TY - JOUR A1 - Wilke, Franziska Daniela Helena A1 - Schettler, Georg A1 - Vieth-Hillebrand, Andrea A1 - Kühn, Michael A1 - Rothe, Heike T1 - Activity concentrations of U-238 and Ra-226 in two European black shales and their experimentally-derived leachates JF - Journal of Environmental Radioactivity N2 - We performed leaching tests at elevated temperatures and pressures with an Alum black shale from Bomholm, Denmark and a Posidonia black shale from Lower Saxony, Germany. The Alum shale is a carbonate free black shale with pyrite and barite, containing 74.4 mu g/g U. The Posidonia shales is a calcareous shale with pyrite but without detectable amounts of barite containing 3.6 mu g/g U. Pyrite oxidized during the tests forming sulfuric acid which lowered the pH on values between 2 and 3 of the extraction fluid from the Alum shale favoring a release of U from the Alum shale to the fluid during the short-term and in the beginning of the long-term experiments. The activity concentration of U-238 is as high as 23.9 mBq/ml in the fluid for those experiments. The release of U and Th into the fluid is almost independent of pressure. The amount of uranium in the European shales is similar to that of the Marcellus Shale in the United States but the daughter product of U-238, the Ra-226 activity concentrations in the experimentally derived leachates from the European shales are quite low in comparison to that found in industrially derived flowback fluids from the Marcellus shale. This difference could mainly be due to missing Cl in the reaction fluid used in our experiments and a lower fluid to solid ratio in the industrial plays than in the experiments due to subsequent fracking and minute cracks from which Ra can easily be released. KW - Unconventional gas production KW - Black shales KW - Flowback KW - Radioactivity KW - NOR KW - Batch experiments Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.05.005 SN - 0265-931X SN - 1879-1700 VL - 190 SP - 122 EP - 129 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tranter, Morgan Alan A1 - De Lucia, Marco A1 - Wolfgramm, Markus A1 - Kühn, Michael T1 - Barite scale formation and injectivity loss models for geothermal systems JF - Water N2 - Barite scales in geothermal installations are a highly unwanted effect of circulating deep saline fluids. They build up in the reservoir if supersaturated fluids are re-injected, leading to irreversible loss of injectivity. A model is presented for calculating the total expected barite precipitation. To determine the related injectivity decline over time, the spatial precipitation distribution in the subsurface near the injection well is assessed by modelling barite growth kinetics in a radially diverging Darcy flow domain. Flow and reservoir properties as well as fluid chemistry are chosen to represent reservoirs subject to geothermal exploration located in the North German Basin (NGB) and the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) in Germany. Fluids encountered at similar depths are hotter in the URG, while they are more saline in the NGB. The associated scaling amount normalised to flow rate is similar for both regions. The predicted injectivity decline after 10 years, on the other hand, is far greater for the NGB (64%) compared to the URG (24%), due to the temperature- and salinity-dependent precipitation rate. The systems in the NGB are at higher risk. Finally, a lightweight score is developed for approximating the injectivity loss using the Damkohler number, flow rate and total barite scaling potential. This formula can be easily applied to geothermal installations without running complex reactive transport simulations. KW - reactive transport KW - radial flow KW - geothermal energy KW - scaling KW - phreeqc KW - formation damage Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/w12113078 SN - 2073-4441 VL - 12 IS - 11 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tranter, Morgan Alan A1 - De Lucia, Marco A1 - Kühn, Michael T1 - Barite scaling potential modelled for fractured-porous geothermal reservoirs JF - Minerals N2 - Barite scalings are a common cause of permanent formation damage to deep geothermal reservoirs. Well injectivity can be impaired because the ooling of saline fluids reduces the solubility of barite, and the continuous re-injection of supersaturated fluids forces barite to precipitate in the host rock. Stimulated reservoirs in the Upper Rhine Graben often have multiple relevant flow paths in the porous matrix and fracture zones, sometimes spanning multiple stratigraphical units to achieve the economically necessary injectivity. While the influence of barite scaling on injectivity has been investigated for purely porous media, the role of fractures within reservoirs consisting of both fractured and porous sections is still not well understood. Here, we present hydro-chemical simulations of a dual-layer geothermal reservoir to study the long-term impact of barite scale formation on well injectivity. Our results show that, compared to purely porous reservoirs, fractured porous reservoirs have a significantly reduced scaling risk by up to 50%, depending on the flow rate ratio of fractures. Injectivity loss is doubled, however, if the amount of active fractures is increased by one order of magnitude, while the mean fracture aperture is decreased, provided the fractured aquifer dictates the injection rate. We conclude that fractured, and especially hydraulically stimulated, reservoirs are generally less affected by barite scaling and that large, but few, fractures are favourable. We present a scaling score for fractured-porous reservoirs, which is composed of easily derivable quantities such as the radial equilibrium length and precipitation potential. This score is suggested for use approximating the scaling potential and its impact on injectivity of a fractured-porous reservoir for geothermal exploitation. KW - reactive transport KW - radial flow KW - geothermal energy KW - injectivity KW - phreeqc KW - formation damage Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/min11111198 SN - 2075-163X VL - 11 IS - 11 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Kühn, Michael T1 - Beiträge der Georessource Untergrund zur Energiewende : Antrittsvorlesung 2013-06-12 N2 - Die Ziele der Energiewende sind ehrgeizig. Der Vortrag zeigt, welche Nutzungsoptionen der Untergrund bietet - z.B. geothermische Energiegewinnung oder geologische Speicherung. Für eine gesellschaftsweite, sachliche Diskussion werden konkrete Zahlen nicht nur zu den Chancen, sondern auch zu den Risiken benötigt. Y1 - 2013 UR - http://info.ub.uni-potsdam.de/multimedia/show_multimediafile.php?mediafile_id=507 PB - Univ.