mrst-2025b

Highlights of MRST 2025b

The new release comes with some improvements in functionality and minor bug fixes. All code from this release can also be cloned or downloaded from the MRST github repository:

https://github.com/SINTEF-AppliedCompSci/MRST

In particular we would like to highlight the following:

• A new module for modeling microbial biogeochemical reactions in Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS).
• Søreide–Whitson Equation of State for H₂ phase behaviour in the compositional module.
• Added functionality for using the hysteresis from co2lab-mit with the TwoPhaseGasWaterModel.
• Improved handling of very low mass flow rates in the WellboreModel.
• Functionality for using the Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM) with Corner-Point grids.

New modules

h2-biochem

A new module for modeling microbial biogeochemical reactions in Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS). The module provides a fully implicit, fully coupled framework that extends MRST's compositional simulator to account for hydrogen-consuming microbes (e.g., methanogenic archaea).

Key features include:

• (1) Microbial growth/decay via a double Monod formulation
• (2) Søreide–Whitson Equation of State for accurate H₂ phase behavior
• (3) Modeling of bio-clogging and salinity effects on H2 solubility.

Contributed by Elyes Ahmed (Sintef Digital), Stéphanie Delage Santacreu (Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Pau France).
Reference: Elyes Ahmed, Brahim Amaziane, Salaheddine Chabab, Stéphanie Delage Santacreu, Guillaume Galliéro, Olav Møyner, Xavier Raynaud, Modeling and simulation of coupled biochemical and two-phase compositional flow in underground hydrogen storage, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 168, 2025, 150947, ISSN 0360-3199, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.150947.

Changes to existing modules

co2lab

• Improved and more precise inventory computation in 2D and 3D (postprocessStates, masssTrappingDistribution). In particular, should handle the capillary fringe case in a more consistent way.
• Improved convergence when using the hysteresis in co2lab-mit, and added functionality for using the hysteresis from co2lab-mit with the TwoPhaseGasWaterModel in co2lab
• More robust handling of the capillary fringe model
• General bugfixes

compositional

• Added Søreide–Whitson Equation of State for modelling H₂ phase behaviour

geothermal

This PR introduces minor updates to the geothermal module to improve handling of very low mass flow rates in the WellboreModel and adds support for CompositeModel instances in TestCase.

• Enhanced WellboreModel flux equations to handle very low friction loss scenarios by adding mass flux velocity term
• Extended TestCase class to properly support CompositeModel instances for plotting and driving force detection
• Improved wellbore trajectory processing and geothermal equilibrium initialization

hfm

• Functionality for using the Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM) with Corner-Point grids. Contributed by Mohamad Karimi, Petroleum Reservoir Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology

mrst-2025a

Highlights of MRST 2025a

The new release comes with some improvements in functionality and minor bug fixes. All code from this release can also be cloned or downloaded from the MRST github repository:

https://github.com/SINTEF-AppliedCompSci/MRST

In particular we would like to highlight the following:

• New co2-foam modelling for modelling co-injection of CO2 and foam
• New h2store module for the generating PVT data and simulating H2 storage in saline aquifers.
• New ecpa module implementing the CPA EoS for CCUS fluids to accurately predict phase equilibria of H2O-CO2-H2S-N2-O2-Ar-SO2-CH4-C2H6-C3H8 systems.
• Three phase compositional extension to dual-porosity and dual-porosity-permeability modules.

New modules

co2-foam

The co2-foam module provides simulation of CO2 injection into aquifers with mobility control using surfactant. The surfactant can dissolve in both brine and CO2 phases, according to a partitioning coefficient, and adsorbed to reservoir rock. Foam is assumed to be generated wherever the surfactant concentration is large enough. Foam modifies the CO2 mobility according to surfactant concentration, brine saturation and (optionally) the gas velocity.

h2store

This module provides simulation tools for modeling a hydrogen (H₂) and brine mixture within the Blackoil simulator in MATLAB Reservoir Simulation Toolbox (MRST). It includes tools for implementing the Redlich-Kwong (RK) equation of state (EoS) and generating tabulated PVT data for H₂-brine systems. Additionally, it provides solubility tables derived from ePC-Saft and Henry’s law EoS for precise phase behavior calculations in hydrogen storage simulations. The following features are included:

• An implementation of the Redlich-Kwong (RK) EoS for H₂-brine mixtures
• Functionality for precomputing and tabulating PVT Data for Blackoil Simulations
• Solubility Tables Using ePC-Saft (data) and Henry-Setschnow correlation to get solubility
• Correlations for water and H2 density calculations

ecpa

An new CPA EoS for CCUS fluids to accurately predict phase equilibria of H2O-CO2-H2S-N2-O2-Ar-SO2-CH4-C2H6-C3H8 systems. Contributed by Wei Xiong, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu.

A new method is proposed for solving explicit cross-association equations, and the overall CPU time decreases by 70 % for flash calculations and compositional simulations. Extended applicability range of CPA model to CCUS mixtures using vdW mixing rule to replace HV mixing rule.

References:

Xiong, Wei, et al. "Phase equilibrium modeling for CCUS fluids using a modified association equation of state." The Journal of Supercritical Fluids (2025): 106543.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.supflu.2025.106543

Changes to existing modules

ad-props

• Added Support for Reading the GSF and WSF Keywords from opm style input.

dual-porosity

• New compositional functionality added for modeling compositional dual-porosity systems. Contributed by Wei Xiong, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu.

dual-porosity-permeability

• New compositional functionality added for modeling compositional dual-porosity dual-permeability systems. Contributed by Wei Xiong, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu.

test-suite

• Added setup function for the Drogon model.

mrst-2024b

Highlights of MRST 2024b

The new release comes with some small improvements in functionality, minor bug fixes and changes to maintain compatibility with newer versions of MATLAB. The largest change in this release is organisatorial, as MRST has now been fully migrated to GitHub as a single, easy to clone repository that contains everything from the release:

https://github.com/SINTEF-AppliedCompSci/MRST

We note that some users have reported issues in the form of warnings and errors for some modules with MATLAB 2024a/b. These issues are reported for modules streamlines and heterogeneity and parts of the corner-point processing. We believe that these issues are resolved to the latest release, but please let us know if you encounter any issues.

Changes to existing modules

ad-core

• rampupTimesteps: Improved behavior, now avoids creating very short steps at the end.
• Wells with zero vrat-limit are now stopped in simulations.

geothermal

• Bugfixes and minor improvements to WellboreModel

co2lab-mit

• New example demonstrating usage and performance on a corner-point model