Bottom-up CO2 Sequestration in Negative Geologic Closures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current carbon dioxide sequestration methods face challenges in achieving long-term storage due to buoyancy issues and incomplete filling of reservoirs, particularly in positive geologic closures, where carbon dioxide tends to migrate upwards and get trapped at the reservoir-seal interface, leading to potential leakage and reduced storage efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The method involves identifying and utilizing negative geologic closures, characterized by their dimensions and layers, to inject carbon dioxide at the bottom of these structures, increasing the fluid's density to ensure it remains trapped, using a bottom-up injection approach that avoids cap rock issues and leverages the storage potential of salt-rich water for mineralization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If carbon dioxide is injected into positive geologic closures, then storage capacity is initially achieved, but carbon dioxide migrates upwards and gets trapped at the reservoir-seal interface leading to potential leakage and reduced storage efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional injection approach by injecting carbon dioxide from the bottom of negative geologic closures rather than from the top of positive closures. This inversion exploits the negative buoyancy of densified carbon dioxide to achieve bottom-up filling, preventing upward migration and trapping at the seal interface, thereby resolving the contradiction between storage capacity and storage permanence
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the density parameter of carbon dioxide by densifying it before injection, transforming it from a buoyant gas to a negatively buoyant fluid. This parameter change enables the carbon dioxide to sink and fill the closure from the bottom up, eliminating the migration and leakage issues associated with conventional injection methods
2Ease of manufacture
If carbon dioxide is injected at the top of the reservoir, then injection is simpler, but carbon dioxide migration distance increases and wellbore stability issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the injection location from the top to the bottom of the reservoir. This inversion reduces the migration distance of carbon dioxide, minimizes wellbore stability issues, and eliminates the need for complex cap rock integrity management, thereby resolving the contradiction between injection simplicity and harmful factors
3Quantity of substance
If carbon dioxide is stored in positive geologic closures, then storage is achieved, but cap rock integrity issues and buoyancy pressures reduce long-term storage reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the approach by using negative geologic closures and bottom-up injection, which eliminates buoyancy pressures on the seal and cap rock. The densified carbon dioxide naturally sinks and fills the closure without exerting upward pressure, thereby resolving the contradiction between storage quantity and seal integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful buoyancy effect into a beneficial downward force by densifying the carbon dioxide. The negative buoyancy that would normally be harmful in positive closures becomes the driving force for bottom-up filling in negative closures, eliminating cap rock integrity issues while achieving reliable storage
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
This approach provides stable, long-term carbon dioxide trapping by systematically filling the available storage space from the bottom up, reducing wellbore stability issues and leakage risks, and allowing sufficient time for carbon mineralization, thereby enhancing the storage capacity and permanence of carbon dioxide.
Implementation Method 1
increasing the density of fluid containing carbon dioxide so that it is biased to naturally remaining in the negative geologic closure
Implementation Method 2
Negative geologic closures tend to collect fluids that have a higher density (e.g., brine) than other fluids (e.g., fresh water) in the formation
Implementation Method 3
Solubility trapping involves carbon dioxide dissolving in the local brine and becoming trapped as an aqueous component
Implementation Method 4
The aqueous carbon dioxide then reacts with water to form carbonic species
Implementation Method 5
Negative geologic closures are portions of a subsurface formation where a layer which limits flow of fluids through the formation
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for storing carbon dioxide in a subsurface formation include identifying a plurality of negative geologic closures in the subsurface formation. The dimensions of the plurality of negative geologic closures are characterized. Layers of subsurface formation in the vicinity the negative geologic closures are characterized. One of the negative geologic closures is selected for bottom-up storage of carbon dioxide based on the characterized dimensions and layers.