@article{KrassakisKaraviasZygourietal.2023, author = {Krassakis, Pavlos and Karavias, Andreas and Zygouri, Evangelia and Roumpos, Christos and Louloudis, Georgios and Pyrgaki, Konstantina and Koukouzas, Nikolaos and Kempka, Thomas and Karapanos, Dimitris}, title = {GIS-based assessment of hybrid pumped hydro storage as a potential solution for the clean energy transition}, series = {Sensors}, volume = {23}, journal = {Sensors}, number = {2}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1424-8220}, doi = {10.3390/s23020593}, pages = {24}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Planned decommissioning of coal-fired plants in Europe requires innovative technical and economic strategies to support coal regions on their path towards a climate-resilient future. The repurposing of open pit mines into hybrid pumped hydro power storage (HPHS) of excess energy from the electric grid, and renewable sources will contribute to the EU Green Deal, increase the economic value, stabilize the regional job market and contribute to the EU energy supply security. This study aims to present a preliminary phase of a geospatial workflow used to evaluate land suitability by implementing a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique with an advanced geographic information system (GIS) in the context of an interdisciplinary feasibility study on HPHS in the Kardia lignite open pit mine (Western Macedonia, Greece). The introduced geospatial analysis is based on the utilization of the constraints and ranking criteria within the boundaries of the abandoned mine regarding specific topographic and proximity criteria. The applied criteria were selected from the literature, while for their weights, the experts' judgement was introduced by implementing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), in the framework of the ATLANTIS research program. According to the results, seven regions were recognized as suitable, with a potential energy storage capacity from 1.09 to 5.16 GWh. Particularly, the present study's results reveal that 9.27\% (212,884 m(2)) of the area had a very low suitability, 15.83\% (363,599 m(2)) had a low suitability, 23.99\% (550,998 m(2)) had a moderate suitability, 24.99\% (573,813 m(2)) had a high suitability, and 25.92\% (595,125 m(2)) had a very high suitability for the construction of the upper reservoir. The proposed semi-automatic geospatial workflow introduces an innovative tool that can be applied to open pit mines globally to identify the optimum design for an HPHS system depending on the existing lower reservoir.}, language = {en} } @article{ZhuTianKempkaetal.2021, author = {Zhu, Zhennan and Tian, Hong and Kempka, Thomas and Jiang, Guosheng and Dou, Bin and Mei, Gang}, title = {Mechanical behaviors of granite after thermal treatment under loading and unloading conditions}, series = {Natural resources research / sponsored by the International Association for Mathematical Geology}, volume = {30}, journal = {Natural resources research / sponsored by the International Association for Mathematical Geology}, number = {3}, publisher = {Springer Science + Business Media B.V.}, address = {New York, NY [u.a.]}, issn = {1520-7439}, doi = {10.1007/s11053-021-09815-7}, pages = {2733 -- 2752}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Understanding the mechanical behaviors of granite after thermal treatment under loading and unloading conditions is of utmost relevance to deep geothermal energy recovery. In the present study, a series of loading and unloading triaxial compression tests (20, 40 and 60 MPa) on granite specimens after exposure to different temperatures (20, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 degrees C) was carried out to quantify the combined effects of thermal treatment and loading/unloading stress conditions on granite strength and deformation. Changes in the microstructure of granite exposed to high temperatures were revealed by optical microscopy. The experimental results indicate that both, thermal treatment and loading/unloading stress conditions, degrade the mechanical behaviors and further decrease the carrying capacity of granite. The gradual degradation of the mechanical characteristics of granite after thermal treatment is mainly associated with the evolution of thermal micro-cracks based on optical microscopy observations. The unloading stress state induces the extension of tension cracks parallel to the axial direction, and thus, the mechanical properties are degraded. Temperatures above 400 degrees C have a more significant influence on the mechanical characteristics of granite than the unloading treatment, whereby 400 degrees C can be treated as a threshold temperature for the delineation of significant deterioration. This study is expected to support feasibility and risk assessments by means of providing data for analytical calculations and numerical simulations on granite exposed to high temperatures during geothermal energy extraction.}, language = {en} } @article{StedingKempkaZirkleretal.2021, author = {Steding, Svenja and Kempka, Thomas and Zirkler, Axel and K{\"u}hn, Michael}, title = {Spatial and temporal evolution of leaching zones within potash seams reproduced by reactive transport simulations}, series = {Water / Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)}, volume = {13}, journal = {Water / Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)}, number = {2}, publisher = {Molecular Diversity Preservation International}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2073-4441}, doi = {10.3390/w13020168}, pages = {21}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Leaching zones within potash seams generally represent a significant risk to subsurface mining operations and the construction of technical caverns in salt rocks, but their temporal and spatial formation has been investigated only rudimentarily to date. To the knowledge of the authors, current reactive transport simulation implementations are not capable to address hydraulic-chemical interactions within potash salt. For this reason, a reactive transport model has been developed and complemented by an innovative approach to calculate the interchange of minerals and solution at the water-rock interface. Using this model, a scenario analysis was carried out based on a carnallite-bearing potash seam. The results show that the evolution of leaching zones depends on the mineral composition and dissolution rate of the original salt rock, and that the formation can be classified by the dimensionless parameters of Peclet (Pe) and Damkohler (Da). For Pe > 2 and Da > 1, a funnel-shaped leaching zone is formed, otherwise the dissolution front is planar. Additionally, Da > 1 results in the formation of a sylvinitic zone and a flow barrier. Most scenarios represent hybrid forms of these cases. The simulated shapes and mineralogies are confirmed by literature data and can be used to assess the hazard potential.