Capillary pressure heterogeneity and hysteresis for the supercritical CO2/water system in a sandstone
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Pini, R
Benson, SM
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We report results from an experimental investigation on the hysteretic behaviour of the capillary pressure curve for the supercritical CO2-water system in a Berea Sandstone core. Previous observations have highlighted the importance of sub-core-scale capillary heterogeneity in developing local saturations during drainage; we show in this study that the same is true for the imbibition process. Spatially distributed drainage and imbibition scanning curves were obtained for mm-scale subsets of the rock sample non-invasively using X-ray CT imagery. Core- and sub-core scale measurements are well described using the Brooks-Corey formalism, which uses a linear trapping model to compute mobile saturations during imbibition. Capillary scaling yields two separate universal drainage and imbibition curves that are representative of the full sub-core scale data set. This enables accurate parameterisation of rock properties at the sub-core scale in terms of capillary scaling factors and permeability, which in turn serve as effective indicators of heterogeneity at the same scale even when hysteresis is a factor. As such, the proposed core-analysis workflow is quite general and provides the required information to populate numerical models that can be used to extend core-flooding experiments to conditions prevalent in the subsurface, which would be otherwise not attainable in the laboratory.
Date Issued
2017-08-21
Date Acceptance
2017-08-19
Citation
Advances in Water Resources, 2017, 108, pp.277-292
ISSN
0309-1708
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
277
End Page
292
Journal / Book Title
Advances in Water Resources
Volume
108
Copyright Statement
© 2017, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Water Resources
Core analysis
Multi-phase flow
Capillary heterogeneity
RELATIVE PERMEABILITY HYSTERESIS
CARBON-DIOXIDE STORAGE
ENHANCED OIL-RECOVERY
RESERVOIR CONDITIONS
FLOW BEHAVIOR
CO2 STORAGE
INTERFACIAL-TENSION
GEOLOGIC STORAGE
BEREA SANDSTONE
BRINE
0905 Civil Engineering
0907 Environmental Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2017-08-21