CO2 Geostorage and Enhanced Oil Recovery: Challenges in Controlling Foam/Emulsion Generation and Propagation
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: CO2 injection in subterranean reservoirs for storage, for oil recovery, or for both, is challenging because of its very high mobility. CO2 foam or emulsion is a way to remedy this problem by increasing CO2 apparent viscosity. However, the generation of foam and its propagation in porous media present several issues which have to be overcome for this process to be economically realistic in practice. For example, it may take time, i.e., a number of pore volumes to be injected, before foam is created. It is the objective of this paper to investigate these issues thoroughly, and to identify the mechanisms underlying them by looking at the effect of various parameters. It is found that surfactant adsorption on the surface of the rock is an important factor intervening in the delay of foam formation, but it may not explain all the results. The nature and morphology of the porous medium may be in some cases the dominant factor for foam generation and propagation. From the understanding of the origin of the encountered problem, relevant mitigation strategies are envisioned and evaluated. It is found for example that, when appropriately formulated and injected with proper process, foam or emulsion generation is strongly accelerated, which shortens very significantly the delay for achieving CO2 storage.
Source: ACS Omega
Institution: Total (France)
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,935
OpenAlex ID: W4401977086