}, language = {en} } @article{LiSpangenbergSchicksetal.2022, author = {Li, Zhen and Spangenberg, Erik and Schicks, Judith Maria and Kempka, Thomas}, title = {Numerical simulation of hydrate formation in the LArge-Scale Reservoir Simulator (LARS)}, series = {Energies : open-access journal of related scientific research, technology development and studies in policy and management}, volume = {15}, journal = {Energies : open-access journal of related scientific research, technology development and studies in policy and management}, number = {6}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1996-1073}, doi = {10.3390/en15061974}, pages = {27}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The LArge-scale Reservoir Simulator (LARS) has been previously developed to study hydrate dissociation in hydrate-bearing systems under in-situ conditions. In the present study, a numerical framework of equations of state describing hydrate formation at equilibrium conditions has been elaborated and integrated with a numerical flow and transport simulator to investigate a multi-stage hydrate formation experiment undertaken in LARS. A verification of the implemented modeling framework has been carried out by benchmarking it against another established numerical code. Three-dimensional (3D) model calibration has been performed based on laboratory data available from temperature sensors, fluid sampling, and electrical resistivity tomography. The simulation results demonstrate that temperature profiles, spatial hydrate distribution, and bulk hydrate saturation are consistent with the observations. Furthermore, our numerical framework can be applied to calibrate geophysical measurements, optimize post-processing workflows for monitoring data, improve the design of hydrate formation experiments, and investigate the temporal evolution of sub-permafrost methane hydrate reservoirs.}, language = {en} } @article{LiSpangenbergSchicksetal.2022, author = {Li, Zhen and Spangenberg, Erik and Schicks, Judith Maria and Kempka, Thomas}, title = {Numerical Simulation of Coastal Sub-Permafrost Gas Hydrate Formation in the Mackenzie Delta, Canadian Arctic}, series = {Energies}, volume = {15}, journal = {Energies}, number = {14}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1996-1073}, doi = {10.3390/en15144986}, pages = {25}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The Mackenzie Delta (MD) is a permafrost-bearing region along the coasts of the Canadian Arctic which exhibits high sub-permafrost gas hydrate (GH) reserves. The GH occurring at the Mallik site in the MD is dominated by thermogenic methane (CH4), which migrated from deep conventional hydrocarbon reservoirs, very likely through the present fault systems. Therefore, it is assumed that fluid flow transports dissolved CH4 upward and out of the deeper overpressurized reservoirs via the existing polygonal fault system and then forms the GH accumulations in the Kugmallit-Mackenzie Bay Sequences. We investigate the feasibility of this mechanism with a thermo-hydraulic-chemical numerical model, representing a cross section of the Mallik site. We present the first simulations that consider permafrost formation and thawing, as well as the formation of GH accumulations sourced from the upward migrating CH4-rich formation fluid. The simulation results show that temperature distribution, as well as the thickness and base of the ice-bearing permafrost are consistent with corresponding field observations. The primary driver for the spatial GH distribution is the permeability of the host sediments. Thus, the hypothesis on GH formation by dissolved CH4 originating from deeper geological reservoirs is successfully validated. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that the permafrost has been substantially heated to 0.8-1.3 degrees C, triggered by the global temperature increase of about 0.44 degrees C and further enhanced by the Arctic Amplification effect at the Mallik site from the early 1970s to the mid-2000s.}, language = {en} } @article{StedingKempkaKuehn2021, author = {Steding, Svenja and Kempka, Thomas and K{\"u}hn, Michael}, title = {How insoluble inclusions and intersecting layers affect the leaching process within potash seams}, series = {Applied Sciences : open access journal}, volume = {11}, journal = {Applied Sciences : open access journal}, number = {19}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2076-3417}, doi = {10.3390/app11199314}, pages = {21}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Potash seams are a valuable resource containing several economically interesting, but also highly soluble minerals. In the presence of water, uncontrolled leaching can occur, endangering subsurface mining operations. In the present study, the influence of insoluble inclusions and intersecting layers on leaching zone evolution was examined by means of a reactive transport model. For that purpose, a scenario analysis was carried out, considering different rock distributions within a carnallite-bearing potash seam. The results show that reaction-dominated systems are not affected by heterogeneities at all, whereas transport-dominated systems exhibit a faster advance in homogeneous rock compositions. In return, the ratio of permeated rock in vertical direction is higher in heterogeneous systems. Literature data indicate that most natural potash systems are transport-dominated. Accordingly, insoluble inclusions and intersecting layers can usually be seen as beneficial with regard to reducing hazard potential as long as the mechanical stability of leaching zones is maintained. Thereby, the distribution of insoluble areas is of minor impact unless an inclined, intersecting layer occurs that accelerates leaching zone growth in one direction. Moreover, it is found that the saturation dependency of dissolution rates increases the growth rate in the long term, and therefore must be considered in risk assessments.