Pore Scale Heterogeneity in the Mineral Distribution, Surface Area and Adsorption in Porous Rocks

The impact of heterogeneity in chemical transport and reaction is not understood in continuum (Darcy/Fickian) models of reactive transport. This is manifested in well-known problems such as scale dependent dispersion and discrepancies in reaction rate observations made at laboratory and field scales [1]. Additionally, this is a source of uncertainty for carbon dioxide injection, which produces a reactive fluid-rock system particularly in carbonate rock reservoirs. A potential cause is the inability of the continuum approach to incorporate the impact of heterogeneity in pore-scale reaction rates. This results in part from pore-scale heterogeneities in surface area of reactive minerals [2, 3].

We use x-ray micro tomography to describe the non-normal 3-dimensional distribution of reactive surface area within a porous medium according to distinct mineral groups. Using in-house image processing techniques, thin sections, nitrogen BET surface area, backscattered electron imaging and energy dispersive spectroscopy, we compare the surface area of each mineral phase to those obtained from x-ray CT imagery. In all samples, there is little correlation between the reactive surface area fraction and the volumetric fraction of a mineral in a bulk rock. Berea sandstone was far less heterogeneous and has a characteristic pore size at which a surface area distribution may be used to quantify heterogeneity. In carbonates, heterogeneity is more complex and surface area must be characterized at multiple length scales for an accurate description of reactive transport.

We combine the mineral specific surface area characterisation to dynamic tomography, imaging the flow of water and solutes, to observe flow dependent and mineral specific adsorption. The observations may contribute to the incorporation of experimentally based statistical descriptions of pore scale heterogeneity in reactive transport into upscaled models, moving it closer to predictive capabilities for field scale processes.

References: [1] Maher, Steefel, Depaolo and Vianni (2006) Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 70, 337-363 [2] Landrot, Ajo-Franklin, Yang, Cabrini and Steefel (2012) Chemical Geology 318-319, 113-125 [3] Li, Peters and Celia (2007) American Journal of Science 307, 1146-1166