CO2 Sequestration: The long term fate of CO2 in the In Salah Field, Algeria.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Earth Sciences
Abstract
The project will involve the development of a series of models of the long term evolution of the CO2 at the In
Salah field, Algeria. The work will assess the data available about the present distribution of CO2 in the field,
and using this information together with data on the structure and topology of the field, will explore the potential
long term fate of the CO2. This project will include the development of a series of models of the along aquifer
migration of the CO2 and possible dissolution over time scales of 10^3 - 10^5 years.
Salah field, Algeria. The work will assess the data available about the present distribution of CO2 in the field,
and using this information together with data on the structure and topology of the field, will explore the potential
long term fate of the CO2. This project will include the development of a series of models of the along aquifer
migration of the CO2 and possible dissolution over time scales of 10^3 - 10^5 years.
People |
ORCID iD |
| A Woods (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Edward Hinton (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/P510440/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2022 | |||
| 1766669 | Studentship | EP/P510440/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2020 | Edward Hinton |
| Description | The dispersion of tracer through a liquid injected into a confined aquifer with vertically varying permeability is studied theoretically. The injected fluid is buoyant and of high viscosity relative to the original fluid in the aquifer, which causes the nose region of the flow, where the thickness of the injected fluid is less than the thickness of the aquifer, to advance with constant velocity and fixed shape. Behind the nose, tracer is sheared at early times owing to the vertically varying permeability. At later times, cross-aquifer diffusion homogenises the tracer distribution, which becomes independent of depth but spreads longitudinally in this shear dispersion regime, which leads to much faster spreading than by diffusion alone. As tracer diffuses symmetrically in the longitudinal direction, it eventually reaches the nose. Subsequently, the nose acts as a no-flux boundary and the concentration profile transitions to a half-Gaussian, with the maximum concentration at the front. The centre of mass of the tracer spreads backwards relative to the fixed nose at a rate proportional to $[D(T-T_0)]^{1/2}$ where $D$ is the dispersion coefficient and $T_0$ is a time offset owing to the adjustment to shear dispersion and the interaction with the nose. The initial release of tracer may not be vertically uniform owing to the heterogeneity and we show that this can lead to the centre of mass of tracer initially advancing faster than the mean flow. We consider the implications of our results on tracer migration in sedimentary layers. |
| Exploitation Route | Further work concerning the capillary trapping of carbon dioxide in vertically heterogeneous aquifers is underway. It would also be interesting to extend results to consider the inverting of tracer tests. |
| Sectors | Energy,Environment |
| URL | http://www.bpi.cam.ac.uk/user/324 |