Collaborative Research on Carbon Sequestration in Saline Aquifers in China

Dongxiao “Don” ZhangPeking University, Beijing

University of Southern California

GCEP Sixth Annual Research Symposium

Creating a Sustainable Energy System for the 21st Century & Beyond

September 28-29, 2010

• Collaborative Research on Carbon Sequestration in Saline Aquifers

in China, PKU-CUG-USC

• CUG: China University of Geosciences in Wuhan

• PKU: Peking University in Beijing

• USC: University of Southern California

GCEP Project: Started in 2009

Collaborative Team

o Peking University (Beijing)

Dongxiao Zhang, professor (Hydrogeology and PetEng) : Director

Qingdong Cai, associate professor (Computational fluid mechanics) : co-Director

Yi Zheng, assistant professor (Hydrogeology)

Bin Gong, assistant professor (Subsurface modeling, PetEng)

o China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)

Yilian Li, professor (Geochemistry) : co-Director

Yanxin Wang, professor (Hydrogeology and Geochemistry)

Jianmei Cheng, professor (Hydrogeology)

o University of Southern California

Dongxiao Zhang, professor (Hydrogeology and PetEng) : Director

Kristian Jessen, assistant professor (ChemEng and PetEng)

o 6 post-doctoral researchers and 25 graduate students

The Need for Collaboration

Emissions Reduction Commitment of China

Cutting CO2

emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% in

2020, compared

with 2005 level.

Equivalent to additional 1.4-2.2billion tons of

reductions, given

current reduction

measures.

Mixed options: Energy efficiency improvement, energy

saving, renewable energy, and CCS

Energy Structure Sketch Map

Total Energy

(0.1 Billion Tce)

Source: CAE

China’s Medium-long Term Energy Projection

Even under the most aggressive policy scenario, coal will

continue to meet nearly half of China’s energy demand through

2030 and a significant portion for the foreseeable future.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)

• Continuing burning of coal will continue to generate

CO2

• No clean coal technology is clean without taking care

of the carbon generated

• Among other measures, CCS will be needed to

achieve the carbon emissions reduction goal

• Since 2005, a number of CCUS approaches are

explored in China (a late start but with a rapid

development)

• Governmental supports are ramping up

• Ministry of Science and Technology

973 Project – Geological Carbon

Storage with Enhanced Oil Recovery

2006-2011. • Fundamental R&D

• Fate and distribution of injected CO2

• PetroChina Jilin Oilfield Pilot

CO2-EOR

CO2 separated from CO2 rich natural

gas field

Injection: 10,000 t/yr

Peking University: one of the major

partners

Major Players in China (1): CNPC/PetroChina

• The largest power generator

in China

• GreenGen Project: 2006-2017

• PCC : 3000 t/a pilot plant in

Beijing (2007- )

• PCC: 100,000 t/a industrial

scale pilot plant in Shanghai

(2009- )

•Largest PCC plant

• Close collaboration with

Peking University for carbon

storage

Major Players in China (2): Huaneng

3000 t/a CO2 PCC Pilot in Beijing:

• CO2 in FG:12%-15%

• Capacity:1800-3200Nm3/h (75%-135%)

FG

• CO2 in Exhaust Gas: ~2%

• Captured CO2 :99.7%, 350-600kg/h

• Start to operate in 15 July 2008,

Accumulative Operation hours: 9000

• Mapping Chinese basins for carbon

sequestration

• Developing methodology for assessing

sequestration capacity in China

• Screening tools for selecting suitable

sites for refined studies

• Large scale pilot study in collaboration

w/ Shenhua: Carbon from CTL plant;

100,000 t/a

• Partners: Peking University, China

University of Geosciences, etc.