-Bibl. CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - De Lucia, Marco A1 - Kühn, Michael T1 - DecTree v1.0-chemistry speedup in reactive transport simulations BT - purely data-driven and physics-based surrogates JF - Geoscientific model development : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union N2 - The computational costs associated with coupled reactive transport simulations are mostly due to the chemical subsystem: replacing it with a pre-trained statistical surrogate is a promising strategy to achieve decisive speedups at the price of small accuracy losses and thus to extend the scale of problems which can be handled. We introduce a hierarchical coupling scheme in which "full-physics" equation-based geochemical simulations are partially replaced by surrogates. Errors in mass balance resulting from multivariate surrogate predictions effectively assess the accuracy of multivariate regressions at runtime: inaccurate surrogate predictions are rejected and the more expensive equation-based simulations are run instead. Gradient boosting regressors such as XGBoost, not requiring data standardization and being able to handle Tweedie distributions, proved to be a suitable emulator. Finally, we devise a surrogate approach based on geochemical knowledge, which overcomes the issue of robustness when encountering previously unseen data and which can serve as a basis for further development of hybrid physics-AI modelling. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4713-2021 SN - 1991-959X SN - 1991-9603 VL - 14 IS - 7 SP - 4713 EP - 4730 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wetzel, Maria A1 - Kempka, Thomas A1 - Kühn, Michael T1 - Diagenetic trends of synthetic reservoir sandstone properties assessed by digital rock physics JF - Minerals N2 - Quantifying interactions and dependencies among geometric, hydraulic and mechanical properties of reservoir sandstones is of particular importance for the exploration and utilisation of the geological subsurface and can be assessed by synthetic sandstones comprising the microstructural complexity of natural rocks. In the present study, three highly resolved samples of the Fontainebleau, Berea and Bentheim sandstones are generated by means of a process-based approach, which combines the gravity-driven deposition of irregularly shaped grains and their diagenetic cementation by three different schemes. The resulting evolution in porosity, permeability and rock stiffness is examined and compared to the respective micro-computer tomographic (micro-CT) scans. The grain contact-preferential scheme implies a progressive clogging of small throats and consequently produces considerably less connected and stiffer samples than the two other schemes. By contrast, uniform quartz overgrowth continuously alters the pore space and leads to the lowest elastic properties. The proposed stress-dependent cementation scheme combines both approaches of contact-cement and quartz overgrowth, resulting in granulometric, hydraulic and elastic properties equivalent to those of the respective micro-CT scans, where bulk moduli slightly deviate by 0.8%, 4.9% and 2.5% for the Fontainebleau, Berea and Bentheim sandstone, respectively. The synthetic samples can be further altered to examine the impact of mineral dissolution or precipitation as well as fracturing on various petrophysical correlations, which is of particular relevance for numerous aspects of a sustainable subsurface utilisation. KW - digital core reconstruction KW - micro-CT scan KW - pore-scale KW - cementation KW - permeability-porosity relationship KW - elastic rock properties KW - numerical KW - simulation Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/min11020151 SN - 2075-163X VL - 11 IS - 2 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kühn, Michael A1 - Kempka, Thomas A1 - de Lucia, Marco A1 - Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena T1 - Dissolved CO2 storage in geological formations with low pressure, low risk and large capacities T2 - Energy procedia N2 - Geological CO2 storage is a mitigation technology to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion. However, major concerns are the pressure increase and saltwater displacement in the mainly targeted deep groundwater aquifers due to injection of supercritical CO2. The suggested solution is storage of CO2 exclusively in the dissolved state. In our exemplary regional case study of the North East German Basin based on a highly resolved temperature and pressure distribution model and a newly developed reactive transport coupling, we have quantified that 4.7 Gt of CO2 can be stored in solution compared to 1.5 Gt in the supercritical state. KW - carbon dioxide KW - dissolved KW - storage capacity KW - numerical simulation KW - saline aquifer KW - Buntsandstein Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.1607 SN - 1876-6102 VL - 114 SP - 4722 EP - 4727 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Martens, Sonja A1 - Juhlin, Christopher A1 - Bruckman, Viktor J. A1 - Mitchell, Kristen A1 - Griffiths, Luke A1 - Kühn, Michael T1 - Editorial: energy, resources and the environment BT - interdisciplinary answers to approach the sustainable energy and resources conundrum T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Every year, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) brings together experts from all over the world at its General Assembly, covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences. The EGU Division on Energy, Resources and the Environment (ERE) is concerned with one of the humankind's most challenging goals – providing affordable, reliable and sustainable energy and other georesources. A collection of contributions from the ERE Division at the EGU General Assembly 2018 is assembled within the present special issue in Advances in Geosciences. