Capillary pressure for the sand–CO2–water system under various pressure conditions. Application to CO2 sequestration

Accurate modeling of storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in heterogeneous aquifers requires experiments of the capillary pressure as function of temperature and pressure. We present a method with which static drainage and imbibition capillary pressures can be measured continuously as a function of saturation at various temperature (T) and pressure (P) conditions. The measurements are carried out at (T, P) conditions of practical interest. Static conditions can be assumed as small injection rates are applied. The capillary pressure curves are obtained for the unconsolidated sand–distilled water–CO2 system. The experimental results show a decrease of drainage and imbibition capillary pressure for increasing CO2 pressures and pronounced dissolution rate effects for gaseous CO2. Significant capillary pressure fluctuations and negative values during imbibition are observed at near critical conditions. The measurement procedure is validated by a numerical model that simulates the experiments.