scholarly journals The Impact of Mineral Dissolution on Drainage Relative Permeability and Residual Trapping in Two Carbonate Rocks

2019 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Niu ◽  
Samuel Krevor
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Pore Structure ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Pore Volume ◽  
Carbonate Rocks ◽  
Mineral Dissolution ◽  
Carbonate Dissolution ◽  
Flow Properties ◽  
Residual Trapping ◽  
The Impact

AbstractCarbon dioxide injection into deep saline aquifers is governed by a number of physico-chemical processes including mineral dissolution and precipitation, multiphase fluid flow, and capillary trapping. These processes can be coupled; however, the impact of fluid–rock reaction on the multiphase flow properties is difficult to study and is not simply correlated with variations in porosity. We observed the impact of rock mineral dissolution on multiphase flow properties in two carbonate rocks with distinct pore structures. Observations of steady-state $$\hbox {N}_2$$N2–water relative permeability and residual trapping were obtained, along with mercury injection capillary pressure characteristics. These tests alternated with eight stages in which 0.5% of the mineral volume was uniformly dissolved into solution from the rock cores using an aqueous solution with a temperature-controlled acid. Variations in the multiphase flow properties did not relate simply to changes in porosity, but corresponded to the changes in the underlying pore structure. In the Ketton carbonate, dissolution resulted in an increase in the fraction of pore volume made up by the smallest pores and a decrease in the fraction made up by the largest pores. This resulted in an increase in the relative permeability to the nonwetting phase, a decrease in the relative permeability to the wetting phase, and a modest, but systematic decrease in residual trapping. In the Estaillades carbonate, dissolution resulted in an increase in the fraction of pore volume made up by pores in the central range of the initial pore size distribution, and a corresponding decrease in the fraction made up by both the smallest and largest pores. This resulted in a decrease in the relative permeability to both the wetting and nonwetting fluid phases and no discernible impact on the residual trapping. In summary, the impact of rock matrix dissolution will be strongly dependent on the impact of that dissolution on the underlying pore structure of the rock. However, if the variation in pore structure can be observed or estimated with modelling, then it should be possible to estimate the impacts on multiphase flow properties.

Changes in multi-phase flow properties of carbonate porous media during CO2 injection

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 672
Author(s):  
Mojtaba Seyyedi ◽  
Ausama Giwelli ◽  
Cameron White ◽  
Lionel Esteban ◽  
Michael Verrall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Pore Structure ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Carbonate Rock ◽  
Trapping Potential ◽  
Co2 Injection ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Residual Trapping ◽  
Multi Phase Flow ◽  
Multi Phase

Impacts of fluid–rock geochemical reactions occurring during CO2 injection into underground formations, including CO2 geosequestration, on porosity and single-phase permeability are well documented. However, their impacts on pore structure and multi-phase flow behaviour of porous media and, therefore, on CO2 injectivity and residual trapping potential, are yet unknown. We found that CO2-saturated brine–rock interactions in a carbonate rock led to a decrease in the sweep efficiency of the non-wetting phase (gas) during primary drainage. Furthermore, they led to an increase in the relative permeability of the non-wetting phase, a decrease in the relative permeability of the wetting phase (brine) and a reduction in the residual trapping potential of the non-wetting phase. The impacts of reactions on pore structure shifted the relative permeability cross-point towards more water-wet condition. Finally, calcite dissolution caused a reduction in capillary pressure of the used carbonate rock. For CO2 underground injection applications, such changes in relative permeabilities, residual trapping potential of the non-wetting phase (CO2) and capillary pressure would reduce the CO2 storage capacity and increase the risk of CO2 leakage.

Multiphase Flow Under Heterogeneous Wettability Conditions Studied by Special Core Analysis and Pore-Scale Imaging

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (03) ◽  
pp. 1234-1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangmei Zou ◽  
Ryan T. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Core Analysis ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
End Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Capillary End Effect ◽  
Special Core Analysis

Summary Wettability is a major factor that influences multiphase flow in porous media. Numerous experimental studies have reported wettability effects on relative permeability. Laboratory determination for the impact of wettability on relative permeability continues to be a challenge because of difficulties with quantifying wettability alteration, correcting for capillary-end effect, and observing pore-scale flow regimes during core-scale experiments. Herein, we studied the impact of wettability alteration on relative permeability by integrating laboratory steady-state experiments with in-situ high-resolution imaging. We characterized wettability alteration at the core scale by conventional laboratory methods and used history matching for relative permeability determination to account for capillary-end effect. We found that because of wettability alteration from water-wet to mixed-wet conditions, oil relative permeability decreased while water relative permeability slightly increased. For the mixed-wet condition, the pore-scale data demonstrated that the interaction of viscous and capillary forces resulted in viscous-dominated flow, whereby nonwetting phase was able to flow through the smaller regions of the pore space. Overall, this study demonstrates how special-core-analysis (SCAL) techniques can be coupled with pore-scale imaging to provide further insights on pore-scale flow regimes during dynamic coreflooding experiments.

