulating Migration Properties of Aquifer Disposal of CO₂ in Western Taiwan Basin

Abstract:

Geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep saline aquifers is one of the most feasible techniques for mitigating the greenhouse effect. However, over-optimistic design of CO2 injection scheme may adversely overwhelm the sealing capability of the cap-rock in the saline reservoir. In this study, we have developed a complex three-dimensional heterogeneous model to study the spatial and temporal distribution and storage of CO2 injection into the saline aquifer structure at Taiwan western offshore. For investigating the mechanisms of CO2 migration in a deep saline reservoir, which was hypothesized as a sequestration site, the result of numerical simulations was analyzed. Numerical simulation of CO2 migration in geologic formations can provide key information for predicting CO2 plumes before conducting field-scale operations or pilot tests. In order to avoid the problems of overpressure in the saline reservoir, the case study employs multi-well injection strategies. The sensitivity analyses based on the two different injection strategies in the western sea of Taiwan show that the locations of CO2 plume front might be from hundreds of meters to kilometers.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volumes 752-753)
• Pages: 1275-1279
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.752-753.1275
• Online since: April 2015
• Authors: Chien Hao Tseng*, Wei Chih Su, Chia Chen Kuo, Chuan Lin Lai
• Keywords: Carbon-Dioxide Capture, Geologic Sequestration, Saline Aquifer, Storage (CCS), TOUGH2

References

[1] K. Pruess, C. Oldenburge, G. Moridis, TOUGH2 User's Guide, Version 2. 0, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Report LBNL-43134, Berkeley, CA, USA, (1999).

DOI: 10.2172/929425

[2] K. Pruess, J. Garcia, Solutions of Test Problems for Disposal of CO2 in Saline Aquifers, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Report LBNL-51812, Berkeley, CA, USA, (2002).

DOI: 10.2172/810487

[3] C. Doughty, K. Pruess, Modeling Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Injection in Heterogeneous Porous Media, Vadose Zone Journal, 3 (2004) 837-847.

DOI: 10.2113/3.3.837

[4] R. Span, W. Wagner, A New Equation of State for Carbon Dioxide Covering the Fluid Region from the Triple-Point Temperature to 100 K at Pressures up to 800 MPa, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data, 25 (2000) 1509-1596.

DOI: 10.1063/1.555991

[5] C.H. Tseng, C.L. Lai, C.C. Kuo, K. Zhang, C.Y. Shen, H.Y. Chang, Parallel Computing for CO2 Geologic Sequestration, 22nd International Conference on Parallel Computational Fluid Dynamics, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (2010) 1-4.

[6] C.H. Tseng, C.C. Kuo, W.C. Su, C.L. Lai, Sequestration of CO2 in Geological Media: A Case Study of the Saline Reservoir Using Parallel Computing for Multi-Well Injection, Applied Mechanics and Materials, 284-287 (2013) 1468-1472.

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.284-287.1468

[7] M.J. O'Sullivan, D.P. Bullivant, A Graphical Interface to the TOUGH Family of Flow Simulators, TOUGH Workshop 1995, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, (1995) 20-22.

[8] A.E. Croucher, M.J. O'Sullivan, Application of the computer code TOUGH2 to the simulation of supercritical conditions in geothermal systems, Geothermics, 37 (2008) 622-634.

DOI: 10.1016/j.geothermics.2008.03.005

[9] H. Yamamoto, PetraSim: A Graphical User Interface for the TOUGH2 Family of Multiphase Flow and Transport Codes, Groundwater, 46 (2008) 525-528.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2008.00462.x

[10] K. Pruess, ECO2N: A TOUGH2 fluid property module for mixtures of water, NaCl, and CO2, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Report LBNL-57952. Berkeley, CA, USA, (2005).

DOI: 10.2172/877331