The Aquifer-CO2Leak project: Numerical modeling for the design of a CO2 injection experiment in the saturated zone of the Saint-Emilion (France) site

Omar Gassara (1) , Audrey Estublier (1) , Bruno Garcia (1) , Sonia Noirez (1) , Adrian Cerepi (2) , Corinne Loisy (2) , Olivier Le Roux (2) , Anelia Petit (2) , Lena Rossi (2) , Sean Kennedy (2) , Thomas Brichart (3) , Pierre Chiquet (4) , L. Luu van Lang , F. André Duboin (5) , Julien Gance (6) , Benoit Texier (6) , Bernard Lavielle (7) , B. Thomas (7)

1 IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles
2 ENSEGID - École Nationale Supérieure en Environnement, Géoressources et Ingénierie du Développement Durable
3 GLINCS SAS
4 TEREGA
5 International Petroleum Corp.
6 IRIS Instruments
7 CENBG - Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan

The objective of the Aquifer-CO2Leak project is to get insights into carbon dioxide CO2 migration in aquifers within the context of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and to test the different equipment necessary for CO2 monitoring. The underlying idea is to develop an experiment in the saturated zone (phreatic) of the underground limestone quarry located at Gironde department (France). It consists in injecting water, carrying dissolved gases (CO2 and krypton) and a fluorescent molecule, under controlled conditions. In this paper, we present the dimensioning study of the experiment by numerical simulations carried out using the simulator CooresFlow (IFPEN's in-house simulator for reactive transport in porous media). The important experiment parameters (injection flow rate, injected volume, the time to return in system equilibrium and wells location) were successfully estimated. In particular, the variation of species concentration in time and space was simulated and analyzed to define an experimental measurement schedule for the planned survey. Finally, a sensitivity analysis of the uncertain model parameters is presented. We found that the water table level and the dispersivity of the porous medium appear to be the most “sensitive” parameters.

Keywords: CO2; Carbon capture and storage (CCS); Saturated zone; Porous media; Experimental site; Near-surface hydro-geological and hydro-geochemical

Domains: Earth Sciences

Omar Gassara, Audrey Estublier, Bruno Garcia, Sonia Noirez, Adrian Cerepi, et al.. The Aquifer-CO2Leak project: Numerical modeling for the design of a CO2 injection experiment in the saturated zone of the Saint-Emilion (France) site. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2021, 104, pp.103196. ⟨10.1016/j.ijggc.2020.103196⟩. ⟨hal-03584060⟩