Major Players in China (3): Chinese

Geol. Survey

• Largest coal producer in the

world

• 11% world coal production

• CTL Plant: 3 Mt/a high purity

CO2

• Large scale pilot study: Carbon

from CTL plant; 100,000 t/a

• Technology Provider: Peking

University, in partnership with

Chinese Academy of Sciences

and Beijing Normal University

Major Players in China (4): Shenhua

• Ordos is one of China’s

largest basins for

energy production and

for carbon storage

• Estimated seq. capacity:

• Oil and Gas fields: 400-

500 million tons

• Deep coal seams and

ECBM: 1-10 billion tons

• Deep saline aquifers: 10-

100 billion tons

Ordos Basin

Coal

Seams

Saline

Aquifer

Oil/

Gas

Saline

Aquifer

The pilot is located

at 40km southeast

of Ordos City;

17km northwest of

CTL plant

From 2010, inject

100,000t/a of CO2

World largest pilot

for sequestering

coal-generated

CO2 in a saline

aquifer

CTL Plant

CO2 Storage Pilot Site

Shenhua Carbon Storage Pilot

Regional Reservoirs, Caprocks

and Traps

• The strata in Ordos basin

between Meso-Proterozoic

and Tertiary are well

developed and the

depositional cycle is clear.

• Potential storage

formations: the Lower-

Paleozoic carbonate rock

widely distributed.

• Caprocks: the bauxitic

mudstone and dark

mudstone stably distributed

above.

The circulation of karst water in the Ordos basin

Target Storage Fm

Geol. and Computer Modeling

Model parameters:

•Horizontal：1459m

•Lateral：1444m

•Depth：1863m － 2450m Total 587m

ShiQianFeng – SanXi group

Ave. porosity：3.9 %

Ave. perm.：0.12 mD

注入时间 / 天

累积注入量

/ t

W/o hydro-fracturing,

only about 10,000 t/a can

be injected in a well

Cu

mu

l In

ject

ion

(t)

Inj time (d)

3D Model with Hydro-Frac.

Hydraulic Fracturing ModelGeological Model

DFM Model

Stanford GPRS used

CO2 distribution after 5 years of injection

East - West (m)

Nort

h –

Sou

th (

m)

CO2 front observation time

East - West (m)

Nort

h –

Sou

th (

m)

Time contour map of CO2 front

observation time (month)

CO2 front observation time at a specific

position considering possible fracturing

directions (year)

Geology and Hydrogeology (CUG)

• The selection of suitable sites for carbon

sequestration

• Comprehensive review of sedimentary basins

in China in terms of basin characteristics and

proximity to CO2 point sources.

• Develop consistent criteria for screening and

ranking basins: Lateral extend, quality of

caprocks/seals, geological and

hydrogeological properties including depth,

porosity, permeability, temperature, pressure,

and geochemical conditions.

• Identify suitable candidates for large-scale

storage projects (>200Mt of CO2).

• Select three candidates for detailed

characterization

2009-2010 Project Activities (1)

2009-2010 Project Activities (1)

Characteristics of major basins in Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Area

Modeling and Simulation

(PKU/USC)

• Uncertainty quantification

– Multiple parameters

– Non-linearly coupled processes

• Effect of spatial heterogeneity on

fate of inject CO2

– Absolute vs. relative dispersion

framework

– Dilution index

– Spatial moments

2009-2010 Project Activities (2)

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

porosity

Radial distance(m)

CO

2 s

eq

ue

ste

red

(m

ine

ral tr

ap

pin

g)(

kg

/m3)

<>

<> +

<> -

original result

Trace of Spatial Moments

Effect of Porosity on Mineralization

Absolute vs. Relative Dispersion Framework

Relative Dispersion

Averaging

Absolute Dispersion

Averaging

Sample 4

Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3

Jahangiri and Zhang, IJGGC, 2010

Modeling and Simulation (PKU/USC)

• Fractured porous media

– Caprocks

– Pressure build up

– Injection rates

• Coupled processes

– Microscopic, density-driven flow

2009-2010 Project Activities (2)

Chen & Zhang,

POF, 2009

Poster by PKU students

Counter-Current Flow (USC)

