Effects of CO2 injection?induced salt precipitation on permeability: Visualization experiments and field simulations#br#
CHEN Xusheng1, 2, HU Ran1, 2, YANG Zhibing1, 2, CHEN Yifeng1, 2
(1. State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China;
2. Key Laboratory of Rock Mechanics in Hydraulic Structural Engineering of the Ministry of Education,
Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China)
Abstract:Salt precipitation in fractured rock is a significant area of research within underground energy engineering. The injection of CO2 into deep saline aquifers leads to the evaporation of formation water, which causes salt crystals to precipitate in fractures, thereby significantly reducing storage efficiency. To elucidate the impact of this process on CO2 injection, this study integrates laboratory visualization with numerical simulation. A self-developed visualization setup was utilized, employing rough glass to construct transparent fracture models and simulating salt precipitation induced by gas injection into brine-filled fractures. Various injection rates (Q = 10–1 000 mL/min) were tested to evaluate spatial precipitation patterns. At low flow rates, localized ex situ precipitation was observed, while higher flow rates resulted in homogeneous precipitation. Based on these observations, the mechanisms governing the evolution of fracture permeability for each precipitation pattern were identified, and a power-law model for permeability changes was developed. This permeability evolution model was incorporated into the TOUGH3 simulator and applied to the Illinois Basin CO2 storage project. The classic tubes-in-series model was found to overestimate clogging risk, whereas the power-law evolution model demonstrated a closer alignment with field measurements. These findings establish a direct relationship between laboratory-scale precipitation patterns and field-scale spatial variability, providing scientific support for optimizing CO2 injection conditions. This work systematically reveals the impact mechanism of salt precipitation on reservoir permeability from three aspects: visualization experiments, permeability evolution models, and numerical simulations, to provide scientific support for the optimization of CO2 geological sequestration injection conditions.
陈旭升1,2,胡 冉1,2,杨志兵1,2,陈益峰1,2. CO2注入诱发盐沉淀对渗透率的影响机制:可视化试验和场地模拟[J]. 岩石力学与工程学报, 2025, 44(11): 2959-2974.
CHEN Xusheng1, 2, HU Ran1, 2, YANG Zhibing1, 2, CHEN Yifeng1, 2. Effects of CO2 injection?induced salt precipitation on permeability: Visualization experiments and field simulations#br#. , 2025, 44(11): 2959-2974.
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