Hydrogen permeability in subsurface

Clean hydrogen is a promising option for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but it has not yet been used as an energy carrier at the scale required for meeting the net-zero target by 2050. Hydrogen molecules are smaller than nitrogen and methane molecules. Hydrogen, nitrogen, and methane have densities of 0.09 g/L, 1.25 g/L, and 0.71 g/L, respectively, at the standard temperature and pressure. Our knowledge of the geological formations is based on responses to the larger and heavier gases; it is unclear whether we can apply this knowledge to store hydrogen at the required scale.We investigate the single-phase flow of hydrogen in the subsurface and compare it with the single-phase flows of nitrogen and methane. The comparison with nitrogen is helpful because it is used under laboratory conditions. The comparison with methane is also beneficial because engineers understand its behavior under in-situ conditions. We use the Knudsen number (Kn) to determine the flow behaviors under laminar conditions within two domains. The first is a permeable medium representing a conventional gas reservoir, and the second is caprock. Our study shows that the existing knowledge of the first domain's permeability applies to hydrogen flow; however, it is unrealistic for the second domain. The single-phase permeability of the caprock obtained by nitrogen in the laboratory underestimates hydrogen permeability at low pressures (<10 MPa), and the deviation is a non-linear function of pressure. Our study also shows that hydrogen permeability is always larger than methane permeability in the caprock. The difference between the two, controlled by the reservoir pressure, reached 70% in the caprock. The presented results have applications if hydrogen storage in gas reservoirs becomes a reality.