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Applied Sciences
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Sustainability and Challenges of Underground Gas Storage Engineering
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Sustainability and Challenges of Underground Gas Storage Engineering

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 4691

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xuerui Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Computer Science and Technology, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Interests: underground gas storage engineering; integrity of gas storage wellbore; heat and mass transfer; numerical simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jianbo Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Interests: offshore oil and gas engineering; deepwater flow assurance; natural gas hydrate development; multiphase flow; CO2 storage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yang Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Interests: CO2 flooding enhances oil recovery and geological storage; deep reservoir profile control; CO2 gas channeling regulation; CO2 storage leakage risk control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Fengyuan Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Interests: fluid flow in porous media; reservoir modeling; carbon geological sequestration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Underground gas storage (UGS) is critical for global energy security and the transition to carbon neutrality, enabling large-scale storage of natural gas, hydrogen, compressed air, and CO2 in geological formations (e.g., salt caverns, depleted reservoirs). With intermittent renewable energy integration and rising energy demands, UGS ensures supply stability, reduces emissions, and supports strategic reserves. However, complex geological conditions, leakage risks, material corrosion, and wellbore integrity issues threaten long-term sustainability, demanding innovative solutions.

This special issue aims to advance multidisciplinary research on sustainable UGS engineering, focusing on safety, efficiency, and environmental impact. It aligns with journals covering energy storage, geomechanics, and civil engineering.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Geostorage Integrity: Fault activation, multi-scale leakage mechanisms, and caprock stability.
  • Wellbore & Seal Integrity: Corrosion control, microbial degradation, and risk quantification.
  • Smart UGS Systems: AI-driven monitoring, reservoir digital twins, and cluster management16.
  • Low-Carbon Technologies: H2/CO2 storage, methane purification materials, and repurposed mines.
  • Regulatory Frameworks: Safety standards and lifecycle sustainability assessments.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Sustainability.

Dr. Xuerui Wang
Dr. Jianbo Zhang
Dr. Yang Zhao
Dr. Fengyuan Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • underground gas storage
  • geomechanics
  • wellbore integrity
  • hydrogen storage
  • reservoir integrity
  • CO2 geo-storage
  • risk assessment
  • intelligent UGS

