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Pore-scale imaging to quantify the evolution and reduction in trapped Co₂ due to Ostwald ripening
File(s)
Author(s)
Chai, Rukuan
Foroughi, Sajjad
Goodarzi, Sepideh
Patmonoaji, Anindityo
Yow, Foo Yoong
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Geological carbon storage is a key strategy for mitigating climate change, but the long-term stability of trapped CO2 remains uncertain. Transport of dissolved CO2 in the aqueous phase can cause the rearrangement of capillary-trapped CO2 in the pore space, which is called Ostwald ripening. Using high-resolution three-dimensional X-ray imaging, we visualized the in situ evolution of CO2 ganglia in reservoir sandstone during storage and quantified its impact on trapped CO2 saturation. Pore-scale imaging showed the concurrent shrinkage and growth of CO2 ganglia, reduced morphological complexity, and enhanced connectivity, resulting from Ostwald ripening. Ganglia exhibited a size-dependent response: small ganglia dissolved and disappeared, intermediate ones shrank or grew, and large ganglia stabilized with occasional fragmentation. After waiting for 58 h with no flow, originally residual CO2 reconnected, and subsequent brine injection led to a decrease in saturation from 22.8% to 15.6%, consistent with previous estimates based on pore-scale modeling. This work suggests that measurements that ignore the effect of Ostwald ripening overestimate the residual saturation by a factor of approximately a third.
Date Issued
2025-12-16
Date Acceptance
2025-11-19
Citation
Environmental Science and Technology, 2025, 59 (49), pp.26419-26427
URI
URL
DOI
ISSN
0013-936X
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
26419
End Page
26427
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Science and Technology
Volume
59
Issue
49
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This publication is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 .
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41324910
Subjects
Ostwald ripening
ganglia rearrangement
geological CO2 storage
pore-scale imaging
reservoir sandstone
trapped saturation reduction
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2025-12-01