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 834 Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-427880 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 834 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tillner, Elena A1 - Langer, Maria A1 - Kempka, Thomas A1 - Kühn, Michael T1 - Fault damage zone volume and initial salinity distribution determine intensity of shallow aquifer salinisation in subsurface storage JF - Hydrology and earth system sciences : HESS N2 - Injection of fluids into deep saline aquifers causes a pore pressure increase in the storage formation, and thus displacement of resident brine. Via hydraulically conductive faults, brine may migrate upwards into shallower aquifers and lead to unwanted salinisation of potable groundwater resources. In the present study, we investigated different scenarios for a potential storage site in the Northeast German Basin using a three-dimensional (3-D) regional-scale model that includes four major fault zones. The focus was on assessing the impact of fault length and the effect of a secondary reservoir above the storage formation, as well as model boundary conditions and initial salinity distribution on the potential salinisation of shallow groundwater resources. We employed numerical simulations of brine injection as a representative fluid. Our simulation results demonstrate that the lateral model boundary settings and the effective fault damage zone volume have the greatest influence on pressure build-up and development within the reservoir, and thus intensity and duration of fluid flow through the faults. Higher vertical pressure gradients for short fault segments or a small effective fault damage zone volume result in the highest salinisation potential due to a larger vertical fault height affected by fluid displacement. Consequently, it has a strong impact on the degree of shallow aquifer salinisation, whether a gradient in salinity exists or the saltwater-freshwater interface lies below the fluid displacement depth in the faults. A small effective fault damage zone volume or low fault permeability further extend the duration of fluid flow, which can persist for several tens to hundreds of years, if the reservoir is laterally confined. Laterally open reservoir boundaries, large effective fault damage zone volumes and intermediate reservoirs significantly reduce vertical brine migration and the potential of freshwater salinisation because the origin depth of displaced brine is located only a few decametres below the shallow aquifer in maximum. The present study demonstrates that the existence of hydraulically conductive faults is not necessarily an exclusion criterion for potential injection sites, because salinisation of shallower aquifers strongly depends on initial salinity distribution, location of hydraulically conductive faults and their effective damage zone volumes as well as geological boundary conditions. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1049-2016 SN - 1027-5606 SN - 1607-7938 VL - 20 SP - 1049 EP - 1067 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - GEN A1 - Tillner, Elena A1 - Langer, Maria A1 - Kempka, Thomas A1 - Kühn, Michael T1 - Fault damage zone volume and initial salinity distribution determine intensity of shallow aquifer salinisation in subsurface storage T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Injection of fluids into deep saline aquifers causes a pore pressure increase in the storage formation, and thus displacement of resident brine. Via hydraulically conductive faults, brine may migrate upwards into shallower aquifers and lead to unwanted salinisation of potable groundwater resources. In the present study, we investigated different scenarios for a potential storage site in the Northeast German Basin using a three-dimensional (3-D) regional-scale model that includes four major fault zones. The focus was on assessing the impact of fault length and the effect of a secondary reservoir above the storage formation, as well as model boundary conditions and initial salinity distribution on the potential salinisation of shallow groundwater resources. We employed numerical simulations of brine injection as a representative fluid. Our simulation results demonstrate that the lateral model boundary settings and the effective fault damage zone volume have the greatest influence on pressure build-up and development within the reservoir, and thus intensity and duration of fluid flow through the faults. Higher vertical pressure gradients for short fault segments or a small effective fault damage zone volume result in the highest salinisation potential due to a larger vertical fault height affected by fluid displacement. Consequently, it has a strong impact on the degree of shallow aquifer salinisation, whether a gradient in salinity exists or the saltwater-freshwater interface lies below the fluid displacement depth in the faults. A small effective fault damage zone volume or low fault permeability further extend the duration of fluid flow, which can persist for several tens to hundreds of years, if the reservoir is laterally confined. Laterally open reservoir boundaries, large effective fault damage zone volumes and intermediate reservoirs significantly reduce vertical brine migration and the potential of freshwater salinisation because the origin depth of displaced brine is located only a few decametres below the shallow aquifer in maximum. The present study demonstrates that the existence of hydraulically conductive faults is not necessarily an exclusion criterion for potential injection sites, because salinisation of shallower aquifers strongly depends on initial salinity distribution, location of hydraulically conductive faults and their effective damage zone volumes as well as geological boundary conditions. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 548 KW - geological CO2 storage KW - brine migration KW - fluid-flow KW - pressure management KW - dynamic flow KW - permeability KW - sequestration KW - simulations KW - injection KW - leakage Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-411854 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 548 ER -