1 Geological Survey Institute of Hunan Province,Changsha 410116,China
2 Institute of Geological Survey,China University of Geosciences,Wuhan 430074,China
3 School of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering,Changsha University of Science and Technology,Changsha 410114,China
LI Yi,born in 1988,PhD,research professor,is engaged in research on aquifer compressed air/CO2 technology. E-mail: liyi0217@163.com.
About the first author HUANG Leqing,born in 1985,senior engineer,is engaged in research on the Cretaceous aeolian deposits and aquifer energy storage. E-mail: 289773254@qq.com.
To investigate the feasibility of compressed carbon dioxide(CO2)energy storage in deep aquifers of the Hengyang Basin,this study focuses on the Honghuatao Formation sandstone reservoir within the Cretaceous paleo-desert aeolian sedimentary strata. By integrating petrological characterization experiments with site-scale numerical simulations,the carbon sequestration and energy storage potential of the reservoir were systematically evaluated. Petrographic thin-section analysis,scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and porosity-permeability tests reveal that the Honghuatao Formation sandstone is predominantly composed of medium-to fine-grained feldspathic quartz sandstone with pervasive calcareous cementation. The reservoir exhibits low porosity and permeability,characteristic of tight sandstone. The overlying mudstone caprock,with negligible porosity and stable regional distribution,forms an effective reservoir-seal combination.A three-dimensional numerical model of the compressed CO2 energy storage system was established based on experimental data. Simulation results indicate that under a reservoir permeability of 15×10-3 μm-2,60-day cyclic injection-withdrawal operations induce pressure fluctuations≤0.5 MPa,with energy round-trip efficiency exceeding 99.98%. Additionally,low-temperature CO2 injection triggers localized temperature reduction(up to 5 ℃),pore pressure accumulation(maximum 1.27 MPa),partial effective stress reduction,and significant vertical displacement in the reservoir. The study demonstrates that the Honghuatao Formation sandstone holds potential for CO2 storage and energy storage. However,its low permeability limits injection-withdrawal capacity,necessitating acidification or hydraulic fracturing modifications to enhance pore-permeability properties for scalable applications. This research provides theoretical insights into the utilization of paleo-desert aeolian sandstone for subsurface energy storage and the advancement of low-carbon energy technologies.
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About the first author HUANG Leqing,born in 1985,senior engineer,is engaged in research on the Cretaceous aeolian deposits and aquifer energy storage. E-mail: 289773254@qq.com.
