• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.958-964
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• 2008

In this work, micro-sized dextran particles, which have recently been focused as one of the candidate materials for the Drug Delivery System(DDS), were prepared by means of the Supercritical Antisolvent (SAS) process with $CO_2$. With dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO) as the solvent, effects of the operating variables such as temperature (308.15~323.15 K), pressure(90~130 bar), solute concentration(10~20 mg/ml), and the molecular weight of the solute(Mw=37,500, 450,000) on the size and morphology of the resulting particles were thoroughly observed. The higher solute concentration led to the larger particles, however, the injection velocity of the solution and pressure did not show significant effects on the resulting particle size. With dextran of the lower molecular weight, the smallest particles were obtained at 313.15 K. On the other hand, the size of the particles from the high molecular weight dextran ranged between $0.1{\sim}0.5{\mu}m$ with an incremental effect of the temperature and pressure. For the solute concentration of 5 mg/ml, the lower molecular weight dextran did not form discrete particles while aggregation of the particles appeared when the solute concentration exceeded 15 mg/ml for the higher molecular weight dextran. It is believed that if the solute concentration is too low, the degree of the supersaturation in the recrystallization chamber would not be sufficient for initiation of the nucleation and growth mechanism. Instead, the spinodal decomposition mechanism leads to formation of the island-like phase separation which appears similar to aggregation of the discrete particles. This effect would be more pronounced for the smaller molecular weight polymer system due to the narrower phase-splitting region.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.266-275
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• 2012

In this study, a method is devised to implement a supercritical $CO_2$ ($scCO_2$) injection environment on a laboratory scale and to investigate the effects of $scCO_2$ on the properties of rock specimens. Specimens of shale and sandstone normally constituting the cap rock and reservoir rock, respectively, were kept in a laboratory reactor chamber with $scCO_2$ for two weeks. From this stage, a chemical reaction between rock surface and the $scCO_2$ was induced. The effect of saline water was also investigated by comparing three conditions ($scCO_2$-rock, $scCO_2-H_2O$-rock and $scCO_2$-brine(1M)-rock). Finally, we checked the changes in the properties before and after the reaction by destructive and nondestructive testing procedures. The swelling of shale was a main concern in this case. The experimental results suggested that $scCO_2$ has a greater effect on the swelling of the shale than pure water and brine. It was also observed that the largest swelling displacement of shale occurred after a reaction with the $H_2O-scCO_2$ solution. The results of a series of the destructive and nondestructive tests indicate that although each of the property changes of the rock differed depending on the reaction conditions, the $H_2O-scCO_2$ solution had the greatest effect. In this study, shale was highly sensitive to the reaction conditions. These results provide fundamental information pertaining to the stability of $CO_2$ storage sites due to physical and chemical reactions between the rocks in these sites and $scCO_2$.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.217-246
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• 2018

During the selection and characterization of target formations in the Small-scale Offshore $CO_2$ Storage Demonstration Project in the Pohang Basin, we have carefully investigated the possibility of induced earthquakes and leakage of $CO_2$ during the injection, and have designed the storage processes to minimize these effects. However, people in Pohang city have a great concern on $CO_2$-injection-intrigued seismicity, since they have greatly suffered from the 5.4 magnitude earthquake on Nov. 15, 2017. The research team of the project performed an extensive self-investigation on the safety issues, especially on the possible $CO_2$ leakage from the target formation and induced earthquakes. The target formation is 10 km apart from the epicenter of the Pohang earthquake and the depth is also quite shallow, only 750 to 800 m from the sea bottom. The project performed a pilot injection in the target formation from Jan. 12 to Mar. 12, 2017, which implies that there are no direct correlation of the Pohang earthquake on Nov. 15, 2017. In addition, the $CO_2$ injection of the storage project does not fracture rock formations, instead, the supercritical $CO_2$ fluid replaces formation water in the pore space gradually. The self-investigation results show that there is almost no chance for the injection to induce significant earthquakes unless injection lasts for a very long time to build a very high pore pressure, which can be easily monitored. The amount of injected $CO_2$ in the project was around 100 metric-tonne that is irrelevant to the Pohang earthquake. The investigation result on long-term safety also shows that the induced earthquakes or the reactivation of existing faults can be prevented successfully when the injection pressure is controlled not to demage cap-rock formation nor exceed Coulomb stresses of existing faults. The project has been performing extensive studies on critical stress for fracturing neighboring formations, reactivation stress of existing faults, well-completion processes to minimize possible leakage, transport/leakage monitoring of injected $CO_2$, and operation procedures for ensuring the storage safety. These extensive studies showed that there will be little chance in $CO_2$ leakage that affects human life. In conclusion, the Small-scale Offshore $CO_2$ Storage Demonstration Project in the Pohang Basin would not cause any induced earthquakes nor signifiant $CO_2$ leakage that people can sense. The research team will give every effort to secure the safety of the storage site.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.105-115
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• 2021

