• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.105-115
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• 2021

The geological CO2 sequestration in underground geological formation such as deep saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs is one of the most promising options for reducing the atmospheric CO2 emissions. The process in geological CO2 sequestration involves injection of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) into porous media saturated with pore water and initiates CO2 flooding with immiscible displacement. The CO2 migration and distribution, and, consequently, the displacement efficiency is governed by the interaction of fluids. Especially, the viscous force and capillary force are controlled by geological formation conditions and injection conditions. This study aimed to estimate the effects of surfactant on interfacial tension between the immiscible fluids, scCO2 and porewater, under high pressure and high temperature conditions by using a pair of proxy fluids under standard conditions through pendant drop method. It also aimed to observe migration and distribution patterns of the immiscible fluids and estimate the effects of surfactant concentrations on the displacement efficiency of scCO2. Micromodel experiments were conducted by applying n-hexane and deionized water as proxy fluids for scCO2 and porewater. In order to quantitatively analyze the immiscible displacement phenomena by n-hexane injection in pore network, the images of migration and distribution pattern of the two fluids are acquired through a imaging system. The experimental results revealed that the addition of surfactants sharply reduces the interfacial tension between hexane and deionized water at low concentrations and approaches a constant value as the concentration increases. Also it was found that, by directly affecting the flow path of the flooding fluid at the pore scale in the porous medium, the surfactant showed the identical effect on the displacement efficiency of n-hexane at equilibrium state. The experimental observation results could provide important fundamental information on immiscible displacement of fluids in porous media and suggest the potential to improve the displacement efficiency of scCO2 by using surfactants.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.5-11
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• 2024

Promising geological structures for carbon dioxide capture and subsurface storage include aquifers, depleted reservoirs, and gas fields. Among these, aquifers are gaining attention due to their potential for storing significant amounts of carbon dioxide compared to other geological structures. Therefore, there is a growing interest in enhancing carbon dioxide storage efficiency by understanding the characteristics of aquifers and developing technologies tailored to their properties. In this study, the storage efficiency of carbon dioxide injection following surfactant pre-injection into porous micro-models was evaluated. The results indicate that as the concentration of the surfactant solution injected prior to carbon dioxide injection increases, storage efficiency improves. Conversely, lower concentrations require more surfactant injection to enhance storage efficiency. Furthermore, under identical surfactant concentration conditions, the storage efficiency from surfactant pre-injection prior to supercritical carbon dioxide injection is approximately 30% lower compared to surfactant-co-solvent substitution as observed in previous studies. However, under the maximum concentration conditions investigated in this study, similar storage efficiencies to those of previous studies were achieved. These findings are expected to guide concentration determinations for surfactant application aimed at enhancing carbon dioxide storage efficiency in aquifers in future studies.