Dynamic three-dimensional pore-scale imaging of reaction in a carbonate at reservoir conditions

Quantifying CO2 transport and average effective reaction rates in the subsurface is essential to assess the risks associated with underground carbon capture and storage. We use X-ray microtomography to investigate dynamic pore structure evolution in situ at temperatures and pressures representative of underground reservoirs and aquifers. A 4 mm diameter Ketton carbonate core is injected with CO2-saturated brine at 50 °C and 10 MPa while tomographic images are taken at 15 min intervals with a 3.8 μm spatial resolution over a period of 2(1/2) h. An approximate doubling of porosity with only a 3.6% increase in surface area to volume ratio is measured from the images. Pore-scale direct simulation and network modeling on the images quantify an order of magnitude increase in permeability and an appreciable alteration of the velocity field. We study the uniform reaction regime, with dissolution throughout the core. However, at the pore scale, we see variations in the degree of dissolution with an overall reaction rate which is approximately 14 times lower than estimated from batch measurements. This work implies that in heterogeneous rocks, pore-scale transport of reactants limits dissolution and can reduce the average effective reaction rate by an order of magnitude.