Buoyant Flow of H2 Vs. CO2 in Storage Aquifers: Implications to Geological Screening

IF 2.1 4区 工程技术 Q3 ENERGY & FUELS
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引用次数: 2

Abstract

Hydrogen will play an important role in the quest to decarbonize the world’s economy by substituting fossil fuels. In addition to the development of hydrogen generation technologies, the energy industry will need to increase hydrogen storage capacity to facilitate the development of a robust hydrogen economy. The required hydrogen storage capacity will be much larger than current hydrogen and natural gas storage capacities. There are several geological storage options for hydrogen that include depleted hydrocarbon fields and aquifers, where more research is needed until the feasibility of storing hydrogen at scale is proved. Here, we investigate the buoyant flow of H2 (as a working gas) vs. CO2 (as a cushion gas) separately in a representative storage aquifer. Buoyant flow can affect the maximum storage, capillary trapping, likelihood of leakage, and deliverability of aquifer-stored hydrogen. After building a 2D geological reservoir model initially filled with saline water, we ran numerical simulations to determine how hydrogen placed at the bottom of an aquifer might rise through the water column. The Leverett j-function is used to generate heterogeneous capillary entry pressure fields that correlate with porosity and permeability fields. Hydrogen viscosities were based on the Jossi et al. correlation, and the density was modeled using the Peng-Robinson equation of state. We then simulated several scenarios to assess flow during short- (annually) and long- (several years) term storage. For comparison purposes, we also ran CO2 storage simulations using the same geological model but with CO2-brine-rock properties collected from the literature. For a representative storage aquifer (323 K, 15.7 MPa, and mean permeability of 200 md), significant fingering occurred as the hydrogen rose through the saline water column. The hydrogen experienced more buoyant flow and created flow paths with increased fingering when compared with CO2. Individual hydrogen fingers are thinner than the CO2 fingers in the simulations, and the tips of hydrogen finger fronts propagated upward roughly twice as fast as the CO2 front for a typical set of heterogeneity indicators (Dykstra-Parson’s coefficient Vdp = 0.80, and dimensionless autocorrelation length λDx = 2). The implications of buoyant flow for hydrogen in saline aquifers include an increased threat of leakage, more residual trapping of hydrogen, and, therefore, the need to focus more on the heterogeneity and lateral correlation behavior of the repository. If hydrogen penetrates the caprock of an aquifer, it will leak faster than CO2 and generate more vertical flow pathways. We identify possible depositional environments for clastic aquifers that would offer suitable characteristics for storage.
储水层中H2与CO2的浮力流动:地质筛选的意义
氢将在寻求通过替代化石燃料使世界经济脱碳的过程中发挥重要作用。除了发展制氢技术外,能源行业还需要增加储氢能力,以促进强劲的氢经济发展。所需的储氢容量将远远大于目前的氢气和天然气储氢容量。氢气的地质储存有几种选择,包括枯竭的碳氢化合物油田和含水层,在大规模储存氢气的可行性得到证实之前,还需要进行更多的研究。在这里,我们分别研究了H2(作为工作气体)和CO2(作为缓冲气体)在代表性蓄水层中的浮力流动。浮力流动可以影响最大储存量、毛细俘获、泄漏可能性和含水层储氢的输送能力。在建立了一个最初充满盐水的二维地质储层模型后,我们进行了数值模拟,以确定放置在含水层底部的氢如何通过水柱上升。利用Leverett j函数生成与孔隙度和渗透率相关的非均质毛细管入口压力场。氢的粘度基于Jossi等人的相关性,密度使用Peng-Robinson状态方程建模。然后,我们模拟了几种情况来评估短期(每年)和长期(几年)储存期间的流量。为了进行比较,我们还使用相同的地质模型进行了二氧化碳储存模拟,但使用了从文献中收集的二氧化碳盐水岩特性。对于具有代表性的蓄水含水层(323 K, 15.7 MPa,平均渗透率200 md),当氢通过咸水柱上升时,发生了明显的指移。与二氧化碳相比,氢气经历了更大的浮力流动,并创造了更多的指指流动路径。在模拟中,单个氢指比CO2指细,对于一组典型的非均质性指标(Dykstra-Parson系数Vdp = 0.80,无量纲自相关长度λDx = 2),氢指锋的尖端向上传播的速度大约是CO2锋的两倍。盐水含水层中浮力流动对氢的影响包括泄漏的威胁增加,氢的残留捕获更多,因此,需要更多地关注存储库的异构性和横向关联行为。如果氢气穿透含水层的盖层,它将比二氧化碳泄漏得更快,并产生更多的垂直流动路径。我们确定了碎屑含水层可能的沉积环境,这些环境将提供适合储存的特征。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
5.30
自引率
0.00%
发文量
68
审稿时长
12 months
期刊介绍: Covers the application of a wide range of topics, including reservoir characterization, geology and geophysics, core analysis, well logging, well testing, reservoir management, enhanced oil recovery, fluid mechanics, performance prediction, reservoir simulation, digital energy, uncertainty/risk assessment, information management, resource and reserve evaluation, portfolio/asset management, project valuation, and petroleum economics.
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