IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/greenh/v8y2018i5p898-910.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Numerical study of supercritical CO2 and proppant transport in different geometrical fractures

Author

Listed:
  • Haizhu Wang
  • Meng Wang
  • Bing Yang
  • Qun Lu
  • Yong Zheng
  • Heqian Zhao

Abstract

Supercritical CO2 (SC‐CO2) fracturing, as a kind of waterless fracturing method, is an effective treatment in the unconventional oil and gas industry. Due to its characteristic lower viscosity, supercritical CO2 fracturing is likely to create thin and long fractures that connect pre‐existing natural fractures and generate complex fractures. It is therefore very challenging to predict how far supercritical CO2 carrying proppant can go and how proppant will be transported in natural fractures, when natural fractures are contacted or penetrated by induced fractures. In this paper, proppant transport with supercritical CO2 in fractures was analyzed using the computational fluid dynamics method. Three types of fractures – planar fractures, T‐shape fractures and crossing‐shape fractures – were modeled. Five parametrical cases were studied using the T‐shape and crossing‐shape models. Results show that, for T‐shape fracture cases, a turbulent flow regime might develop at a fracture junction, which can make proppant propagate to natural fractures. For crossing‐shape fractures, a turbulent flow takes place behind the fracture junction, which causes a little sand dune to form downstream of the induced fracture. With the reduction in the width of the natural fracture, the height of the sand bank at the thinner natural fracture is higher than that at the wider natural fracture. Using a proppant whose density and diameter are respectively less than 1540 kg/m3 and 0.25 mm, as well as a sand‐carrying fluid whose sand ratio ranges from 8% to 10% and injection rate exceeds 2 kg/s, is beneficial to prop natural fractures. Moreover, the larger the intersection angle of the crossing‐shape fracture is, the more difficult it is for proppant to enter natural fractures. This study reveals the influence of fracture geometry on proppant transport with SC‐CO2. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Haizhu Wang & Meng Wang & Bing Yang & Qun Lu & Yong Zheng & Heqian Zhao, 2018. "Numerical study of supercritical CO2 and proppant transport in different geometrical fractures," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 8(5), pages 898-910, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:greenh:v:8:y:2018:i:5:p:898-910
    DOI: 10.1002/ghg.1803
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/ghg.1803
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/ghg.1803?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jintang Wang & Baojiang Sun & Zhiyuan Wang & Jianbo Zhang, 2017. "Study on filtration patterns of supercritical CO2 fracturing in unconventional natural gas reservoirs," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 7(6), pages 1126-1140, December.
    2. Middleton, Richard S. & Carey, J. William & Currier, Robert P. & Hyman, Jeffrey D. & Kang, Qinjun & Karra, Satish & Jiménez-Martínez, Joaquín & Porter, Mark L. & Viswanathan, Hari S., 2015. "Shale gas and non-aqueous fracturing fluids: Opportunities and challenges for supercritical CO2," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 500-509.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tang, Jizhou & Zhang, Min & Guo, Xuyang & Geng, Jianhua & Li, Yuwei, 2024. "Investigation of creep and transport mechanisms of CO2 fracturing within natural gas hydrates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tang, Jizhou & Zhang, Min & Guo, Xuyang & Geng, Jianhua & Li, Yuwei, 2024. "Investigation of creep and transport mechanisms of CO2 fracturing within natural gas hydrates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    2. Yin, Hong & Zhou, Junping & Xian, Xuefu & Jiang, Yongdong & Lu, Zhaohui & Tan, Jingqiang & Liu, Guojun, 2017. "Experimental study of the effects of sub- and super-critical CO2 saturation on the mechanical characteristics of organic-rich shales," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 84-95.
    3. Weiqiang Song & Hongjian Ni & Ruihe Wang & Mengyun Zhao, 2017. "Wellbore flow field of coiled tubing drilling with supercritical carbon dioxide," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 7(4), pages 745-755, August.
    4. Zhao‐Zhong Yang & Liang‐Ping Yi & Xiao‐Gang Li & Yu Li & Min Jia, 2018. "Phase control of downhole fluid during supercritical carbon dioxide fracturing," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 8(6), pages 1079-1089, December.
