Energy recovery mechanism of air injection in higher methane cut reservoir

Abstract

According to new research, methane emissions contribute 25 percent more to global warming than previously assumed. Methane is a crucial precursor gas of tropospheric ozone, a dangerous air pollutant. Methane emissions are responsible for almost half of the reported growth in tropospheric ozone levels on a global scale. But it plays a vital role as an energy source, therefore, the study of methane cut reservoirs is essential. The injection of air can extract additional energy in high methane-cut reservoirs. The analysis is made to compute the theoretical potential of low air flooding in high methane-cut reservoirs. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used to study the impact of injecting air on methane. The presence of carbon dioxide and oxygen when injected into the methane cut reservoir produces high-pressure air injection that may cause significant safety damage such as the potential for corrosion or explosion. Past field studies and reported solutions indicate that there are no insurmountable problems in the execution of high-pressure air injection. The results are harmful and need to take useful safety precautions for the engineers who are interested in experiments. The users of CFD use mathematical laws and models that exactly represent the phenomenon they are dealing with. The pressure induced by the air injection is simulated with the help of the Finite Volume Method (FVM). The velocity field near the outlet arises as higher pressure of air from the inlet is observed, whereas, the pressure near the outlet declines. The findings of this study can help for better understanding of outflow of methane from methane reservoirs.