arXiv subjects

Karol M. Dąbrowski

Publications and source records attributed to Karol M. Dąbrowski.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantifying Salt Precipitation During CO2 Injection: How Flow Rate, Temperature, and Phase State Control Near-Wellbore Crystallization

Salt precipitation near injection wells can reduce permeability, induce excess pressure buildup, and reduce injectivity within days to weeks of CO2 injection, yet the pore-scale mechanisms coupling multiphase flow, evaporation, and crystallization warrant further detailed quantification across variable phase states and flow regimes. We present high-resolution microfluidic experiments that systematically quantify the dynamics of halite crystallization during CO2-driven brine evaporation across liquid, gaseous, and supercritical phases (50-80 bar, 20--60 C, Pe = 50--1440). Crystallization kinetics are controlled by transport, with the Avrami rate constant (K) increasing by two orders of magnitude with the Peclet number and exhibiting the dependence of the temperature of Arrhenius (Ea = 58.6 kJ/mol. Supercritical CO2 achieves superior displacement efficiency (residual saturation 0.22-0.36, fractal dimension D = 1.79-1.82) and the fastest evaporation (Sherwood numbers 2-3x higher than the liquid phase), reducing the nucleation time from 57 min (20C, liquid) to <1 min (40-60 C, gas/supercritical). The final fractions of crystal increase 10-fold from liquid (0.008) to gas-phase conditions (0.08--0.12), confirming that convective transport and phase state dominate over diffusion-limited mechanisms. Despite probabilistic nucleation, final crystal distributions are spatially rather uniform with no systematic inlet-outlet bias. These quantitative relationships between dimensionless parameters (Pe, Sh), kinetic constants (K, Ea) and phase-dependent displacement patterns provide critical benchmarks for validating pore-scale models and predicting near-wellbore permeability impairment in geological storage of saline and hypersaline CO2.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2025

Microfluidic Study of Evaporation-Driven Crystallization of Saline and Ammonia Brines under Hydrogen Flow

Underground storage of hydrogen and ammonia in geological formations is essential for renewable energy integration, but salt precipitation during gas injection may threaten storage performance. While extensively studied for CO2 systems, precipitation mechanisms in hydrogen-brine and ammonia-brine systems remain poorly understood. This study presents a comprehensive microfluidic investigation of salt crystallization during hydrogen injection into saline and ammonia-containing brines using high-pressure microfluidics. We conducted 81 high-pressure experiments systematically varying brine composition (1-5 mol/kg NaCl), chemical additives (surfactants, alcohols, ammonia), and hydrogen flow rates (200-1300 mL/min). Quantitative image analysis reveals that hydrogen-induced precipitation differs fundamentally from CO2 systems. Hydrogen drives physical precipitation via evaporation and capillary trapping, producing discrete, localized deposits. In contrast, CO2-ammonia systems generate extensive reactive precipitation of ammonium bicarbonate with interconnected crystal networks. Interfacial tension (IFT) controls both residual brine distribution and final crystal coverage: high-IFT fluids form large, interconnected brine pools promoting extensive crystallization, while low-IFT fluids create isolated pools reducing crystal coverage by 50\%. Alcohol and surfactant additives suppress precipitation by enhancing brine mobility, whereas ammonia paradoxically increases crystal fractions despite lower IFT. Higher flow rates accelerate crystallization across all compositions, enabling operational mitigation strategies. and demonstrate that gas-specific, rather than CO2-analog, risk assessments are essential for underground hydrogen storage design. The effectiveness of chemical additives offers promising pathways for near-wellbore protection in underground hydrogen storage operations.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Geological CO2 storage assessment in emerging CCS regions: Review of sequestration potential, policy development, and socio-economic factors in Poland

