An Intelligent Framework for Synergistic CO2 Sequestration and Brine Production in Saline Aquifers

Fengyuan Zhang; Zhihao Hu; Tayfun Babadagli; Zhenhua Rui

doi:10.1016/j.eng.2026.10.009

Engineering ›› :202610009 DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2026.10.009

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An Intelligent Framework for Synergistic CO₂ Sequestration and Brine Production in Saline Aquifers

Fengyuan Zhang ^a^,^b^,^c
, Zhihao Hu ^b^,^c
, Tayfun Babadagli ^d
, Zhenhua Rui ^a^,^b^,^c^,^*

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Abstract

Geological CO₂ storage combined with enhanced water recovery (CO₂-EWR) can effectively mitigate reservoir pressure buildup while increasing CO₂ storage capacity, thereby providing an effective pressure-management strategy for saline aquifers. However, CO₂-EWR involves complex hydrogeological processes, and its storage performance is jointly governed by geological properties, well operating parameters, and economic conditions. To address these challenges, this study proposes an intelligent integrated optimization framework for synergistic CO₂ geological storage and brine production. Within this framework, dynamic analysis methods for both brine production and CO₂ injection were first established. By coupling long short-term memory (LSTM) neural-network surrogate models with semi-analytical models, reservoir parameters were inverted and dynamic storage responses were characterized, with relative errors below 5% in the validation cases. Subsequently, a multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm was employed to optimize the injection and production parameters with the dual objectives of maximizing cumulative CO₂ injection volume and net present value (NPV). The surrogate models exhibited strong predictive performance for average reservoir pressure and CO₂ saturation, with coefficients of determination (R²) ranging from 0.9795 to 0.9998 and maximum normalized root mean square errors (NRMSEs) of 1.67% and 6.52%, respectively. Regarding engineering optimization, brine-derived revenue was particularly important under low-carbon-price conditions, increasing the project NPV by 162% and the cumulative CO₂ injection volume by 184%. Application to field data from the Illinois Basin Decatur Project (IBDP) showed that, after optimization and with brine production incorporated, the CO₂ storage capacity of the target reservoir reached 3.18 × 10⁷ m³, representing a 2.56-fold increase compared with the case without brine production, while reservoir pressure remained within the prescribed safety limit. Overall, the proposed framework integrates engineering performance and economic profitability and provides a practical decision-support tool for project-specific parameter selection, field-scale CO₂-EWR scheme comparison, and preliminary project design.

Keywords

CO₂ storage / Saline aquifer / Injection and production data analysis / Optimization

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Fengyuan Zhang, Zhihao Hu, Tayfun Babadagli, Zhenhua Rui. An Intelligent Framework for Synergistic CO₂ Sequestration and Brine Production in Saline Aquifers. Engineering 202610009 DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2026.10.009

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