Measurements of the capillary trapping of super-critical carbon dioxide in Berea sandstone

We measure primary drainage capillary pressure and the relationship between initial and residual non-wetting phase saturation for a supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2)-brine system in Berea sandstone. We use the semipermeable disk (porous-plate) coreflood method. Brine and CO2 were equilibrated prior to injection to ensure immiscible displacement. A maximum CO2 saturation of 85% was measured for an applied capillary pressure of 296 kPa. After injection of brine the CO2 saturation dropped to 35%; this is less than the maximum trapped saturation of 48% measured in an equivalent n-decane (oil)-brine experiment. The dimensionless capillary pressure is the same to within experimental error for supercritical CO2-brine, n-decane-brine and a mercury-air system. CO2 is the non-wetting phase and significant quantities can be trapped by capillary forces. We discuss the implications for CO2 storage. Citation: Pentland, C. H., R. El-Maghraby, S. Iglauer, and M. J. Blunt (2011), Measurements of the capillary trapping of super-critical carbon dioxide in Berea sandstone, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L06401, doi:10.1029/2011GL046683.