The geological CO2 sequestration in underground geological formation such as deep saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs is one of the most promising options for reducing the atmospheric CO2 emissions. The process in geological CO2 sequestration involves injection of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) into porous media saturated with pore water and initiates CO2 flooding with immiscible displacement. The CO2 migration and distribution, and, consequently, the displacement efficiency is governed by the interaction of fluids. Especially, the viscous force and capillary force are controlled by geological formation conditions and injection conditions. This study aimed to estimate the effects of surfactant on interfacial tension between the immiscible fluids, scCO2 and porewater, under high pressure and high temperature conditions by using a pair of proxy fluids under standard conditions through pendant drop method. It also aimed to observe migration and distribution patterns of the immiscible fluids and estimate the effects of surfactant concentrations on the displacement efficiency of scCO2. Micromodel experiments were conducted by applying n-hexane and deionized water as proxy fluids for scCO2 and porewater. In order to quantitatively analyze the immiscible displacement phenomena by n-hexane injection in pore network, the images of migration and distribution pattern of the two fluids are acquired through a imaging system. The experimental results revealed that the addition of surfactants sharply reduces the interfacial tension between hexane and deionized water at low concentrations and approaches a constant value as the concentration increases. Also it was found that, by directly affecting the flow path of the flooding fluid at the pore scale in the porous medium, the surfactant showed the identical effect on the displacement efficiency of n-hexane at equilibrium state. The experimental observation results could provide important fundamental information on immiscible displacement of fluids in porous media and suggest the potential to improve the displacement efficiency of scCO2 by using surfactants.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.469-477
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• 2016

To evaluate the $CO_2$ storage capacity for the reservoir rock, the laboratory scale technique to measure the amount of $scCO_2$, replacing pore water of the reservior rock after the $CO_2$ injection was developed in this study. Laboratory experiments were performed to measure the $scCO_2$ displacement efficiency of the conglomerate and the sandstone in Janggi basin, which are classified as available $CO_2$ storage rocks in Korea. The high pressurized stainless steel cell containing two different walls was designed and undisturbed rock cores acquired from the deep drilling site around Janggi basin were used for the experiments. From the lab experiments, the average $scCO_2$ displacement efficiency of the conglomerate and the sandstone in Janggi basin was measured at 31.2% and 14.4%, respectively, which can be used to evaluate the feasibility of the Janggi basin as a $scCO_2$ storage site in Korea. Assuming that the effective radius of the $CO_2$ storage formations is 250 m and the average thickness of the conglomerate and the sandstone formation under 800 m in depth is 50 m each (from data of the drilling profile and the geophysical survey), the $scCO_2$ storage capacity of the reservoir rocks around the probable $scCO_2$ injection site in Janggi basin was calculated at 264,592 metric ton, demonstrating that the conglomerate and the sandstone formations in Janggi basin have a great potential for use as a pilot scale test site for the $CO_2$ storage in Korea.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.863-870
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• 2016

We investigated the physical/chemical phenomena that a slow loss of $CO_2$ inventory into sodium after the sodium-$CO_2$ boundary failure in printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs), which is considered for the supercritical $CO_2$ Brayton cycle power conversion system of a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR). The first phenomenon is plugging inside narrow sodium channels by micro cracks and the other one is damage propagation referred to as wastage combined with the corrosion/erosion effect. Experimental results of plugging shows that sodium flow immediately stopped as $CO_2$ was injected through the nozzle at $300{\sim}400^{\circ}C$ in 3 mmID sodium channels, whereas sodium flow stopped about 60 min after $CO_2$ injection in 5 mmID sodium channels. These results imply that if pressure boundary of sodium-$CO_2$ fails a narrow sodium channel would be plugged by reaction products in a short time whereas a relatively wider sodium channel would be plugged with higher concentration of reaction products. Wastage by the erosion effect of $CO_2$ (200~250 bar) hardly occurred regardless of the kinds of materials (stainless steel 316, Inconel 600, and 9Cr-1Mo steel), temperature ($400{\sim}500^{\circ}C$), or the diameter of the $CO_2$ nozzle (0.2~0.8 mm). Velocities at the $CO_2$ nozzle were specified as Mach 0.4~0.7. Our experimental results are expected to be used for determining the design parameters of PCHEs for their safeties.