Physical Variability in Meter-Scale Laboratory CO2 Injections in Faulted Geometries

Abstract

Carbon, capture, and storage (CCS) is an important bridging technology to combat climate change in the transition toward net-zero. The FluidFlower concept has been developed to visualize and study CO2 flow and storage mechanisms in sedimentary systems in a laboratory setting. Meter-scale multiphase flow in two geological geometries, including normal faults with and without smearing, is studied. The experimental protocols developed to provide key input parameters for numerical simulations are detailed, including an evaluation of operational parameters for the FluidFlower benchmark study. Variability in CO2 migration patterns for two different geometries is quantified, both between 16 repeated laboratory runs and between history-matched models and a CO2 injection experiment. The predicative capability of a history-matched model is then evaluated in a different geological setting.