Computational Fluid Dynamics of Water Condensation in CCS Wells

Abstract Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is actively pursued as a strategy to decarbonize energy-intensive industries and reduce the impact of carbon emission on the planet. Integrity of the CCS wells is critical for safe containment of CO2. One potential integrity hazard is the corrosion of the well tubular inner walls due to water condensation from the supercritical phase CO2 in the storage area above the formation water. In this work, we propose a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling framework to predict the water condensation in CCS wells. Impact of different system parameters on the convective flow and condensation in a high pressure, high temperature environment is investigated with short section tubulars. A full-length well is also modeled to understand the condensation profile for a practical scenario. CFD modeling provides more realistic characterization of condensing corrosion compared to mechanistic modeling approaches. Outcome of the study will help in optimal tubular material selection for corrosion integrity of CCS wells.