An Experimental Study of CO2 Exsolution and Relative Permeability Measurements During CO2 Saturated Water Depressurization

Dissolution of CO2 into brine is an important and favorable trapping mechanism for geologic storage of CO2. There are scenarios, however, where dissolved CO2 may migrate out of the storage reservoir. Under these conditions, CO2 will exsolve from solution during depressurization of the brine, leading to the formation of separate phase CO2. For example, a CO2 sequestration system with a brine-permeable caprock may be favored to allow for pressure relief in the sequestration reservoir. In this case, CO2-rich brine may be transported upwards along a pressure gradient caused by CO2 injection. Here we conduct an experimental study of CO2 exsolution to observe the behavior of exsolved gas under a wide range of depressurization. Exsolution experiments in highly permeable Berea sandstones and low permeability Mount Simon sandstones are presented. Using X-ray CT scanning, the evolution of gas phase CO2 and its spatial distribution is observed. In addition, we measure relative permeability for exsolved CO2 and water in sandstone rocks based on mass balances and continuous observation of the pressure drop across the core from 12.41 to 2.76 MPa. The results show that the minimum CO2 saturation at which the exsolved CO2 phase mobilization occurs is from 11.7 to 15.5%. Exsolved CO2 is distributed uniformly in homogeneous rock samples with no statistical correlation between porosity and CO2 saturation observed. No gravitational redistribution of exsolved CO2 was observed after depressurization, even in the high permeability core. Significant differences exist between the exsolved CO2 and water relative permeabilities, compared to relative permeabilities derived from steady-state drainage relative permeability measurements in the same cores. Specifically, very low CO2 and water relative permeabilities are measured in the exsolution experiments, even when the CO2 saturation is as high as 40%. The large relative permeability reduction in both the water and CO2 phases is hypothesized to result from the presence of disconnected gas bubbles in this two-phase flow system. This feature is also thought to be favorable for storage security after CO2 injection.

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