Absorption of Carbon Dioxide in Kerogen Nanopores: A Mechanism Study using the Molecular Dynamics Monte Carlo Method

TL;DR

This study uses molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to investigate how CO2 is absorbed in kerogen nanopores within shale reservoirs, revealing effects of pore structure, temperature, and matrix compression on sequestration potential.

Contribution

It introduces a combined MD and MD-Monte Carlo approach to analyze CO2 absorption mechanisms in kerogen nanopores, highlighting the influence of pore heterogeneity and temperature on storage capacity.

Findings

Heterogeneous pore structures lead to uneven CO2 distribution.

Higher temperatures increase CO2 storage capacity.

Matrix compression reduces large pore availability.

Abstract

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has been applied successfully in recent decades to reduce carbon emissions and alleviate global warming. In this regard, shale reservoirs present tremendous potential for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration as they have a large number of nanopores. Molecular dynamics (MD) and MD-Monte Carlo (MDMC) methods were employed in this work to study the absorption behavior of CO2 in shale organic porous media. The MDMC method is used to analyze the spatial states of CO2, and the results are in good agreement with MD results, and it also performs well in the acceleration compared to the classical MD. With regard to the kerogen matrix, its properties, such as the pore size distribution (PSD), pore volume, and surface area, are determined to describe its different compression states and the effects of CO2 absorption on it. The potential energy distribution and potential of mean force are analyzed to verify the spatial distribution of CO2 molecules. The heterogeneity of the pore structure resulted in heterogeneous distributions of CO2 molecules in kerogen porous media. Moreover, strong compression of the matrix reduces the number of large pores, and the PSD is mainly between 0 and 15 Angstrom. Despite the high interaction force of the kerogen matrix, the high-potential-energy region induced by the kerogen skeleton also contributes to the formation of low-energy regions that encourage the entry of CO2. An increase in temperature facilitates the absorption process, allowing CO2 molecules to enter the isolated pores with stronger thermal motion, thereby increasing the storage capacity for CO2. However, the development of geothermal energy may not be suitable for CO2 sequestration.