Emerging carbon capture and storage (CCS) markets face critical challenges in developing systematic methodologies to assess geological CO2 storage potential under conditions of limited data availability, evolving regulatory frameworks, and nascent infrastructure development. This study establishes an assessment framework designed for lower-maturity CCS regions, using Poland as a representative case study to demonstrate methodology application and validate framework effectiveness. The framework integrates geological characterization, storage capacity assessment, regulatory analysis, and socio-economic evaluation through a structured approach adaptable to diverse global contexts. Poland's coal-reliant economy exemplifies the decarbonization challenges facing emerging CCS regions while meeting European Union climate mandates. The country's geological setting offers substantial sequestration opportunities across three major sedimentary regions. Through multidisciplinary analysis synthesizing scattered geological data, policy developments, CCUS value chain, and stakeholder perspectives, we systematically evaluate CO2 storage potential. Onshore saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon fields provide significant storage capacity, while offshore Baltic Basin sites face logistical and environmental regulatory constraints. Current assessments encounter critical limitations, including sparse data, restricted research access, and inadequate industry-academia collaboration, preventing basin-scale analyses from advancing to higher storage readiness levels and undermining business decision-making reliability. This study contributes a replicable methodology extending beyond Poland to lower-maturity CCS regions worldwide. The framework provides decision-makers with systematic tools for storage assessment, policy development, and stakeholder engagement, supporting evidence-based CCS deployment strategies.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2025

Microfluidic studies of Salt Precipitation: Influence of Brine Composition, Interfacial Tension, Flow Conditions, and Chemical Additives

This study investigates the interfacial tension, fluid mobility, and crystallization behavior of various saline and additive-modified solutions in a microfluidic chip environment, simulating pore-scale processes during CO2 injection. The brine compositions included NaCl solutions at different concentrations, surfactant-modified fluids, alcohol-water mixtures, and ammonia solutions. Microfluidic experiments were performed on a range of flow rates and the dynamics of CO2 breakthrough, brine evaporation, and salt precipitation were analyzed. The results show that higher NaCl concentrations accelerate crystallization and increase the final fraction of the crystal, though they also introduce spatial variability and localized precipitation. Additives such as alkylbenzene sulfonate and propan-2-ol reduce interfacial tension, promote greater mobility, and suppress salt accumulation. Ammonia-based solutions demonstrate rapid ammonia bicarbonate crystallization immediately upon CO2 contact, leading to elevated water saturation and frequent chip clogging. Despite faster brine evaporation and earlier crystal nucleation at higher CO2 flow rates, no significant impact was observed on initial brine saturation or final crystal coverage. Crystal growth occurs within and outside brine pools, driven by capillary flow, with spatial distributions governed by stochastic breakthrough dynamics. The random nature of the residual brine geometry results in heterogeneous crystal patterns, which were found to be repeatable but not deterministic.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2024

How does surface wettability alter salt precipitation and growth dynamics during CO$_2$ injection into saline aquifers: A microfluidic analysis

Salt precipitation triggered by the evaporation of formation brine into injected supercritical CO2 can cause injectivity and containment issues in near-wellbore regions. Predicting the distribution of precipitated salts and their impact on near-wellbore properties remains challenging. This study investigates the influence of surface wettability on CO2-induced halite precipitation and growth within hydrophilic and hydrophobic microfluidic chips designed to mimic rock-structure porous geometries. A series of high-pressure brine-CO2 flow experiments, direct microscopic observations, and detailed image processing were conducted to explore how substrate wettability affects salt precipitation. The experiments show that wettability markedly controls residual brine relocation, film flow movement, solute consumption, and salt formation. Tracking halite precipitation dynamics revealed distinct crystal formation signatures: hydrophilic chips exhibited irregular, larger aggregation patches, while the hydrophobic network showed more numerous, smaller, and limited aggregations. Large individual crystals were observed in both chips, with a notable dominance in the hydrophobic one. Crystallization dynamics varied, with nucleation and growth occurring earlier, progressing faster, and forming bulkier aggregates in the hydrophilic chip. Despite these differences, the three identified temporal stages of brine evaporation and halite surface coverage were comparable. Spatial analysis along the chips indicated that crystal aggregation properties, such as size and distribution, were position-dependent, with hydrophilic chips exhibiting greater probabilistic variability. These observations underscore the impact of surface wettability on salt precipitation through brine accessibility and capillarity, with implications for mitigating and remediating salt issues in saline aquifers.

physics.geo-ph↗