    5. Nguyen, Phong & Carey, J. William & Viswanathan, Hari S. & Porter, Mark, 2018. "Effectiveness of supercritical-CO2 and N2 huff-and-puff methods of enhanced oil recovery in shale fracture networks using microfluidic experiments," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 160-174.
    6. Han, Jinju & Lee, Minkyu & Lee, Wonsuk & Lee, Youngsoo & Sung, Wonmo, 2016. "Effect of gravity segregation on CO2 sequestration and oil production during CO2 flooding," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 85-91.
    7. An, Qiyi & Zhang, Qingsong & Li, Xianghui & Yu, Hao & Yin, Zhanchao & Zhang, Xiao, 2022. "Accounting for dynamic alteration effect of SC-CO2 to assess role of pore structure on rock strength: A comparative study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    8. Zhou, Junping & Tian, Shifeng & Zhou, Lei & Xian, Xuefu & Yang, Kang & Jiang, Yongdong & Zhang, Chengpeng & Guo, Yaowen, 2020. "Experimental investigation on the influence of sub- and super-critical CO2 saturation time on the permeability of fractured shale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    9. Tong, Zi-Xiang & Li, Ming-Jia & He, Ya-Ling & Tan, Hou-Zhang, 2017. "Simulation of real time particle deposition and removal processes on tubes by coupled numerical method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 2181-2193.
    10. Pan, Jienan & Du, Xuetian & Wang, Xianglong & Hou, Quanlin & Wang, Zhenzhi & Yi, Jiale & Li, Meng, 2024. "Pore and permeability changes in coal induced by true triaxial supercritical carbon dioxide fracturing based on low-field nuclear magnetic resonance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    11. Zhifeng Luo & Lin Wu & Liqiang Zhao & Nanlin Zhang & Weihua Chen & Chong Liang, 2021. "Numerical study on filtration law of supercritical carbon dioxide fracturing in shale gas reservoirs," Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 11(5), pages 871-886, October.
    12. Dai, Xuguang & Wei, Chongtao & Wang, Meng & Ma, Ruying & Song, Yu & Zhang, Junjian & Wang, Xiaoqi & Shi, Xuan & Vandeginste, Veerle, 2023. "Interaction mechanism of supercritical CO2 with shales and a new quantitative storage capacity evaluation method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    13. Niu, Daming & Sun, Pingchang & Ma, Lin & Zhao, Kang'an & Ding, Cong, 2023. "Porosity evolution of Minhe oil shale under an open rapid heating system and the carbon storage potentials," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 783-799.
    14. Qin, Chao & Jiang, Yongdong & Luo, Yahuang & Zhou, Junping & Liu, Hao & Song, Xiao & Li, Dong & Zhou, Feng & Xie, Yingliang, 2020. "Effect of supercritical CO2 saturation pressures and temperatures on the methane adsorption behaviours of Longmaxi shale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    15. Wang, Yan & Zhong, Dong-Liang & Li, Zheng & Li, Jian-Bo, 2020. "Application of tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide semi-clathrate hydrate for CO2 capture from unconventional natural gases," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    16. Lu, Yiyu & Xu, Zijie & Li, Honglian & Tang, Jiren & Chen, Xiayu, 2021. "The influences of super-critical CO2 saturation on tensile characteristics and failure modes of shales," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    17. Li, Sihai & Zhang, Shicheng & Xing, Huilin & Zou, Yushi, 2022. "CO2–brine–rock interactions altering the mineralogical, physical, and mechanical properties of carbonate-rich shale oil reservoirs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    18. Chunsheng Yu & Xiao Zhao & Qi Jiang & Xiaosha Lin & Hengyuan Gong & Xuanqing Chen, 2022. "Shale Microstructure Characteristics under the Action of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (Sc-CO 2 )," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-9, November.
    19. Yang, Ruiyue & Hong, Chunyang & Huang, Zhongwei & Song, Xianzhi & Zhang, Shikun & Wen, Haitao, 2019. "Coal breakage using abrasive liquid nitrogen jet and its implications for coalbed methane recovery," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    20. He, Jianming & Li, Xiao & Yin, Chao & Zhang, Yixiang & Lin, Chong, 2020. "Propagation and characterization of the micro cracks induced by hydraulic fracturing in shale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:greenh:v:8:y:2018:i:5:p:898-910. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)2152-3878 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.