Dual Completion CO2 Sequestration Leakage Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Carbon dioxide sequestration methods face challenges in reducing upward leakage rates due to the buoyancy of CO2 and the need for multiple impermeable boundaries to prevent leaks into potable aquifers, which is not adequately addressed by existing technologies.
Innovation Solution
Implementing dual and multiple completion and injection methods involving the simultaneous injection of CO2 into a sequestration layer and a benign fluid like brine or water into permeable layers above the sequestration layer, with pressure control and feedback algorithms to maintain equilibrium and minimize leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple impermeable boundaries are used to prevent CO2 leakage into potable aquifers, then the safety and reliability of sequestration is improved, but the device complexity and difficulty of operation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The injection system is divided into multiple separate completion intervals, each capable of independent injection operations. The wellbore is segmented into a first completion interval for CO2 injection and a second completion interval for benign fluid injection, allowing each interval to be optimized and controlled independently while working together to achieve the safety goal
Solution Approach 2:
A benign fluid (water or brine) is introduced as an intermediary substance to counteract the buoyant rise of CO2. This intermediary fluid creates a pressure balance and physical barrier that prevents CO2 from migrating upward into the potable aquifer, thereby achieving safety without requiring complex impermeable boundaries at every interface
2Object-generated harmful factors
If dual or multiple completions are used to simultaneously inject CO2 and benign fluid, then the upward leakage rate of CO2 is reduced, but the device complexity and operational difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The CO2 injection operation and benign fluid injection operation are merged into a single simultaneous injection process. Both fluids are injected at the same time through their respective completion intervals, creating a coordinated action that prevents CO2 leakage while managing the operational complexity through unified control and monitoring
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure sensors are installed in both the CO2 injection interval and the benign fluid injection interval to provide real-time feedback on injection pressures and fluid levels. This feedback mechanism allows operators to monitor and adjust the injection process dynamically, maintaining the pressure balance needed to prevent CO2 leakage while simplifying operational control through automated monitoring
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Significantly reduces or eliminates upward leakage of CO2 by creating a pressure equilibrium that suppresses vertical migration, ensuring effective sequestration and protection of potable aquifers.
Implementation Method 1
the entry capillary pressure of the carbon dioxide into the nearly impermeable cap-rock layer
Implementation Method 2
Layer 1 whose permeability is substantially smaller than layer 0 (preferably at least three orders of magnitude smaller)
Implementation Method 3
Because carbon dioxide is buoyant, particular attention is paid to the layer above the injected interval
Implementation Method 4
the water is injected into its layer at a pressure at least equal to that of the sequestration layer corrected for the gravitational head of the respective fluids
Implementation Method 5
corrected for the gravitational head of the respective fluids
Data Source
AI summary
Carbon dioxide is sequestered in a formation using dual or multiple completion and injection methods that reduce or eliminates upward leak rates of the sequestered carbon dioxide. The dual or multiple completion and injection method involves the injection of a benign fluid such as brine (water) into a permeable layer of the formation located above the sequestration layer and which is separated form the sequestration layer by a nearly impermeable layer. The water is injected at the same time the carbon dioxide is injected.