在全球能源结构转型与“双碳”目标驱动下,大规模储能技术成为平衡可再生能源波动性与电网稳定性的关键。在以抽水蓄能、压缩空气储能等长时大规模储能技术体系中,多孔介质咸水层季节性压缩气体储能方法,近年来开始逐渐得到学界关注(Ma et al., 2018,2019;Ranjith et al., 2019;喻浩,2019;Guo et al., 2021;邱小松等,2021;Liu et al., 2023;马建力等,2023;Sun et al., 2023;Li et al., 2024a;罗贤等,2024;杨子江等,2024)。早期Stottlemyre(1978)通过数值模拟手段,对孔隙介质中压缩气体储能的地下设计和运行标准进行了初步研究,分析了系统孔隙度、渗透率、储集层压力等关键参数对储能效率的影响,为含水层压缩气体储能技术的初步设计提供了理论支持。随后,美国能源部在伊利诺伊州皮茨菲尔德进行了现场注气—抽采测试,验证了含水层压缩气体储能技术的可行性,并揭示了热量损失和氧气损耗等关键问题(Istvan et al., 1983)。部分学者尝试用数值方法比较含水层中压缩二氧化碳储能和压缩空气储能的不同,比较分析表明,在相同的地质结构和操作条件下,深部含水层压缩二氧化碳储能(Compressed Carbon Dioxide Energy Storage in Aquifer,CCESA)因其高能量密度、环境兼容性及可直接封存CO2的优势,被视为相比传统压缩空气储能(Compressed Air Energy Storage in Aquifer,CAESA)更有储能潜力的新兴技术(Li et al., 2024b)。在跨临界、超临界和液体CCESA系统中,以超临界CO2作为储能工质表现出增强的热力学性质和更简单的配置,使其成为大规模应用的首选(Li et al., 2022;Ma et al., 2024)。
对于衡阳盆地压缩二氧化碳储能的数值仿真分析,通过程序THMW-CO2实现,该程序同时考虑了含水层储气库中井筒的非线性流动以及地质力学过程,能准确描述储气库热—水—力(THM)多场耦合以及井筒—储集层多组分多相流耦合过程,其可靠性与适应性已通过与实际工程监测数据对比得到了验证(Li et al., 2025),依托已有的石油钻井及录井资料,结合实验数据构建衡阳盆地压缩二氧化碳储能三维数值模型,揭示储能系统运行过程中地下储气库渗流场、温度场和应力场的时空演化规律以及能量变化过程。
3 测试结果
3.1 储盖层岩石学特征
储集层岩石矿物成分分析表明,砂岩碎屑成分以石英和硅质岩屑为主(平均含量69.0%),长石及其他岩屑次之(14.8%),呈基底式钙质胶结(图 3-A,3-B)。胶结作用显著降低了储集层孔渗性能,但局部存在溶蚀孔隙(图 3-D,3-E),残余粒间孔隙孔径较大(50~90 μm),为酸化改造提供了潜在通道。扫描电镜显示,石英颗粒表面发育雏晶石英及穿晶裂纹(图 3-F),微裂纹沿颗粒边缘或杂基走向分布,形成局部连通裂缝网络,可能增强储集层渗透性。上述特征表明,储集层兼具颗粒支撑结构优势与胶结物堵塞的双重特性,颗粒支撑结构,赋予储集层良好力学稳定性,利于压裂改造; 其低渗性主控因素为方解石胶结,但残余孔隙与微裂纹有利于后期酸化或压裂改造。盖层以戴家坪组致密泥岩为主(图 3-C),钙质分布均匀,孔隙度极低,密实程度高,可有效封堵CO2垂向运移。储盖组合特征与国内外典型风成砂岩储集层具有相似性,如江汉盆地红花套组(黄华和陈柯伶,2011)、美国犹他州Entrada砂岩(Gross et al., 2023)、鄂尔多斯盆地白垩系洛川组深部含水层(杨友运等,2006),验证了其作为储气库的可行性。
CCESA系统运行分为2个阶段: (1)初始气囊填充阶段,将压缩后的CO2注入上下含水层,形成气囊区域,既提供压力支撑避免采水(Li et al., 2024b),又实现碳封存(Li et al., 2024c);(2)储—释能循环阶段,根据电力供需调节CO2流量,低谷时压缩CO2注入深层储气库储能,高峰时抽采驱动透平发电。本研究聚焦地下储气库的多场耦合特性。
4.2 模拟方法与理论
采用自行开发的THMW-CO2模拟器对CCESA系统地下储气库部分开展仿真模拟。CCESA系统地下储气库部分包括井筒和储集层,多相流在储集层和井筒中的运动过程均遵循质量守恒定律和能量守恒定律。不同之处在于,储集层岩石多孔介质中的多相流动是低速的,惯性力与黏性力相比非常小,符合线性达西定律; 而在井筒中,流体的运动类似于管道流,流速较大且非线性特征明显,线性达西定律不再适用,而是满足更为普遍的动量守恒定律,本研究主要聚焦多相流在储集层中的响应。同时,利用动量守恒方程描述井筒内非等温非线性多相流运动过程,实现井筒内多相流非线性运动速度的求解(Zuber and Findlay,1965;Wallis,1969);基于连续介质力学研究地层岩石多孔介质的力学行为,采用柯西运动方程描述岩石基质的运动和变形:
式中: σ为应力张量; ρv为质量密度; b是单位质量的体积力; 是物质导数。
通过弱耦合法实现应力场与渗流场、温度场的顺序耦合与迭代计算,具体的地质力学控制方程以及热—水—力耦合方法详见前人研究(Li et al., 2025)。对于储集层中非等温多相线性达西流运动过程的描述,相关控制方程与TOUGH2中相同(Pruess et al., 1999),本研究不再赘述。
对于模型水热边界的设置,侧向边界设置为恒温恒压边界,即第1类边界——Dirichlet边界,允许流体进出,通常通过将边界的网格体积设置为无穷大实现,顶部和底部设置为无流量边界,没有质量和热量传递;对于模型力学边界设置,顶部和侧边界设置为固定x、y两水平方向的位移,但能沿z方向自由移动,底部为零位移固定约束边界,这通常也是深部含水层压缩气体储能和碳封存数值模拟研究中常用的边界条件(Rutqvist et al., 2002;Zhu,2015)。根据学者们对于利用多孔介质压缩气体储能以及碳封存的相关研究,选取模型主要水文地质参数如表 1所示(Rutqvist et al., 2002;Oldenburg and Pan,2013;Guo et al., 2016a)。
系统循环注采周期内井口产气质量分数和能量效率变化如图 15所示,整个循环注采周期内井口产气质量分数呈逐渐降低的趋势,整体保持在99.98%以上,这说明60个注采周期内每日抽采阶段基本无质量损失,系统抽采发电效果良好。整个循环注采周期内系统能量往返效率呈逐渐上升的趋势,且单日能量往返效率均略大于100%,这主要是因为含水层的低孔低渗特性有效阻止了气体扩散和压力耗散,并且CO2持续受到地温热量的补偿(Li et al., 2023;Guo et al., 2017),导致气囊中的CO2整体温度逐渐升高,单日抽采总能量逐渐增加并始终略大于注入的总能量。可以看出低孔低渗含水层可以运行,但是无法保证大规模的注采能力,储能规模受到限制,需要对储集层进行改造以实现大规模储能。
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