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3742 KB  
Article
Numerical Simulation Analysis of Elbow Erosion in Underground Gas Storage Process System
by Chengli Song, Wei Li, Jin Wang, Lifeng Li and Xinbao Liu
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(7), 3593; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16073593 - 7 Apr 2026
Viewed by 459
Abstract
Aiming at the erosion failure risk of key elbow components in the process system of underground gas storage (UGS), numerical simulation was adopted to investigate the erosion behavior and mechanism of elbows under the following three typical working conditions: gas injection, gas production, [...] Read more.
Aiming at the erosion failure risk of key elbow components in the process system of underground gas storage (UGS), numerical simulation was adopted to investigate the erosion behavior and mechanism of elbows under the following three typical working conditions: gas injection, gas production, and wastewater treatment. The results show that the elbow in the gas injection system is under gas–solid two-phase flow, and the most severely eroded area is located at 45–50° on the outer arc side of the elbow. Small particles have stronger flow-following ability than large particles and collide with the wall more sufficiently, resulting in a higher erosion rate. For the tandem elbows in the gas production system, affected by centrifugal force and secondary flow, the outer arc side shows high pressure while the inner arc side shows low pressure. As the particle size increases, the erosion rates of both elbows decrease, with a larger reduction for the second elbow. The most severely eroded positions of the first and second elbows are at 50–55° and 40–45° on the outer arc side, respectively. The elbow in the wastewater treatment system has relatively slight erosion with a symmetrical distribution, but a small amount of natural gas accumulated on the inner side easily induces cavitation corrosion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Challenges of Underground Gas Storage Engineering)
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21 pages, 5113 KB  
Article
Proposed Simplified Seismic Design for Energy Storage Facilities: Underground Structures
by Su-Won Son, Jae-Won Lee, Jae-Kwang Ahn and Cheolwoo Park
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(1), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010174 - 23 Dec 2025
Viewed by 875
Abstract
The rapid growth of the hydrogen industry, driven by global decarbonization efforts, has intensified the need for safe and large-capacity storage systems. Although hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, its storage remains technically challenging due to its chemical reactivity [...] Read more.
The rapid growth of the hydrogen industry, driven by global decarbonization efforts, has intensified the need for safe and large-capacity storage systems. Although hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, its storage remains technically challenging due to its chemical reactivity and stringent containment requirements. Previous research has primarily emphasized the material-level behavior of polymer liners, composites, and metal alloys because chemical compatibility plays a critical role in aboveground high-pressure tanks. However, for underground storage systems, long-term structural stability is governed not only by material performance but also by the geo-mechanical behavior of deep rock masses. This study proposes a seismic design approach for Lined Rock Caverns (LRCs), a deep underground storage concept capable of sustaining high internal pressure. The method incorporates ground-induced deformation and evaluates the additional influence of internal pressure on lining behavior. Numerical analyses demonstrate that internal pressure has a significant stabilizing effect on the structural response by reducing ovalization and suppressing nonlinear deformation mechanisms. The results highlight that internal pressure is not a secondary load but a key design parameter that must be integrated into the seismic evaluation of LRC-based hydrogen storage facilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Challenges of Underground Gas Storage Engineering)
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17 pages, 3180 KB  
Article
Influence of Well Spacing on Polymer Driving in E Reservoir of Daqing Oilfield
by Yanchang Su, Jiantao Du, Hongnan Li, Yao Zhou, Zhiyu Wei, Wenbo Zhao, Zhiqiang Wang and Yanfu Pi
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(21), 11386; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152111386 - 24 Oct 2025
Viewed by 747
Abstract
The E reservoir in Daqing Oilfield exhibits strong heterogeneity, resulting in inconsistent performance of conventional development methods. Polymer flooding is currently implemented using 106 m and 150 m well patterns. To characterize the influence of well spacing variations on polymer flooding effectiveness and [...] Read more.
The E reservoir in Daqing Oilfield exhibits strong heterogeneity, resulting in inconsistent performance of conventional development methods. Polymer flooding is currently implemented using 106 m and 150 m well patterns. To characterize the influence of well spacing variations on polymer flooding effectiveness and enhance oil recovery, we conducted experiments to evaluate the apparent viscosity, solution concentration, viscoelasticity, plugging resistance, and profile modification performance of polymer solutions at different relative migration distances. Subsequent experiments employing differently scaled intra-layer heterogeneous models investigated polymer flooding’s oil recovery enhancement at various migration distances. Results indicate the following: (1) At identical relative migration distances, polymer systems in shorter sand-packed tubes demonstrate a higher effective migration distance proportion and superior viscoelasticity compared to 30 cm models, enabling more effective remaining oil mobilization and improved microscopic displacement efficiency. (2) The 20 cm sand-packed tube model exhibits enhanced plugging resistance and profile modification capabilities with