Micromodel investigations of CO2 exsolution from carbonated water in sedimentary rocks

In this study, carbon dioxide exsolution from carbonated water is directly observed under reservoir conditions (9 MPa and 45 °C). Fluorescence microscopy and image analysis are used to quantitatively characterize bubble formation, morphology, and mobility. Observations indicate the strong influence of interfacial tension and pore-geometry on bubble growth and evolution. Most of the gas exhibits little mobility during the course of depressurization and clogs water flow paths. However, a snap-off mechanism mobilizes a small portion of the trapped gas along the water flow paths. This feature contributes to the transport of the dispersed exsolved gas phase and the formation of intermittent gas flow. A new definition of critical gas saturation is proposed accordingly as the minimum saturation that snap-off starts to produce mobile bubbles. Low mobility of the water phase and CO2 phase in exsolution is explained by formation of dispersed CO2 bubbles which block water flow and lack the connectivity to create a mobile gas phase.