Considering the global effort to combat climate change, a promising solution in reducing CO2 emissions is the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) application. Such projects aim to store CO2 inside subsurface geological formations. Depleted gas reservoirs are considered as one of the
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Considering the global effort to combat climate change, a promising solution in reducing CO2 emissions is the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) application. Such projects aim to store CO2 inside subsurface geological formations. Depleted gas reservoirs are considered as one of the best options for CCS projects to take place. However, one of the main challenges that can be encountered is the impairment of CO2 injectivity near the well caused by the formation of CO2 hydrates which further result in porosity and permeability reduction of the reservoir rock. While the thermodynamic boundaries have been extensively studied, the kinetics of CO2 hydrates inside porous media remain less investigated. So, this study investigates the kinetic behavior of CO2 hydrate during both formation and dissociation within Bentheimer sandstone core samples under varying thermal conditions, aiming to get a better understanding of how thermal delivery either during hydrate formation with cooling or during hydrate dissociation with heating can affect the hydrates. On top of that, the effect of subcooling as a driving force is also investigated. During the experimental work of the study multiple core flood experiments with constant CO2 injection (dynamic conditions) were conducted, applying different cooling and heating methods, with a specific focus on subcooling and the rates of thermal stimulation. A combination of pressure and temperature monitoring, computed tomography (CT) imaging and permeability measurements were employed to evaluate hydrate behavior in real time. The results showed that subcooling is a dominant driving force and higher degrees of subcooling resulted in shorter induction times, increased hydrate saturation, and greater permeability reductions. Very fast cooling rates led to faster hydrate formation which further resulted in greater permeability losses. Conversely, constant higher heating rates caused more hydrate dissociation and faster permeability recovery. A temperature threshold below the hydrate equilibrium temperature was consistently identified, where significant dissociation occurred, indicating that the porous medium inhibits hydrate formation and promotes hydrate dissociation. Hydrates formed under non-constant cooling dissociated more easily, while slow constant cooling resulted in hydrates that were more resistant. Despite full dissociation across all experiments a residual permeability loss of 8-10 % was observed. Additionally, hydrates formed under constant cooling methods displayed different permeability behavior compared to those formed under non-constant cooling methods, indicating a potential difference in pore-scale hydrate distribution. This thesis will delve into how temperature and subcooling can impact the kinetics of CO2 hydrates formation and dissociation within the context of CCS in depleted gas reservoirs.