Abstract
The Mount Simon and Lower Knox Group Formations within the Illinois Basin, USA, are being considered as targets for carbon dioxide (CO\(_2\)) storage. Two main concerns related to the subsurface storage process are potential leakage of CO\(_2\) from the storage formation to the atmosphere and possible migration of CO\(_2\) or displaced brine into underground sources of drinking water. In this study we use a numerical model to represent the migration of both CO\(_2\) and brine in the Mount Simon Sandstone and two overlying aquifers, the shallowest of which is considered a potential source of drinking water. A vertically-integrated approach is used to model the fluid flow, leading to a stack of two-dimensional subdomains which are connected by leakage through the aquitards which separate the aquifers. Each formation is discretized into 12,103 grid cells, each \(5 \times 5\,\mathrm{{km}}\), and permeability and porosity vary spatially. Two vertical refinements are used for the Mount Simon Sandstone: the first represents the Mount Simon as a single layer, while the second subdivides the formation into subunits within the formation that have varying petrophysical properties. The locations and injection rates of the hypothetical injection operations are based on existing sources of CO\(_2\) associated with power generation, ethanol production, and oil and gas refineries. A total of 250.5 million metric tons are injected at 118 sites. The injection operations are assumed to continue for 50 years. Results indicate the maximum radial extent of the CO\(_2\) plume increased from 40 to 50 km between the single layer and multi-layer representations of the Mount Simon. Maximum average pore pressures reached 8.6 MPa and the pressure envelop extended as much as 100 km from the injection wells with significant well-well pressure interference patterns. The maximum well head pressure exceeded the fracture pressure in some cases suggesting more wells may be needed at some of the lower permeability injection sites. Brine leakage into overlying shallower units was not significant.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Birkholzer, J.T., Zhou, Q.: Basin-scale hydrogeologic impacts of CO2 storage: capacity and regulatory implications. Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control 3(6), 475–756 (2009)
Brooks, R.H., Corey, A.T.: Properties of porous media affecting fluid flow. J. Irrigation Drainage Div. Proc. Am. Doc. Civil Eng. 92, 61–88 (1966)
Celia, M.A., Nordbotten, J.M.: Practical modeling approaches for geological storage of carbon dioxide. Ground Water 47(5), 627–638 (2009)
Court, B., Bandilla, K.W., Celia, M.A., Janzen, A.K., Dobossy, M., Nordbotten, J.M.: Applicability of vertical-equilibrium and sharp-interface assumptions in CO2 sequestration modeling. Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control 5(4), 850–861 (2012)
Gasda, S., Nordbotten, J.M., Celia, M.A.: Vertical-equilibrium with sub-scale analytical methods for geological CO2 sequestration. Comput. Geosci. 13(4), 469–481 (2009)
International Energy Agency: Prospects for CO2 Capture and Storage. OECD/IEA, Paris (2004)
IPCC: Special report on carbon dioxide capture and storage: prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York. 442 pp (2005)
Janzen, A.K.: Development and application of a multi-scale, multi-layer numerical model for CO2 injection. Master’s thesis, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (2010). Available at http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01np193917f
Lake, L.: Enhanced Oil Recovery. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River (1989)
Medina, C.R., Rupp, J.A., Barnes, D.A.: Effects of reduction in porosity and permeability with depth on storage capacity and injectivity in deep saline aquifers: a case study from the mount simon sandstone aquifer. Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control 5(4), 146–156 (2010)
National Energy Technology Laboratory: Carbon Sequestration Atlas for of the United States and Canada. U.S. Department of Energy/NETL, Pittsburgh, PA (2007)
Nilsen, H., Herrera, P.A., Ashraf, M., Ligaarden, I., Iding, M., Hermanrud, C., Lie, K., Nordbotten, J.M., Dahle, H.K., Keilegavlen, E.: Field-case simulation of CO2-plume migration using vertical-equilibrium models. Energy Procedia 4, 3801–3808 (2011)
Nitao, J.J.: Reference manual for the NUFT flow and transport code, version 2.0. Ucrl-ma-130651, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA (1998)
Nordbotten, J.M., Dahle, H.K.: Impact of the capillary fringe in vertically integrated models for CO2 storage. Water Resour. Res. 47, W02537 (2011)
Nordbotten, J.M., Celia, M.A.: Geological Storage of CO2: Modeling Approaches for Large-Scale Simulation. Wiley, Hoboken (2012)
Pacala, S., Socolow, R.: Stabilization wedges: solving the climate problem for the next 50 years with current technologies. Science 305, 968–972 (2004)
Person, M., Banerjee, A., Rupp, J.A., Medina, C.R., Lichtner, P., Gable, C., Pawarc, R., Celia, M.A., McInthosh, J., Bense, V.: Assessment of basin-scale hydrologic impacts of CO2 sequestration, Illinois Basin. Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control 4(5), 840–854 (2010)
Pruess, K., Oldenburg, C.M., Moridis, G.: TOUGH2 user’s guide, version 2.0. Report LBNL-43134, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA (1999)
Schlumberger: ECLIPSE Technical Description. Schlumberger Software, London (2010)
White, M.D., Oostrom, M.: STOMP-subsurface transport over multiple phases, version 4.0: User’s guide. PNNL-15782, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA (2006)
Yortos, Y.C.: A theoretical analysis of vertical flow equilibrium. Transp. Porous Media 18, 107–129 (2010)
Zhou, Q., Birkholzer, J.T., Mehnert, E., Lin, Y.F., Zhang, K.: Modeling basin- and plume-scale processes of CO2 storage for full-scale deployment. Ground Water 48(4), 494–514 (2010)
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by the Environmental Protection Agency under Cooperative Agreement RD-83438501 as well as the National Science Foundation under Grant EAR-0934722; the Department of Energy under Award No. DE-FE0001161, CFDA No. 81,089; and the Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by: Gabriel Wittum.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bandilla, K.W., Celia, M.A., Elliot, T.R. et al. Modeling carbon sequestration in the Illinois Basin using a vertically-integrated approach. Comput. Visual Sci. 15, 39–51 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00791-013-0195-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00791-013-0195-2