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Dispersion and dissolution of a buoyancy driven gas plume in a layered permeable rock

Using a series of simplified models, we explore the controls on the migration, dispersion and eventual dissolution of a plume of hydrogen gas which may, in principle, rise under buoyancy through a layered permeable rock if released from a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). We show that the presence of low permeability shale barriers causes the gas to spread laterally as it rises. Averaging over the length scale of the barriers, we use expressions for the Darcy velocity of the gas to describe the dispersion of a tracer and illustrate the effect with a new experiment using a baffled Hele‐Shaw cell. While the plume is flowing, a large volume of gas may build up beneath the barriers. If the gas flux subsequently wanes, much of the gas will drain upward through the formation and spread on the upper impermeable boundary of the formation. However, a significant capillary‐trapped wake of gas may develop beneath each barrier. Owing to the low solubility of hydrogen in water and assuming relatively slow groundwater flow rates, this trapped hydrogen may require a period of tens to hundreds of thousands of years to dissolve and form a cloud of hydrogen rich water. Although simplified, these models provide a framework to assess the possible travel times and pathways of such a gas plume.