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Numerical simulation to quantify the leakage risk in a multi-layer aquifer system of pure brine recovery and CO2-enhanced brine recovery: a case study of potassium-rich brine recovery in Jianghan Basin of China

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Abstract

Deep brine recovery enhanced by supercritical CO2 injection is proposed to be a win–win method for the enhancement of brine production and CO2 storage capacity and security. However, the cross-flow through interlayers under different permeability conditions is not well investigated for a multi-layer aquifer system. In this work, a multi-layer aquifer system with different permeability conditions was built up to quantify the brine production yield and the leakage risk under both schemes of pure brine recovery and enhanced by supercritical CO2. Numerical simulation results show that the permeability conditions of the interlayers have a significant effect on the brine production and the leakage risk as well as the regional pressure. Brine recovery enhanced by supercritical CO2 injection can improve the brine production yield by a factor of 2–3.5 compared to the pure brine recovery. For the pure brine recovery, strong cross-flow through interlayers occurs due to the drastic and extensive pressure drop, even for the relative low permeability (k = 10−20 m2) mudstone interlayers. Brine recovery enhanced by supercritical CO2 can successfully manage the regional pressure and decrease the leakage risk, even for the relative high permeability (k = 10−17 m2) mudstone interlayers. In addition, since the leakage of brine mainly occurs in the early stage of brine production, it is possible to minimize the leakage risk by gradually decreasing the brine production pressure at the early stage. Since the leakage of CO2 occurs in the whole production period and is significantly influenced by the buoyancy force, it may be more effective by adopting horizontal wells and optimizing well placement to reduce the CO2 leakage risk.

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Acknowledgements

This wok was supported by National Science Foundation of China (No. 11545016), the Foundation of Education Department of Hunan Province (16C1372) and Science and Technology Bureau of Hengyang City (2015KS05) as well as Doctoral Scientific Fund of University of South China (2014XQD12). We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions on this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment and Safety Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Qi Fang, Junwen Lv, Caiwu Luo, Mi Li, Wenfa Tan & Yingfeng Luo

  2. School of Computer Science and Technology, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Guojian Peng

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  1. Qi Fang
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  2. Junwen Lv
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  3. Guojian Peng
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Correspondence to Guojian Peng.

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Fang, Q., Lv, J., Peng, G. et al. Numerical simulation to quantify the leakage risk in a multi-layer aquifer system of pure brine recovery and CO2-enhanced brine recovery: a case study of potassium-rich brine recovery in Jianghan Basin of China. Environ Earth Sci 76, 464 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-017-6782-7

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