UoEdinburgh
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

CAPTURE

STORAGE

MFPCS - Multiphase flow (UK3.4)

Pore wetting measurement and study CO2 storage at pore scale and core samples

The rigs enable quantitative analysis of the impact of pore structure, pore wettability, liquid viscosity and surface tension on the displacement of oil by water and CO2 in pores and network structure, and the displacement of water by CO2. Our approach is significantly different from core sample tests and the experiments of 2D pore network models. Data from core sample tests is difficult to interpret in terms of the heterogeneous chemical and physical properties of rocks; outputs from the study of 2D pore network models is microvisual data, photographs and video footage, which is an observation of flow behaviour. We aim to answer how the heterogeneity of rocks and fluids affect CO2 trapping, CO2 migration, CO2 displacement and oil displacement. For example, the effect of pore size on the displacement of water by CO2 or oil has been measured. Further experiments indicate that the pore resistance to natural gas is higher than to CO2 which has implication for CO2 storage. We also measured the dislodging pressure of microtubules in an individual channel of a pore network. Several articles have been published in Langmuir, Chemical Engineering Science etc.

State of the Art, uniqueness & specific advantages

The experimental system is unique for

Analysis of the impact of pore structure, pore wettability, liquid viscosity and surface tension on the displacement of oil by water and CO2 in pores, and the displacement of water by CO2

Applications in Enhanced Oil Recovery, Carbon Storage and Drug Delivery

Scientific Environment

General: Located in the chemical processes lab at School f Engineering with its available infrastructures and services.

Special: See brief instrumentation description above.

Operating by

The University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh
United Kingdom
CAPTURE technologies:
Sorbents
STORAGE technologies:
Pressure/injection, Migration, Leakage mitigation/remediation, Reactivity/mineralisation, Leakage
Research Fields:
Fluid dynamics, Chemistry/Geochemistry, Physical processes, Engineering, Thermodynamics
Facility's fact sheet

Location & Contacts

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Contacts
Professor Xianfeng Fan
RICC Contacts - Secondary contact
Audrey Ougier-Simonin

Facility Availability

Day
Unit of access (UA)
Day
Availability per year (in UA)
30 days
Duration of a typical access (average) and number of external users expected for that access
1–5 days
Average number of external users expected for typical access
5 external users

Quality Control / Quality Assurance (QA)

Activities / tests / data are
State of Quality: n/a

Operational or other constraints

Specific risks:
n/a
Legal issues
Access to SINTEF ER lab will require acceptance of safety and security policies and training.

CCUS Projects

UGC-UKIERI
Novel EOR technique for the depleted oil reservoirs of Upper Assam Basin with simultaneous CO2 Capture and Sequestration.
Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
Transport of three phase flow in porous media for CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery.

Selected Publications

Langmuir, DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b03323; (2019)
Bubble Dislodgment in a Capillary Network with Microscopic Multichannels and Multibifurcation Features
C. Chao, X. Jin, L. Teng, A.A. Stokes, X. Fan
Chemical Engineering Science, 197, 269-279 (2019)
Effect of surface tension, viscosity, pore geometry and pore contact angle on effective pore throat
C Chao, G Xu, X Fan
nternational Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 36, 106-113 (2015)
Effect of CO2 phase on contact angle in oil-wet and water-wet pores
X. Li, X. Fan
Chemical Engineering Science, 137, 458-465 (2015)
Effect of chemical structure of organics on pore wetting
X. Li, H. Fan, X. Fan
Chemical Engineering Science, 117, 137-145 (2014)
Difference in Pore Wettabiltiy and the Wettability Measured on a Flat Surface and in an Open Space
X. Li, X. Fan*, S. Brandani
International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 71, 227-238 (2018)
Effect of CO2 phase on its water displacements in a sandstone core sample
E Al-Zaidi, J Nash, X Fan
Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 62, 259-274 (2019)
Liquid CO2 behaviour during water displacement in a sandstone core sample
E Al-Zaidi, X Fan
International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 80 (2019)
Gaseous CO2 behaviour during water displacement in a sandstone core sample
E Al-Zaidi, K Edlmann, X Fan
International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 79, 200-211 (2018)
Supercritical CO2 behaviour during water displacement in a sandstone core sample
E Al-Zaidi, X Fan*, K Edlmann
Fluids 3 (1), 23- (2018)
The Effect of CO2 Phase on Oil Displacement in a Sandstone Core Sample
E Al-Zaidi, X Fan*, K Edlmann