Experimental Examination of Fluid Flow in Fractured Carbon Storage Sealing Formations

Abstract

This report describes a series of experiments where CO2-saturated-brine flow through fractured seal rocks from three sites within the continental United States that are being considered, or are actively being used, for CCUS pilot studies were examined. The experiments were performed over multiple weeks by injecting CO2 saturated brine through fractured samples, and were scanned with a computed tomography scanner at regular intervals over the course of the experiment while kept at representative reservoir pressures. The goal was to evaluate the change in the fracture flow that would result from a CO2 leakage event so that accurate relationships can be implemented in numerical models to assess risk. Of the three different formations studied in this series of fractured seal formation CO2-saturated-brine flow through experiments, only one formation had a reaction that was greater than the noise in the system. Reactions within the Tuscaloosa claystone sample appeared to reduce the transmissivity of the fracture slightly over the 39 day experiment. The change in the geometry of the fracture was not great enough to view with the medical CT images that were captured during the experiment. All other tests showed a minimal amount of change in the fracture and fracture flow properties.