Energies, Vol. 19, Pages 348: A Rock-on-a-Chip Approach to Investigate Flow Behavior for Underground Gas Storage Applications
Energies doi: 10.3390/en19020348
Authors:
Marialuna Loffredo
Cristina Serazio
Nicolò Santi Vasile
Eloisa Salina Borello
Matteo Scapolo
Donatella Barbieri
Andrea Mantegazzi
Fabrizio Candido Pirri
Francesca Verga
Christian Coti
Dario Viberti
Large-scale storage solutions play a critical role in the ongoing energy transition, with Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS) emerging as a possible option. UHS can benefit from existing natural gas storage expertise; however, key differences in hydrogen’s behavior compared to CH4 must be characterized at the pore scale to optimize the design and the management of these systems. This work investigates two-phase (gas–water) flow behavior using microfluidic devices mimicking reservoir rocks’ pore structure. Microfluidic tests provide a systematic side-by-side comparison of H2–water and CH4–water disstrategies for UHS to manage trapping and optimize recovery.