A Unified Thermal-Reactive Compositional Simulation Framework for Modeling CO2 Sequestration at Various Scales

Abstract

In this work, we present a unified framework for the simulation of CO2 sequestration problems at various time and space scales. The parametrization technique utilizes thermodynamic state-dependent operators expressing the governing equations for the thermal-compositional-reactive system to solve the nonlinear problem. This approach provides flexibility in the assembly of the Jacobian, which allows straightforward implementation of advanced thermodynamics. We validate our simulation framework through several simulation studies including complex physical phenomena relevant to CCUS. The proposed simulation framework is validated against a set of numerical and experimental benchmark tests, demonstrating the efficiency and accuracy of the modeling framework for CCUS-related subsurface applications. Important physical phenomena resulting from the complex thermodynamic interactions of CO2 and impurities with reservoir fluids can be accurately captured now in detailed dynamic simulation. The investigated simulation scenarios include a reproduction of lab experiments at the core scale, investigation of macro-scale analog model and simulation of large-scale industrial application. The simulation time can also span from hours to years among various applications. Complex thermal-compositional-reactive phenomena can be addressed at each of these space and time scales. The unified thermodynamic description allows us to perform all these simulations for a reasonable CPU time due to advanced parametrization techniques and efficient GPU capabilities in our in-house reservoir simulator DARTS.