Experimental and numerical study on gaseous CO2 leakage through shallow-depth layered porous medium: implication for leakage detection monitoring

The objective of this study is to understand the effect of heterogeneous layer on the migration of gaseous and dissolved CO2 in the saturated porous media and to figure out which parameter is most sensitive to detect CO2 leakage in this system. A set of lab experiments were conducted using 2-D sand tank with various sensors. To investigate the migration characteristics of leaked CO2 around the heterogeneous layer, 2-D numerical simulations were carried out with a model which reflects on the experimental condition. The experiments and modelling results suggested that there is the effect of layer, which has slightly different properties compared with adjacent medium, on CO2 migration even though the difference is quite small in geological scale. These results will be helpful for designing the MMV plan for successful leakage monitoring on the GCS site. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.