EOS7Cm: An improved TOUGH2 module for simulating non-isothermal multiphase and multicomponent flow in CO2–H2S–CH4–brine systems with high pressure, temperature and salinity

Abstract

Understanding the non-isothermal multiphase and multicomponent flow in a CO2–H2S–CH4–brine system is of critical importance in projects such as CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers, natural gas extraction using CO2 as the displacement fluid, and heat extraction from hot dry rocks using CO2 as the working fluid. Numerical simulation is a necessary tool to evaluate the chemical evolution in these systems. However, an accurate thermodynamic model for CO2–H2S–CH4–brine systems appropriate for high pressure, temperature, and salinity is still lacking. This study establishes the mutual solubility model for CO2–H2S–CH4–brine systems based on the fugacity–activity method for phase equilibrium. The model can predict mutual solubilities for pressure up to 1000bar for CO2 and CH4, and 200bar for H2S, for temperature up to 200°C, and for salinity up to 6mol/kg water. We incorporated the new model into TOUGH2/EOS7C, forming a new improved module we call EOS7Cm. Compared to the original EOS7C, EOS7Cm considers the effects of H2S and covers a larger range of temperature and salinity. EOS7Cm is employed in five examples, including CO2 injection with and without impurities (CH4 and/or H2S) into deep aquifers, CH4 extraction from aquifers by CO2 injection, and heat extraction from hot dry rock. The results are compared to those from TOUGH2/ECO2N, EOS7C and CMG, agreement among which serves to verify EOS7Cm.