higher maintained viscosity and concentration retention. Polymer solutions at 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% migration distances in longer tubes established resistance factors of 30, 15, 7.8, and 3.6, and residual resistance factors of 9.6, 5.6, 2.2, and 1.5, respectively. These solutions effectively migrate to reservoir depths, forming efficient plugs and demonstrating superior deep profile control compared to their longer tube counterparts. (3) Polymer flooding response occurred at 0.194 PV injection in the 40 cm model with a maximum water cut reduction of 36.04%, whereas the 60 cm model required 0.31 PV injection to achieve a response, yielding only a 26.7% maximum water cut reduction. This comparative result demonstrates that smaller well spacing enables faster establishment of effective displacement pressure systems, suppresses high-permeability layer channeling, and significantly improves medium- and low-permeability layer utilization efficiency. (4) Crude oil mobilization in medium- and low-permeability layers is substantially reduced in larger well-spacing models. Collectively, reduced well spacing accelerates polymer flooding response, mitigates reservoir heterogeneity impacts, and extends the operational range of polymer plugging resistance and profile modification capabilities, thereby increasing recovery in heterogeneous reservoirs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Challenges of Underground Gas Storage Engineering)
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18 pages, 2012 KB  
Article
Gas-Powered Negative-Pressure Pump for Liquid Unloading in Underground Gas Storage
by Bing Leng, Xiangyu Meng, Mingtao Liu, Ruihui Hao, Guoyu Wang, Gang Wang, Pengfei Luo, Xiangji Dou, Haiyang He, Yiming Li and Ning Ni
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(21), 11366; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152111366 - 23 Oct 2025
Viewed by 793
Abstract
The efficiency of liquid unloading in dewatering wells directly affects the performance of the Liaohe Ma-19 gas storage facility—the first strongly water-flooded depleted reservoir in China converted for storage use. However, existing hydraulic jet pumps often exhibit low liquid-removal efficiency and capacity mismatches [...] Read more.
The efficiency of liquid unloading in dewatering wells directly affects the performance of the Liaohe Ma-19 gas storage facility—the first strongly water-flooded depleted reservoir in China converted for storage use. However, existing hydraulic jet pumps often exhibit low liquid-removal efficiency and capacity mismatches with field operating conditions. To address these limitations, a gas-powered negative-pressure pump system was developed based on gas dynamics principles. Using a custom-built flow loop with injection pressures up to 10 MPa and flow rates of 500–1200 m3/h, the effects of backpressure, nozzle-to-throat area ratio, and formation pressure on pump performance were systematically investigated. The results indicate that an optimal nozzle-to-throat area ratio of 0.19 achieves critical gas velocity at the throat, maximizing the negative pressure effect. Compared with conventional hydraulic jet pumps, the gas-driven system reduces start-up pressure by 87% and increases pressure drawdown by over 50%, while eliminating post-shut-in liquid accumulation through the use of compressed gas as the power fluid. This study demonstrates that the proposed system offers an efficient and reliable artificial lift solution for liquid unloading in gas storage operations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Challenges of Underground Gas Storage Engineering)
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19 pages, 7419 KB  
Article
Study on Surrounding Rock Stability During Solution Mining and Operation of Salt Cavern Gas Storage with Different Height-to-Diameter Ratios and Burial Depths
by Xiaochuan Yang, Yan Qin, Shaopo Li, Yuxi Guo, Shuangxi Feng, Zhuangzhuang He, Jiayu Qin and Nengxiong Xu
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(19), 10723; https://doi.org/10.3390/app151910723 - 5 Oct 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1135
Abstract
Salt cavern gas storage (SCGS) is a key development direction for future energy storage. However, the stability of the surrounding rock in underground SCGS remains a challenging issue to be resolved. This study uses numerical simulation methods to analyze the stability of the [...] Read more.
Salt cavern gas storage (SCGS) is a key development direction for future energy storage. However, the stability of the surrounding rock in underground SCGS remains a challenging issue to be resolved. This study uses numerical simulation methods to analyze the stability of the surrounding rock in SCGS at different height-to-diameter ratios and burial depths during both solution mining and long-term operation. The research results show that: SCGS at the same burial depth, as the height-to-diameter ratio increases from 1.2 to 2.2, the maximum displacement of the surrounding rock decreases by 32.3% and the plastic zone area decreases by 54.1%. However, the density of the plastic zone and the volume shrinkage of SCGS rate increase. The optimal cavern shape lies between a height-to-diameter ratio of 1.2 and 1.5. At the same height-to-diameter ratio, the stability of the salt cavern decreases as burial depth increases: the maximum displacement of the surrounding rock, cavern shrinkage rate, and plastic zone area increase by 94.6%, 99.05%, and 78.61%, respectively. Therefore, within a reasonable burial depth range, a shallower burial depth is more favorable for the stability of the surrounding rock. The presence of interlayers reduces cavern displacement, plastic zone, and cavity volume shrinkage, thereby influencing the stability of the surrounding rock. Among them, the interlayer located at the cavern waist reduced the cavern shrinkage rate by 10% and the maximum displacement by 21.9%, exerting the greatest influence on the stability of the surrounding rock. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Challenges of Underground Gas Storage Engineering)
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