Numerical Simulation of Convective Mixing during Carbon Dioxide Sequestration in Saline Aquifers

The permanent storage of CO2 in deep saline aquifers is known as an effective method for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. Predicting the long-term fate of the injected CO2 requires an understanding of the basic mechanisms involved in the storage process. CO2 injected in deep saline aquifers diffuses in resident brine, which increases the brine density and potentially leads to convective mixing raising the rate of dissolution. Hence it is important to realize the factors enhancing convection in deep saline aquifers. In this paper, a two dimensional, single-phase model is developed for modeling of the convective mixing. The scaling analysis of the convective mixing of CO2 in saline aquifers is presented and convection parameters are described as a function of system Rayleigh number. For the first time, in this study the start time of enhancement in CO2 dissolution due to convective mixing was studied quantitatively. The results indicate that the enhancement in CO2 dissolution due to convective mixing occurs at a time about three times of the onset time of instabilities. The results of this study increase our knowledge of the appropriate implementation of geological CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers, without the need for costly simulations.