Browsing by Author "Hajibeygi, Hadi"

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    The FluidFlower validation benchmark study for the storage of CO2
    (2023) Flemisch, Bernd; Nordbotten, Jan M.; Fernø, Martin; Juanes, Ruben; Both, Jakub W.; Class, Holger; Delshad, Mojdeh; Doster, Florian; Ennis-King, Jonathan; Franc, Jacques; Geiger, Sebastian; Gläser, Dennis; Green, Christopher; Gunning, James; Hajibeygi, Hadi; Jackson, Samuel J.; Jammoul, Mohamad; Karra, Satish; Li, Jiawei; Matthäi, Stephan K.; Miller, Terry; Shao, Qi; Spurin, Catherine; Stauffer, Philip; Tchelepi, Hamdi; Tian, Xiaoming; Viswanathan, Hari; Voskov, Denis; Wang, Yuhang; Wapperom, Michiel; Wheeler, Mary F.; Wilkins, Andrew; Youssef, AbdAllah A.; Zhang, Ziliang
    Successful deployment of geological carbon storage (GCS) requires an extensive use of reservoir simulators for screening, ranking and optimization of storage sites. However, the time scales of GCS are such that no sufficient long-term data is available yet to validate the simulators against. As a consequence, there is currently no solid basis for assessing the quality with which the dynamics of large-scale GCS operations can be forecasted. To meet this knowledge gap, we have conducted a major GCS validation benchmark study. To achieve reasonable time scales, a laboratory-size geological storage formation was constructed (the “FluidFlower”), forming the basis for both the experimental and computational work. A validation experiment consisting of repeated GCS operations was conducted in the FluidFlower, providing what we define as the true physical dynamics for this system. Nine different research groups from around the world provided forecasts, both individually and collaboratively, based on a detailed physical and petrophysical characterization of the FluidFlower sands. The major contribution of this paper is a report and discussion of the results of the validation benchmark study, complemented by a description of the benchmarking process and the participating computational models. The forecasts from the participating groups are compared to each other and to the experimental data by means of various indicative qualitative and quantitative measures. By this, we provide a detailed assessment of the capabilities of reservoir simulators and their users to capture both the injection and post-injection dynamics of the GCS operations.
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    Microbial induced wettability alteration with implications for Underground Hydrogen Storage
    (2024) Boon, Maartje; Buntic, Ivan; Ahmed, Kadir; Dopffel, Nicole; Peters, Catherine; Hajibeygi, Hadi
    Characterization of the microbial activity impacts on transport and storage of hydrogen is a crucial aspect of successful Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS). Microbes can use hydrogen for their metabolism, which can then lead to formation of biofilms. Biofilms can potentially alter the wettability of the system and, consequently, impact the flow dynamics and trapping mechanisms in the reservoir. In this study, we investigate the impact of microbial activity on wettability of the hydrogen/brine/rock system, using the captive-bubble cell experimental approach. Apparent contact angles are measured for bubbles of pure hydrogen in contact with a solid surface inside a cell filled with living brine which contains sulphate reducing microbes. To investigate the impact of surface roughness, two different solid samples are used: a “rough” Bentheimer Sandstone sample and a “smooth” pure Quartz sample. It is found that, in systems where buoyancy and interfacial forces are the main acting forces, the impact of biofilm formation on the apparent contact angle highly depends on the surface roughness. For the “rough” Bentheimer sandstone, the apparent contact angle was unchanged by biofilm formation, while for the smooth pure Quartz sample the apparent contact angle decreased significantly, making the system more water-wet. This decrease in apparent contact angle is in contrast with an earlier study present in the literature where a significant increase in contact angle due to microbial activity was reported. The wettability of the biofilm is mainly determined by the consistency of the Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) which depends on the growth conditions in the system. Therefore, to determine the impact of microbial activity on the wettability during UHS will require accurate replication of the reservoir conditions including surface roughness, chemical composition of the brine, the microbial community, as well as temperature, pressure and pH-value conditions.
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    Multiscale experimental study of H2/brine multiphase flow in porous rock characterizing relative permeability hysteresis, hydrogen dissolution, and Ostwald ripening
    (2024) Boon, Maartje; Rademaker, Tim; Winardhi, Chandra Widyananda; Hajibeygi, Hadi
    To safely and efficiently utilize porous reservoirs for underground hydrogen storage (UHS), it is essential to characterize hydrogen transport properties at multiple scales. In this study, hydrogen/brine multiphase flow at 50 bar and 25 °C in a 17 cm Berea sandstone rock core was characterized and visualized at the pore and core scales using micro X-ray CT. The experiment included a single drainage and imbibition cycle during which relative permeability hysteresis was measured, and two no-flow periods to study the redistribution of hydrogen in the pore space during storage periods. An end-point relative permeability of 0.043 was found at , and the residual gas saturation was measured to be 0.32. Despite extensive pre-equilibration, significant dissolution of hydrogen into brine occurred near the core inlet due to elevated pressures and the corresponding increase in hydrogen solubility. During drainage, many disconnected hydrogen ganglia were observed further down the core which could be explained by the exsolution of the dissolved hydrogen. During imbibition, the dissolution of hydrogen led to the formation of preferential flow paths near the inlet, and eventually removed most of the trapped hydrogen in the final stage of the experiment. The two no-flow periods were characterized by the fragmentation of medium-sized hydrogen ganglia and the growth of a few larger ganglia, providing evidence for hydrogen re-connection through the dissolution-driven process of Ostwald ripening. These results demonstrate that despite the low solubility of hydrogen in brine, hydrogen dissolution can significantly influence the observed multiphase flow and trapping behavior in the reservoir and should be considered in UHS modeling.