arXiv subjects

Szymon Kuczyński

Publications and source records attributed to Szymon Kuczyński.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

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↗

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↗