skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: T2Well/ECO2N Version 1.0: Multiphase and Non-Isothermal Model for Coupled Wellbore-Reservoir Flow of Carbon Dioxide and Variable Salinity Water

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1007233· OSTI ID:1007233

At its most basic level, the injection of CO{sub 2} into geologic CO{sub 2} storage sites involves a system comprising the wellbore and the target reservoir. The wellbore is the only conduit available to emplace CO{sub 2} into reservoirs for long-term storage. At the same time, wellbores in general have been identified as the most likely conduit for CO{sub 2} and brine leakage from geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) sites, especially those in sedimentary basins with historical hydrocarbon production. We have developed a coupled wellbore and reservoir model for simulating the dynamics of CO{sub 2} injection and leakage through wellbores. The model describes the following processes: (1) upward or downward wellbore flow of CO{sub 2} and variable salinity water with transition from supercritical to gaseous CO{sub 2} including Joule-Thomson cooling, (2) exsolution of CO{sub 2} from the aqueous phase as pressure drops, and (3) cross flow into or interaction with layers of surrounding rock (reservoirs). We use the Drift-Flux Model and related conservation equations for describing transient two-phase non-isothermal wellbore flow of CO{sub 2}-water mixtures under different flow regimes and interacting with surrounding rock. The mass and thermal energy balance equations are solved numerically by a finite difference scheme with wellbore heat transmission to the surrounding rock handled either semi-analytically or numerically. The momentum balance equation for the flow in the wellbore is solved numerically with a semi-explicit scheme. This manual provides instructions for compilation and use of the new model, and presents some example problems to demonstrate its use.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Earth Sciences Division
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1007233
Report Number(s):
LBNL-4291E; TRN: US201108%%107
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English