Session AF: Porous Media I: CO2 Sequestration
8:00 AM–9:57 AM, Sunday, November 21, 2010
Long Beach Convention Center Room: 103A
Chair: Carlos Hidrovo, University of Texas at Austin
Abstract ID: BAPS.2010.DFD.AF.7
Abstract: AF.00007 : Spreading and dissolution of CO$_2$ in horizontal aquifers: theory and experiments
9:18 AM–9:31 AM
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Abstract 
Authors:
Christopher MacMinn
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Jerome Neufeld
(Cambridge University)
Marc Hesse
(University of Texas at Austin)
Herbert Huppert
(Cambridge University)
Injection of carbon dioxide into saline aquifers is widely regarded as a promising tool for reducing atmospheric CO$_2$ emissions. While an accurate assessment of the post-injection spreading and migration of the CO$_2$ is essential for estimates of storage security, many of the physical processes controlling CO$_2$ migration are poorly understood. CO$_2$ is buoyant relative to groundwater at reservoir conditions. This is undesirable because the presence of a pre-existing well or fracture, or the activation of a fault, could lead to leakage. It is well known, however, that the dissolution of CO$_2$ increases the density of the groundwater, resulting in convective currents that dramatically enhance CO$_2$ dissolution. Once dissolved, the CO$_2$ is considered to be securely stored within the subsurface. Recent numerical and experimental work has led to a greatly improved understanding of the resulting rate of CO$_2$ dissolution into groundwater. Here, we use analog experiments and simple theoretical models to study dissolution from a plume of CO$_2$ as it spreads upward against the caprock in an aquifer of finite thickness. We show that the interaction between spreading, dissolution, and the finite thickness of the aquifer has a strong influence on the ultimate distribution of the CO$_2$.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2010.DFD.AF.7