Title:
Safe and Efficient CO2 Sequestration in Subsurface Aquifers: Viscosity Enhancement, Physics of Displacement, and Numerical Modeling Abstract:
CO2 has gas like viscosity and liquid-like density. Injection in the subsurface results in wide distribution and possibility of leakage. Direct visocosification of CO2 at low concentration requires engineering of new molecules that can be effective in the subsurface conditions. The phase behavior description of water/brine and CO2 is still an unresolved issue. Advances are being made for accurate and efficient phase behavior description. Phase behavior computations have been recently advanced for large scale simulations.
The physics of flow of water/brine and CO2 has complexities that have not been recognized until recently. In most publications, the capillary pressure is assumed to be zero at the core outlet in lab scale. Recent X-ray CT scanning shows the boundary conditions even in Lab scale may be revisited.
The most challenging problem has been large scale flow simulations. When CO2 dissolves in water/brin, there is density increase. Gravity fingers develop from adverse density effects. Most large-scale flow simulators cannot capture the gravity fingering properly. The domain discretization by 3D fully unstructured gridding, and higher-order methods have been recently integrated in dynamic adaptive gridding.
The presentation combines recent advances in various aspects of the problem leading to large scale modeling of CO2 sequestration in subsurface aquifers.
Bio:
Professor Abbas Firoozabadi is a Distinguished Research Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University, Houston, TX, and Director of Reservoir Engineering Research Institute (RERI) in Palo Alo, CA. His published work centers on multi-component equilibrium, non-equilibrium, kinetics of new phase formation, and higher-order numerical simulations of subsurface flows. His current work focuses on molecular engineering and fracturing of rocks in relation to subsurface efficient energy production, large scale numerical simulation of CO2 sequestration in the subsurface, and stewardship of the environment. Most of his current research focuses on widespread use of CO2 in the subsurface. He is expanding his research into hydrogen production and storage in the subsurface. He has authored two books on thermodynamics of hydrocarbon energy production published by McGraw-Hill and is author and co-author of some 270 Journal papers.
Professor Firoozabadi has received four of the major awards of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) including the Anthony Lucas Gold Medal. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and international member of the Chinese National Academy of Engineering. |
