Engineering Solutions to Reduce the Environmental Impact of the Energy Sector - Salt Effects on Fluid Properties under Confinement

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The energy and environmental sectors require to control the behaviour of fluids in the sub-surface. For example, the production of hydrocarbons from unconventional reservoirs depends on enhancing the fluid transport through pore networks characterised by size in the nm range, while storing CO2 requires identifying strategies for immobilizing this volatile gas for long periods of time. It is now accepted that the fluid behaviour in nano-pores differs substantially from that observed in the bulk phase. The general aim of this project is to achieve fundamental knowledge that could help reduce the long-term environmental impact of the energy sector. The project will make extensive use of molecular simulations, which will be validated against detailed experimental characterisation data.The specific aim of the project is to quantify how fluid properties such as density, transport, wettability, change when temperature, pressure, and fluid composition (in particular salinity) change. Of particular interest is the fluid behaviour when confined in nano-pores present in minerals (carbonates, clay, sandstone) commonly found in reservoirs to be used for CO2 storage.The applications that will benefit from this project include the energy sector in general, the environmental sector, and the combination of the two (achieving enhanced oil recovery via carbon sequestration). The fundamental understanding of the behaviour of confined fluids is also relevant for the specialty chemicals sector, as well as for developing catalysts.