Pore‐scale observations of hydrogen trapping and migration in porous rock: demonstrating the effect of Ostwald ripening
File(s)Geophysical Research Letters - 2023 - Zhang.pdf (1.07 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We use high-resolution three-dimensional X-ray imaging to study hydrogen injection and withdrawal in the pore space of Bentheimer sandstone. The results are compared with a replicate experiment using nitrogen. We observe less trapping with hydrogen because the initial saturation after drainage is lower due to channeling. Remarkably we observe that after imbibition, if the sample is imaged again after 12 hr, there is a significant rearrangement of the trapped hydrogen. Many smaller ganglia disappear while the larger ganglia swell, with no detectable change in overall gas volume. For nitrogen, the fluid configuration is largely unchanged. This rearrangement is facilitated by concentration gradients of dissolved gas in the aqueous phase—Ostwald ripening, We estimate the time-scales for this effect to be significant, consistent with the experimental observations. The swelling of larger ganglia potentially increases the gas connectivity, leading to less hysteresis and more efficient withdrawal.
Date Issued
2023-04-16
Date Acceptance
2023-03-11
Citation
Geophysical Research Letters, 2023, 50 (7), pp.1-8
ISSN
0094-8276
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Start Page
1
End Page
8
Journal / Book Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
50
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Authors.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
Identifier
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022GL102383
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e2022GL102383
Date Publish Online
2023-03-30