• Derive macroscopic constitutive models

(e.g. relative permeability)

– Emphasis on counter-current flow

• Perform experimental studies

• Test models relative to experimental

observations

2009-2010 Project Activities (3)

log(K)

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40 1.4

1.6

1.8

2

2.2

2.4

2.6

2.8

3

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 10

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

Sw

kr'

s

krw-co

krg-co

krw-count

krg-count

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 80000

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

time (days)

frac

tion

of g

as tr

appe

d

cocurrent

countercurrent

mixed

Nattwongaseem, Javaheri & Jessen, USC

2009-2010 Project Activities (3)

Nattwongaseem, Javaheri & Jessen, USC

Summary

• Geological sequestration presents an immediate,

low-cost option for carbon management in China and

in the world.

• Carbon sequestration is an important measure for

sustaining fossil fuel based economy.

• China had a late start in CCS but with rapid

developments, and the governmental support on

CCS technologies is ramping up.

• The project team has had a close cooperation with

major players in China, which provides a great

leverage to the project.

2009-2010 Project Sponsored Publications (1)

Chen, C., and D. Zhang, Lattice Boltzmann simulation of the rise and dissolution of

two-dimensional immiscible droplets, Physics of Fluids, 21, 103301, DOI:

10.1063/1.3253385, 2009.

Rapaka, S., R. Pawar, P. Stauffer, D. Zhang, S. Chen, Onset of convection over a

transient base-state in anisotropic and layered porous media, J. Fluid Mech., 641:

227-244, doi:10.1017/S0022112009991479, 2009.

Chen, C., and D. Zhang, Pore-scale simulation of density-driven convection in

fractured porous media during geological CO2 sequestration, Water Resources

Research, in press, 2010.

Jahangiri, H.R., and D. Zhang, Effect of Spatial Heterogeneity on Plume Distribution

and Dilution during CO2 Sequestration, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas

Control, provisionally accepted, 2010.

L.Jiang, Y.L.Li, W.Zhang, G.B.Qiu. Numerical Simulation of Potential Effects of

CO2 Leakage on Shallow Potable Aquifers. Accepted by IAHS Red Book publication

entitled “Managing Groundwater and the Environment”.

Wei Zhang, Yilian Li, Tianfu Xu, et al. Numerical simulation on effects of convective

mixing on long term CO2 geological storage in deep saline formations.

Environmental Earth Science (the revised paper has been submitted).

2009-2010 Project Sponsored Publications (2)

Anne Nyatichi Omambia, Yilian Li, Wei Zhang. Numerical simulation of carbon

dioxide injection in Wangchang Oilfield - Jianghan Basin, China. Accepted by

Journal of American Science.

Ling Jiang. Research on the Environmental Effects on the CO2 geological storage,

Jianghan Case[D], China University of Geosciences, 6, 2010.

Gengbiao Qiu. Design of the Injection Technique of CO2 in Xingou Olifield of the

Jianghan Basin [D], China University of Geosciences, 6, 2010.

Anne Nyatichi Omambia. Design of the carbon dioxide injection in Wangchang

Oilfield-Jianghan Basin, China [D], China University of Geosciences, 2010.

Nattwongasem, D. and Jessen, K: "Residual Trapping of CO2 in Aquifers during the

Counter-Current Flow", Paper SPE 125029, SPE Annual Technical Conference and

Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 4–7 October 2009.

Gong, B., Huo, D., Discrete Modeling and Simulation on Potential Leakage Through

Fractures and Wells in CO2 Sequestration, SPE135507, presented at the SPE Annual

Technical Conference and Exhibition held in 19-22 September 2010 in Florence, Italy.

Gong, B., Huo, D., Numerical Simulation on CO2 Leakage through Fractures along

Wells using Discrete Fracture Modeling, SPE133986, presented at SPE Asia Pacific

Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition held in 18-20 October 2010 in Brisbane,

Australia.

Thank You!