Multiscale modeling of reactive transport and CO2 mineral trapping mechanisms at the Rio Bonito geological formation

• Grant number: 22/08894-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: September 01, 2022
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Agreement: BG E&P Brasil (Shell Group)
• Principal Investigator: Caetano Rodrigues Miranda
• Grantee: Jéssica Santos Rego
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Company: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Politécnica (EP)
• Associated research grant: 20/15230-5 - Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Innovation - RCG2I, AP.PCPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/17564-9 - Thermoelasticity of geologically relevant silica phases (SiO2), BE.EP.PD

Abstract

The growing concern with the climate changes caused by the emission of greenhouse gases (CHG) in the atmosphere, among them the carbon dioxide CO2 has led to the search for technologies capable of mitigating the impact caused by these pollutants. One of the alternatives that have shown promise is the capture and storage via geochemical trapping, through the mineralization process. Molecular dynamics and reactive transport simulations will be used to investigate the CO2 mineralization process following its injection in a geological formation, more precisely, the Rio Bonito formation in the Paraná Basin. The mineralization problem requires a multi-scale modeling approach, starting from a molecular-level assessment of fluid-rock interface properties, including surface chemical reactions, followed by a characterization of the rock's porosity profile and, finally, the consistent incorporation of this data into a reservoir-scale flow model. In this context, the present postdoctoral research plan targets the determination of: (a) equilibrium properties and transport coefficients of the aqueous-phase (density, viscosity, diffusivity, solubilities, etc.); (b) fluid-rock interfacial tensions; (c) reaction rates associated with chemical processes at the mineral substrate; (d) the reservoir's permeability curves - with all of these parameters evaluated at the range of thermodynamic conditions found at the geological site. (AU)