scholarly journals On the formation of breakthrough curves tailing during convergent flow tracer tests in three-dimensional heterogeneous aquifers

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 4157-4173 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Pedretti ◽  
D. Fernàndez-Garcia ◽  
D. Bolster ◽  
X. Sanchez-Vila
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Tracer Tests ◽  
Breakthrough Curves ◽  
Heterogeneous Aquifers ◽  
Convergent Flow ◽  
Flow Tracer

Directional effects on convergent flow tracer tests

1997 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Sánchez-Vila ◽  
JesÚs Carrera
Keyword(s):  
Tracer Tests ◽  
Convergent Flow ◽  
Flow Tracer

scholarly journals Analysis of convergent flow tracer tests in a heterogeneous sandy box with connected gravel channels

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 5640-5657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Molinari ◽  
D. Pedretti ◽  
C. Fallico
Keyword(s):  
Tracer Tests ◽  
Convergent Flow ◽  
Flow Tracer

Comparison of Water and Gas Tracers Field Breakthrough

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsieh Chen ◽  
Sehoon Chang ◽  
Gawain Thomas ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Afnan Mashat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Detection Method ◽  
Tracer Tests ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Breakthrough Curves ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Gas Tracer

Abstract We are developing new classes of barcoded advanced tracers, which, compared to present commercial offerings, can be optically detected in an automated fashion. The eventual goal for the advanced tracers is to deploy cost-effective, ubiquitous, long-term, and full-field tracer tests in supporting large-scale waterflooding optimization for improved oil recovery. In this paper, we compare model predictions to breakthrough data from two field tests of advanced tracers in a pilot during water alternating gas (WAG) cycles, where gas tracer tests have recently been performed as well. Two advanced tracer injections were performed at the test site. For the first injection, only a dipicolinic acid based advanced tracer (DPA) was injected. For the second injection, DPA and a phenanthroline- based advanced tracer, 4,7-bis(sulfonatophenyl)-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid (BSPPDA), was injected in conjunction with a commercially available fluorobenzoic acid-based tracer (FBA) to benchmark their performance. Produced water samples were collected weekly for tracer analysis. Both newly developed 2D-high performance liquid chromatography/time-resolved fluorescence optical detection method (2D-HPLC/TRF) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to construct the breakthrough curves for the advanced tracers. In parallel, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to detect FBA tracer. Gas tracer tests have been performed on the same field. Since DPA, BSPPDA and FBA tracers were water tracers as designed, they were expected to appear in between gas tracer breakthroughs, and we observed exactly that for BSPPDA and FBA. Unexpectedly, the DPA predominantly appeared along with gas tracer breakthroughs, suggesting its favorable compatibility with the gas phase. We suspect the presence of some gas components rendered the medium more acidic, which likely protonates DPA molecules, thereby alters its hydrophilicity. A wealth of information could be gathered from the field tests. First, all tracers survived not only the harsh reservoir conditions but also the irregular WAG injections. Their successful detection from the producers suggested robustness of these materials for reservoir applications. Second, the breakthrough curves of the BSPPDA tracers using optical detection method were very similar to those of FBA tracers detected by GC-MS, substantiating the competency of our in-house materials and detection methods to the present commercial offerings. Finally, even though DPA has passed prior lab tests as a good water tracer, its high solubility to gas phase warrants further investigation. This paper summarizes key results from two field trials of the novel barcoded advanced tracers, of which both the tracer materials and detection methods are new to the industry. Importantly, the two co- injected advanced tracers showed opposite correlations to the gas tracers, highlighting the complex physicochemical interactions in reservoir conditions. Nevertheless, the information collected from the field trials is invaluable in enabling further design and utilization of the advanced tracers in fulfilling their wonderful promises.

scholarly journals Quantifying solute spreading and mixing in reservoir rocks using 3-D PET imaging

2016 ◽  
Vol 796 ◽  
pp. 558-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronny Pini ◽  
Nicholas T. Vandehey ◽  
Jennifer Druhan ◽  
James P. O’Neil ◽  
Sally M. Benson
Keyword(s):  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Tracer Tests ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Local Dispersion ◽  
Advection Dispersion ◽  
Driving Mechanisms ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Longitudinal Dispersivity

We report results of an experimental investigation into the effects of small-scale (mm–cm) heterogeneities on solute spreading and mixing in a Berea sandstone core. Pulse-tracer tests have been carried out in the Péclet number regime $Pe=6{-}40$ and are supplemented by a unique combination of two imaging techniques. X-ray computed tomography (CT) is used to quantify subcore-scale heterogeneities in terms of permeability contrasts at a spatial resolution of approximately $10~\text{mm}^{3}$, while [11C] positron emission tomography (PET) is applied to image the spatial and temporal evolution of the full tracer plume non-invasively. To account for both advective spreading and local (Fickian) mixing as driving mechanisms for solute transport, a streamtube model is applied that is based on the one-dimensional advection–dispersion equation. We refer to our modelling approach as semideterministic, because the spatial arrangement of the streamtubes and the corresponding solute travel times are known from the measured rock’s permeability map, which required only small adjustments to match the measured tracer breakthrough curve. The model reproduces the three-dimensional PET measurements accurately by capturing the larger-scale tracer plume deformation as well as subcore-scale mixing, while confirming negligible transverse dispersion over the scale of the experiment. We suggest that the obtained longitudinal dispersivity ($0.10\pm 0.02$  cm) is rock rather than sample specific, because of the ability of the model to decouple subcore-scale permeability heterogeneity effects from those of local dispersion. As such, the approach presented here proves to be very valuable, if not necessary, in the context of reservoir core analyses, because rock samples can rarely be regarded as ‘uniformly heterogeneous’.

scholarly journals Direct characterization of solute transport in unsaturated porous media using fast X-ray synchrotron microtomography

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (38) ◽  
pp. 23443-23449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharul Hasan ◽  
Vahid Niasar ◽  
Nikolaos K. Karadimitriou ◽  
Jose R. A. Godinho ◽  
Nghia T. Vo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solute Transport ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Concentration Field ◽  
Solute Concentration ◽  
Breakthrough Curves ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Long Tails ◽  
Computed Microtomography

Solute transport in unsaturated porous materials is a complex process, which exhibits some distinct features differentiating it from transport under saturated conditions. These features emerge mostly due to the different transport time scales at different regions of the flow network, which can be classified into flowing and stagnant regions, predominantly controlled by advection and diffusion, respectively. Under unsaturated conditions, the solute breakthrough curves show early arrivals and very long tails, and this type of transport is usually referred to as non-Fickian. This study directly characterizes transport through an unsaturated porous medium in three spatial dimensions at the resolution of 3.25 μm and the time resolution of 6 s. Using advanced high-speed, high-spatial resolution, synchrotron-based X-ray computed microtomography (sCT) we obtained detailed information on solute transport through a glass bead packing at different saturations. A large experimental dataset (>50 TB) was produced, while imaging the evolution of the solute concentration with time at any given point within the field of view. We show that the fluids’ topology has a critical signature on the non-Fickian transport, which yet needs to be included in the Darcy-scale solute transport models. The three-dimensional (3D) results show that the fully mixing assumption at the pore scale is not valid, and even after injection of several pore volumes the concentration field at the pore scale is not uniform. Additionally, results demonstrate that dispersivity is changing with saturation, being twofold larger at the saturation of 0.52 compared to that at the fully saturated domain.

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