}, language = {en} } @article{WetzelKempkaKuehn2021, author = {Wetzel, Maria and Kempka, Thomas and K{\"u}hn, Michael}, title = {Diagenetic trends of synthetic reservoir sandstone properties assessed by digital rock physics}, series = {Minerals}, volume = {11}, journal = {Minerals}, number = {2}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2075-163X}, doi = {10.3390/min11020151}, pages = {21}, year = {2021}, abstract = {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.}, language = {en} } @article{WetzelKempkaKuehn2020, author = {Wetzel, Maria and Kempka, Thomas and K{\"u}hn, Michael}, title = {Hydraulic and mechanical impacts of pore space alterations within a sandstone quantified by a flow velocity-dependent precipitation approach}, series = {Materials}, volume = {13}, journal = {Materials}, number = {14}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1996-1944}, doi = {10.3390/ma13143100}, pages = {20}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Geochemical processes change the microstructure of rocks and thereby affect their physical behaviour at the macro scale. A micro-computer tomography (micro-CT) scan of a typical reservoir sandstone is used to numerically examine the impact of three spatial alteration patterns on pore morphology, permeability and elastic moduli by correlating precipitation with the local flow velocity magnitude. The results demonstrate that the location of mineral growth strongly affects the permeability decrease with variations by up to four orders in magnitude. Precipitation in regions of high flow velocities is characterised by a predominant clogging of pore throats and a drastic permeability reduction, which can be roughly described by the power law relation with an exponent of 20. A continuous alteration of the pore structure by uniform mineral growth reduces the permeability comparable to the power law with an exponent of four or the Kozeny-Carman relation. Preferential precipitation in regions of low flow velocities predominantly affects smaller throats and pores with a minor impact on the flow regime, where the permeability decrease is considerably below that calculated by the power law with an exponent of two. Despite their complete distinctive impact on hydraulics, the spatial precipitation patterns only slightly affect the increase in elastic rock properties with differences by up to 6.3\% between the investigated scenarios. Hence, an adequate characterisation of the spatial precipitation pattern is crucial to quantify changes in hydraulic rock properties, whereas the present study shows that its impact on elastic rock parameters is limited. The calculated relations between porosity and permeability, as well as elastic moduli can be applied for upscaling micro-scale findings to reservoir-scale models to improve their predictive capabilities, what is of paramount importance for a sustainable utilisation of the geological subsurface.}, language = {en} } @article{OttoKempka2020, author = {Otto, Christopher and Kempka, Thomas}, title = {Synthesis gas composition prediction for underground coal gasification using a thermochemical equilibrium modeling approach}, series = {Energies}, volume = {13}, journal = {Energies}, number = {5}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1996-1073}, doi = {10.3390/en13051171}, pages = {17}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an in situ conversion technique that enables the production of high-calorific synthesis gas from resources that are economically not minable by conventional methods. A broad range of end-use options is available for the synthesis gas, including fuels and chemical feedstock production. Furthermore, UCG also offers a high potential for integration with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In the present study, a stoichiometric equilibrium model, based on minimization of the Gibbs function has been used to estimate the equilibrium composition of the synthesis gas. Thereto, we further developed and applied a proven thermodynamic equilibrium model to simulate the relevant thermochemical coal conversion processes (pyrolysis and gasification). Our modeling approach has been validated against thermodynamic models, laboratory gasification experiments and UCG field trial data reported in the literature. The synthesis gas compositions have been found to be in good agreement under a wide range of different operating conditions. Consequently, the presented modeling approach enables an efficient quantification of synthesis gas quality resulting from UCG, considering varying coal and oxidizer compositions at deposit-specific pressures and temperatures.}, language = {en} } @misc{WetzelKempkaKuehn2017, author = {Wetzel, Maria and Kempka, Thomas and K{\"u}hn, Michael}, title = {Predicting macroscopic elastic rock properties requires detailed information on microstructure}, series = {Energy procedia}, volume = {125}, journal = {Energy procedia}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1876-6102}, doi = {10.1016/j.egypro.2017.08.195}, pages = {561 -- 570}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Predicting variations in macroscopic mechanical rock behaviour due to microstructural changes, driven by mineral precipitation and dissolution is necessary to couple chemo-mechanical processes in geological subsurface simulations. We apply 3D numerical homogenization models to estimate Young's moduli for five synthetic microstructures, and successfully validate our results for comparable geometries with the analytical Mori-Tanaka approach. Further, we demonstrate that considering specific rock microstructures is of paramount importance, since calculated elastic properties may deviate by up to 230 \% for the same mineral composition. Moreover, agreement between simulated and experimentally determined Young's moduli is significantly improved, when detailed spatial information are employed.}, language = {en} }