Numerical simulation of convective stability of the short-term storage of CO2 in saline aquifers

In this paper, inertial effects, mass interface and mass transfer mechanism are taken into account. By applying an updated space and time conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) method and hybrid particle level-set method, the stability simulation of the density-driven convection in deep saline aquifers is presented for short-term storage of CO2. The mass transfer equations coupled with two phase fluid flow equations are solved numerically to investigate effects of CO2 dissolution into brine on migration. Results show that Taylor instability phenomenon has been observed in CO2 storage in saline aquifers for short time scales, which contributes to the further dissolution of CO2 in saline aquifers. Density-driven convection dominates hydrodynamic trapping, while dissolution process of CO2 also has a great influence on CO2 sequestration. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.