Numerical Investigation of CH4 Gas Production from CH4 Hydrate-Bearing Sediments via CO2 Injection

CO2 injection has been deemed a promising method for CH4 production from gas hydrate-bearing sediments for its potential in stabilizing the host sediments and balancing carbon emission. However, the process is yet to be fully understood, as it involves interactions of multi-physical and chemical processes including the generation of water-immiscible CH4-CO2 fluid mixtures, the evolution of chemical reaction kinetics for both CH4 and CO2 hydrates, heat emission and absorption during hydrate formation and dissociation, and stress redistribution caused by spatially evolving responses of CH4-CO2 hydrate-bearing sediments. This paper develops a coupled thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical formulation that captures the complexity of these processes and applies it to investigate the behavior of CH4 hydrate-bearing sediments subjected to CO2 injection. The capabilities of this coupled formulation are validated through numerical simulations of laboratory experiments of CO2 injection into CH4 hydrate-bearing soil. Moreover, the application of this formulation in a field-scale scenario reveals insights into the efficiencies of CH4 production and CO2 storage and the geomechanical implications. Notably, the study finds that compared to the depressurization-only method, the combined hot CO2 injection and depressurization method could increase CH4 production by approximately 400%. In addition, this method could sequester about 70% of injected CO2 into solid hydrates, while exhibiting smaller maximum slope of differential displacement. These outcomes highlight the viability and benefits of CH4 hydrate production through CO2 injection, increasing the prospects of this approach.