laboratory core flooding experimental systems for co2 geosequestration: an updated review over the past decade

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO2) geosequestration in deep saline aquifers has been currently deemed as a preferable and practicable mitigation means for reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions to the atmosphere, as deep saline aquifers can offer the greatest potential from a capacity point of view. Hence, research on core-scale CO2/brine multiphase migration processes is of great significance for precisely estimating storage efficiency, ensuring storage security, and predicting the long-term effects of the sequestered CO2 in subsurface saline aquifers. This review article initially presents a brief description of the essential aspects of CO2 subsurface transport and geological trapping mechanisms, and then outlines the state-of-the-art laboratory core flooding experimental apparatus that has been adopted for simulating CO2 injection and migration processes in the literature over the past decade. Finally, a summary of the characteristics, components and applications of publicly reported core flooding equipment as well as major research gaps and areas in need of further study are given in relevance to laboratory-scale core flooding experiments in CO2 geosequestration under reservoir conditions.