Review of wellbore flow modelling in CO2-bearing geothermal reservoirs - comprehensive literature review

Aug 29, 2026

Uploaded by Eden

Geothermal energy offers a reliable, low-storage pathway to convert heat into other energy forms, but well performance depends on reservoir and production-well sustainability. CO2 plays a crucial role by providing extra pressure and a lifting mechanism for geothermal fluids along the wellbore. Existing studies compare CO2 effects in geothermal reservoirs, yet a comprehensive review on water–CO2 interactions under dynamic wellbore flow conditions remains missing. This review consolidates theory, methodology, advantages, drawbacks, and challenges of CO2 use, including CO2/geothermal-water interaction effects within the wellbore.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

CO2 in geothermal reservoirs and emission concerns

Motivation for dynamic wellbore review

Review Scope and Literature Focus

Wellbore dynamics with geothermal fluids

CO2 transport, physical and thermodynamic behaviour

CO2 Use in Geothermal Systems

Theory, methodology, and evaluation criteria

Advantages, drawbacks, and key challenges

Geothermics 98 (2022) 102284 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Geothermics journal [homepage:](homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geothermics)[ www.elsevier.com/locate/geothermics](homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geothermics) | Review of wellbore flow modelling in CO2-bearing geothermal reservoirs Celal Hakan Canbaz a, *, Orhan Ekrena, Niyazi Aksoy b
a Ege University, Solar Energy Institute, 35050 Bornova-Izmir, Turkey
b Dokuz Eylul University, DEU-GERAC, Geothermal Energy Research and Application Center, 35160 Buca-Izmir, Turkey | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | A R T I C L E I N F O | | A B S T R A C T | | | Keywords: Geothermal wells Fluid flow Carbon dioxide Wellbore modelling Heat transfer Brine leakage
CO2 Solubility Salinity | | Geothermal energy is a reliable, environmentally friendly resource efficiently transformed to other energy forms without any storage. Therefore, it has taken the attention of many investors in recent years. The investments in developing new technological materials, tools, fluids and methods to obtain fluid and heat transfer from a geothermal reservoir open the way to increase the efficiency of the entire geothermal power generation cycle in the medium and long terms. The effectiveness of a geothermal production system is directly related to the sustainability of the reservoir and production wells. At this point, the presence of CO2 is crucial for the life of a geothermal well as it provides extra pressure and a lifting mechanism to geothermal fluids along the wellbore.
Studies that compare the effect of CO2 in a geothermal reservoir are available in the literature. However, a comprehensive review study investigating the impact of water and CO2 interactions under dynamic wellbore flow conditions is missing. This study aims to be a reference guide to geothermal industry experts by performing a comprehensive literature review of studies about wellbore dynamics involving geothermal fluids’ physical and thermodynamic behaviour during production and injection in the presence of CO2 along the wellbore. In this study, a detailed literature review about the theory, methodology, advantages and drawbacks, and the challenges of using CO2 in a geothermal system and the effects of having CO2/geothermal water interaction in the wellbore is given. | | 1. Introduction CO2 is a crucial geothermal constituent that exists in the vast number of geothermal reservoirs worldwide. More than 95% of the noncondensable gases (NCG) is composed of CO2. While CO2 contributes to the production in geothermal reservoirs, it creates problems in terms of public acceptance and perception of geothermal energy due to NCG emission to the atmosphere. For this reason, while financing geothermal projects becomes difficult, it increases the cost of geothermal energy investments, which are already expensive and risky, and prolongs the investment process. Reducing the carbon footprint of geothermal projects and solving CO2-related problems is vital for the zero-carbon transition (Aksoy, 2014, 2015; Dumas and Mazzagatti, 2020). Bertani and Thain (2002) performed a global investigation regarding CO2 emissions by using the data of 85 different geothermal power plants in 11 different countries (Bertani et al., 2011). The total installed capacity of power plants were around 6650 MW, which was 85% of world geothermal power capacity in 2001. The amount of CO2 emissions from geothermal systems is comprised between 4 – 740 g/kWh with the worldwide weighted average value of 122 g/kWh. The values were calculated by excluding the binary plants. (Fridriksson et al., 2017; Bonafin et al., 2019). Emission factors classification for both conventional and geothermal power plants are shown in Fig. 1. Compared with thermal power plants (like natural gas, oil, and coal-fired plants), the emission amounts of greenhouse gases are less in geothermal powerplants. However, the number of geothermal plants rapidly increased r

FAQs

Why is CO2 important in geothermal wells?

CO2 provides additional pressure and a lifting mechanism that helps move geothermal fluids along the wellbore. It is therefore crucial for well life and production effectiveness.

What gap in existing research does the review address?

While studies compare CO2 effects in geothermal reservoirs, a comprehensive review focused on water–CO2 interactions under dynamic wellbore flow conditions was missing.

What topics are covered in the review of CO2-bearing wellbore modelling?

The review covers the theory, methodology, advantages, drawbacks, and challenges of using CO2, and it summarizes how CO2/geothermal-water interactions affect wellbore behaviour during production and injection.

Aug 29, 2026

Uploaded by Eden