Ramesh agarwal

Research Project Profile

Numerical Modeling and Simulation of CO2 Sequestration in Saline Aquifers

PI: Professor Ramesh Agarwal, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Structural Engineering, WU

Collaborator/Consultant: Professors Sally Benson and Hamdi Tchelepi, Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP), Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Project summary

We will consider the storage of CO2 several kilometers beneath the surface in generic aquifers to advance our fundamental understanding of various mechanisms that are crucial for long term sequestration of CO2 in saline aquifers, which contain highly mineralized brines. The three most important mechanisms for the sequestration of carbon dioxide in saline reservoirs are trapping, dissolution in water or brine and, mineral sequestration. We will study the fundamental physics behind these mechanisms and their relationship with sequestration via multi-phase numerical simulations using the TOUGH2/TOUGHREACT Code.

Some problems to be addressed:

Estimation of CO2 Storage Capacity of a Geological Formation
CO2 Trapping and Dissolution in Water or Brine in a Generic Aquifer
CO2 Plume Evolution and Leakage through an Abandoned Well
Enhanced CH4 Recovery in Combination with CO2 Storage in Depleted Gas Reservoirs
Mineral Sequestration of CO2