Estimation of CO2 Diffusivity in Brine by Use of the Genetic Algorithm and Mixed Kernels-Based Support Vector Machine Model

Diffusion coefficient of carbon dioxide (CO2), a significant parameter describing the mass transfer process, exerts a profound influence on the safety of CO2 storage in depleted reservoirs, saline aquifers, and marine ecosystems. However, experimental determination of diffusion coefficient in CO2-brine system is time-consuming and complex because the procedure requires sophisticated laboratory equipment and reasonable interpretation methods. To facilitate the acquisition of more accurate values, an intelligent model, termed MKSVM-GA, is developed using a hybrid technique of support vector machine (SVM), mixed kernels (MK), and genetic algorithm (GA). Confirmed by the statistical evaluation indicators, our proposed model exhibits excellent performance with high accuracy and strong robustness in a wide range of temperatures (273-473.15 K), pressures (0.1-49.3 MPa), and viscosities (0.139-1.950 mPa.s). Our results show that the proposed model is more applicable than the artificial neural network (ANN) model at this sample size, which is superior to four commonly used traditional empirical correlations. The technique presented in this study can provide a fast and precise prediction of CO2 diffusivity in brine at reservoir conditions for the engineering design and the technical risk assessment during the process of CO2 injection.