Investigation of gas residuals in sandstone formations via X-ray core-flooding experiments: Implication for subsurface hydrogen storage

The production and utilization of hydrogen (H₂) as a clean energy source offer a promising solution towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions. Utilizing sandstone formations for geological hydrogen storage presents a viable option for the practical implementation of the hydrogen economy, offering both safe and large-scale containment capabilities. Accurate assessment of gas displacement behavior in porous media plays a critical role in understanding gas saturation, gas residual, and long-term storage duration. However, there are limited studies available on dynamic displacements for hydrogen storage applications. This study aims to enhance the understanding of gas flow behavior in sandstone rocks for different gas types and determine the role of capillary pressure and gas wettability during hydrogen storage. A series of gas core-flooding experiments are performed on a brine-saturated sandstone core sample using three different gases (CO₂, CH_4, and H₂). X-ray scanning technique is applied to detect the gas saturation and gas residual after the core-flooding experiments. The results indicate that the average gas saturation ranges between 25 and 40%, with zero gas residual for all gases, suggesting that the gas residuals in this clean sandstone sample are unaffected by the gas type. Initially, the capillary pressure profile for the sample displayed low brine saturation at 200 psi, indicating very low capillary pressure in the sample due to the high permeability and large pore radius, despite the strong water-wetting behavior of the sample. Moreover, the obtained results indicate the high potential for gas recovery (especially for hydrogen during withdrawal cycles), and the high displacement efficiency in sandstone rocks. The reported low gas residual suggests that the wettability of the rock is not affected by gas injection, and it appears that the wettability and capillary pressure are not the controlling factors for gas storage in this sandstone sample. This observation suggests that the structural trapping mechanism is most likely to be the dominant trapping mechanism in this shallow high permeable sandstone rock. Also, the injection of cushion gases such as CO₂ and CH₄ indicated similar results to hydrogen injection, due to the low capillary pressure and high permeability in this sandstone sample. The findings of this study can greatly enhance the understanding of gas injection, displacement behavior, and gas residuals in sandstone rocks related to underground hydrogen storage.