Rough Surface Effect on CO2 Displacement at the Nanoscale

Abstract

CO2 injection has great potential for enhancing shale oil recovery. Understanding the CO2 displacement in nanometer pores of shale is critical for developing effective CO2 injection techniques. In this work, we applied direct numerical simulation to study the effect of the rough surface on CO2 displacement in nanometer pores of shale. By quantifying CO2 displacement in rough nanochannels, we aimed to understand how surface roughness and morphology affect displacement progress. We found that the rough surface results in shrinkage of the CO2 displacement path, slowing overall displacement rate. Additionally, the pinch-point effect in a rough nanochannel impedes the smooth progression of the interface contact line, causing periodic velocity fluctuation that further hinders CO2 displacement. We also simulated the CO2 displacement in rough nanoporous media, finding that the rough surface leads to a substantial decrease in CO2 displacement efficiency, especially under low pressure gradient conditions. Our simulation results indicate that the rough surface of a shale nanometer pore has a nonnegligible effect on CO2 displacement.