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A Novel Modeling Approach to Stochastically Evaluate the Impact of Pore Network Geometry, Chemistry and Topology on Fluid Transport

Apostolopoulou, M; Stamatakis, M; Striolo, A; Dusterhoft, R; Hull, R; Day, R; (2020) A Novel Modeling Approach to Stochastically Evaluate the Impact of Pore Network Geometry, Chemistry and Topology on Fluid Transport. Transport in Porous Media 10.1007/s11242-020-01522-w. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

Fine-grained sandstones, siltstones, and shales have become increasingly important to satisfy the ever-growing global energy demands. Of particular current interest are shale rocks, which are mudstones made up of organic and inorganic constituents of varying pore sizes. These materials exhibit high heterogeneity, low porosity, varying chemical composition and low pore connectivity. Due to the complexity and the importance of such materials, many experimental, theoretical and computational eforts have attempted to quantify the impact of rock features on fuids difusivity and ultimately on permeability. In this study, we introduce a stochastic kinetic Monte Carlo approach developed to simulate fuid transport. The features of this approach allow us to discuss the applicability of 2D vs 3D models for the calculation of transport properties. It is found that a successful model should consider realistic 3D pore networks consisting of pore bodies that communicate via pore throats, which however requires a prohibitive amount of computational resources. To overcome current limitations, we present a rigorous protocol to stochastically generate synthetic 3D pore networks in which pore features can be isolated and varied systematically and individually. These synthetic networks do not correspond to real sample scenarios but are crucial to achieve a systematic evaluation of the pore features on the transport properties. Using this protocol, we quantify the contribution of the pore network’s connectivity, porosity, mineralogy, and pore throat width distribution on the difusivity of supercritical methane. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to rank the signifcance of the various network features on methane difusivity. Connectivity is found to be the most important descriptor, followed by pore throat width distribution and porosity. Based on such insights, recommendations are provided on possible technological approaches to enhance fuid transport through shale rocks and equally complex pore networks. The purpose of this work is to identify the signifcance of various pore network characteristics using a stochastic KMC algorithm to simulate the transport of fuids. Our fndings could be relevant for applications that make use of porous media, ranging from catalysis to radioactive waste management, and from environmental remediation to shale gas production.

Type: Article
Title: A Novel Modeling Approach to Stochastically Evaluate the Impact of Pore Network Geometry, Chemistry and Topology on Fluid Transport
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1007/s11242-020-01522-w
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-020-01522-w
Language: English
Additional information: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Keywords: Permeability · Stochastic model · 3-dimensional · Pore network
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10118441
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