Simulation of Immiscible WAG Experiments Performed in Carbonate Rocks: The Impact of Heterogeneity on Hysteresis Phenomenon

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Latifa Obaid Alnuaimi ◽  
Mehran Sohrabi ◽  
Shokoufeh Aghabozorgi ◽  
Ahmed Alshmakhy
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Carbonate Rocks ◽  
Carbonate Rock ◽  
Hysteresis Effect ◽  
Hysteresis Phenomenon ◽  
Hysteresis Model ◽  
Sandstone Rock ◽  
Three Phase ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Permeability Data

Abstract Simulation of Water-Alternating-Gas (WAG) Experiments require precise estimation of hysteresis phenomenon in three-phase relative permeability. Most of the research available in the literature are focused on experiments performed on sandstone rocks and the study of carbonate rocks has attracted less attention. In this paper, a recently published hysteresis model by Heriot-Watt University (HWU) was used for simulation of WAG experiments conducted on mixed-wet homogenous carbonate rock. In this study, we simulated immiscible WAG experiments, which were performed under reservoir conditions on mixed-wet carbonate reservoir rock extracted from Abu Dhabi field by using real reservoir fluids. Experiments are performed with different injection scenarios and at high IFT conditions. Then, the results of the coreflood experiments were history matched using 3RPSim to generate two-phase and three-phase relative permeability data. Finally, the hysteresis model suggested by Heriot-Watt University was used for the estimation of hysteresis in relative permeability data. The performance of the model was compared with the experimental data from sandstones to evaluate the impact of heterogeneity on hysteresis phenomenon. It was shown that the available correlations for estimation of three-phase oil relative permeability fail to simulate the oil production during WAG experiments, while the modified Stone model suggested by HWU provided a better prediction. Overall, HWU hysteresis model improved the match for trapped gas saturation and pressure drop. The results show that the hysteresis effect is less dominant in the carbonate rock compared to the sandstone rock. The tracer test results show that the carbonate rock is more homogenous compared to sandstone rock. Therefore, the conclusion is that the hysteresis effect is negligible in homogenous systems.

Evaluating the Impact of Multiphase Flow Properties on Formation-Tester Pressure Transients

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan D. Escobar Gómez ◽  
Carlos Torres-Verdín ◽  
Mark A. Proett ◽  
Shouxiang Ma
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Flow Properties ◽  
Pressure Transients ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Stress-Dependent Pore Deformation Effects on Multiphase Flow Properties of Porous Media

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir H. Haghi* ◽  
Richard Chalaturnyk ◽  
Stephen Talman
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Fluid Flow ◽  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Effective Stress ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Flow Properties ◽  
Micro Scale ◽  
Stress Dependent

Abstract Relative permeability and capillary pressure are the governing parameters that characterize multiphase fluid flow in porous media for diverse natural and industrial applications, including surface water infiltration into the ground, CO2 sequestration, and hydrocarbon enhanced recovery. Although the drastic effects of deformation of porous media on single-phase fluid flow have been well established, the stress dependency of flow in multiphase systems is not yet fully explored. Here, stress-dependent relative permeability and capillary pressure are studied in a water-wet carbonate specimen both analytically using fractal and poroelasticity theory and experimentally on the micro-scale and macro-scales by means of X-ray computed micro-tomography and isothermal isotropic triaxial core flooding cell, respectively. Our core flooding program using water/N2 phases shows a systematic decrease in the irreducible water saturation and gas relative permeability in response to an increase in effective stress. Intuitively, a leftward shift of the intersection point of water/gas relative permeability curves is interpreted as an increased affinity of the rock to the gas phase. Using a micro-scale proxy model, we identify a leftward shift in pore size distribution and closure of micro-channels to be responsible for the abovementioned observations. These findings prove the crucial impact of effective stress-induced pore deformation on multiphase flow properties of rock, which are missing from the current characterizations of multiphase flow mechanisms in porous media.

Investigation on the control of multiphase flow behavior in a continuous casting tundish during ladle change

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 619
Author(s):  
Rui Xu ◽  
Haitao Ling ◽  
Haijun Wang ◽  
Lizhong Chang ◽  
Shengtao Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Rolled Strip ◽  
Impact Zone ◽  
Steel Cleanliness ◽  
Carry Over ◽  
Slag Carry Over ◽  
Hot Rolled ◽  
Turbulence Inhibitor ◽  
The Impact

The transient multiphase flow behavior in a single-strand tundish during ladle change was studied using physical modeling. The water and silicon oil were employed to simulate the liquid steel and slag. The effect of the turbulence inhibitor on the slag entrainment and the steel exposure during ladle change were evaluated and discussed. The effect of the slag carry-over on the water-oil-air flow was also analyzed. For the original tundish, the top oil phase in the impact zone was continuously dragged into the tundish bath and opened during ladle change, forming an emulsification phenomenon. By decreasing the liquid velocities in the upper part of the impact zone, the turbulence inhibitor decreased considerably the amount of entrained slag and the steel exposure during ladle change, thereby eliminating the emulsification phenomenon. Furthermore, the use of the TI-2 effectively lowered the effect of the slag carry-over on the steel cleanliness by controlling the movement of slag droplets. The results from industrial trials indicated that the application of the TI-2 reduced considerably the number of linear inclusions caused by ladle change in hot-rolled strip coils.

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