Jafarbeigi & Ayatollahi (2025): An innovative technique and laboratory protocol for CO₂ storage in water disposal wells and monitoring asphaltene deposition
Ehsan Jafarbeigi and Shahab Ayatollahi, IN: Nature – Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-32916-9
Injecting CO₂ into water-disposal wells is a promising strategy for geological carbon storage. However, this process can destabilize asphaltenes in residual oil blobs—primarily of the emulsified type—trapped within the porous rock, leading to precipitation that threatens storage integrity and operational safety. This study introduces a novel high-pressure laboratory apparatus and protocol designed to directly quantify asphaltene precipitation during CO₂ injection into oil-in-water emulsions, which represent water-flooded formations.