Unraveling residual trapping for geologic hydrogen storage and production using pore-scale modeling

Abstract

Residual trapping is an important process that affects the efficiency of cyclic storage and withdrawal and in-situ production of hydrogen in geological media. In this study, we have conducted pore-scale modeling to investigate the effects of pore geometry and injection rate on the occurrence and efficiency of residual trapping via dead-end bypassing. We begin our theoretical and numerical analyses using a single rectangular pore to understand the key controls in bypassing. We further investigated two factors affecting bypassing: (a) a continuous cycle of injection-extraction of H2, and (b) variable pore geometry. Based on our pore-scale simulations, we found that: (a) a higher pore height/width ratio (h/w) and a higher injection rate cause more residual trapping, which is unfavorable for withdrawal of H2; (b) the trapping percentage increases with the h/w first and then decreases after h/w reaches 0.5; (c) and a converging-shaped pore can result in less trapping volume. Based on a theoretical comparison of the residual trapping behavior of H2 and CO2, we discuss the mechanisms that are applicable to CO2 residual trapping and the possibility of developing engineering controls of H2 storage and production.