CO2 transport through swelling organic-rich nanoporous media: Insights on gas permeability from coarse-grained pore-scale simulations

Sorption-induced swelling reduces porosity and permeability in porous media, impacting long-term CO2 storage injectivity. This study employs an innovative coarse-grained model to couple fluid flow with sorption-induced solid deformation at the pore-scale. Our model preserves the advantages of molecular dynamics in simulating complex fluid-solid interaction under nano-confinement while extending the time and length scales. Adjusting the gas-solid interaction energy controls solid swelling and gas slippage at pore walls. Gas permeability curves demonstrate a linear decline with the increasing gas-solid interaction energy in both swelling and non-swelling nanoporous media, with the former experiencing a greater drop. Surprisingly, in the regime of weak gas-solid interactions, swelling is not yet initiated and the porosity and permeability of flexible porous media increase, possibly due to gas flow-induced pore throat opening. Nanoporous media with lower initial porosity experience a greater permeability decline during swelling. The relationship between permeability and porosity changes shows a linear increase characterized by different slopes with varying initial porosities. These findings provide valuable insights into the complex interactions among gas transport, solid deformation, and porosity changes in nanoporous media, with implications for understanding and optimizing gas production and CO2 storage in realistic geological environments.