Relative permeability hysteresis and capillary trapping characteristics of supercritical CO2/brine systems: An experimental study at reservoir conditions

We present the results of an experimental study on the effects of hysteresis on capillary trapping and relative permeability of CO2/brine systems at reservoir conditions. We performed thirty unsteady- and steady-state drainage and imbibition full-recirculation flow experiments in three different sandstone rock samples, low- and high-permeability Berea and Nugget sandstones. The experiments were carried out at various flow rates with both supercritical CO2 (scCO2)/brine and gaseous CO2 (gCO2)/brine fluid systems. The unsteady-state experiments were carried out with a wide range of flow rates to establish a broad range of initial brine saturations (Swi)(Swi). This allowed investigation of the sensitivity of residual trapped CO2 saturation (SCO2rSCO2r) to changes in SwiSwi. The values were successfully compared with those available in the literature. For a given SwiSwi, the trapped scCO2 saturation was less than that of gCO2 in the same sample. This was attributed to brine being less wetting in the presence of scCO2 than in the presence of gCO2. Post-imbibition dissolution of trapped CO2 and formation of dissolution front was also investigated. During the steady-state experiments, scCO2 and brine were co-injected with monotonically increasing or decreasing fractional flows to perform drainage and imbibition processes. We carried out seven sets of steady-state flow tests with various trajectories generating a comprehensive group of relative permeability hysteresis curves. The scanning curves revealed distinct features with potentially important implications for storage of scCO2 in geological formations. For both series of experiments, the ratio of SCO2rSCO2r to initial CO2 saturation (1- SwiSwi) was found to be much higher for low initial CO2 saturations. The results indicate that very promising fractions (about 49 to 83%) of the initial CO2 saturation can be stored through capillary trapping.

► A major portion of the initial SCO2 can be trapped by brine imbibition.
► Relative permeability hysteresis was characterized using steady-state method.
► A rapid reduction in imbibition relative permeability of scCO2 was observed.
► For a given Sw, imbibition krw was greater than drainage value.