Real Time 3D Observations of Portland Cement Carbonation at CO Storage Conditions.

Elvia A Chavez Panduro, Benoît Cordonnier, Kamila Gawel, Ingrid Børve, Jaisree Iyer, Susan A Carroll, Leander Michels, Melania Rogowska, Jessica Ann McBeck, Henning Osholm Sørensen, Stuart D C Walsh, François Renard, Alain Gibaud, Malin Torsæter, Dag W Breiby

Journal: Environmental science & technology 2020;54(13):8323-8332

PMID: 32525672

Free Full Text on American Chemical Society View on PubMed

Abstract

Depleted oil reservoirs are considered a viable solution to the global challenge of CO storage. A key concern is whether the wells can be suitably sealed with cement to hinder the escape of CO. Under reservoir conditions, CO is in its supercritical state, and the high pressures and temperatures involved make real-time microscopic observations of cement degradation experimentally challenging. Here, we present an in situ 3D dynamic X-ray micro computed tomography (μ-CT) study of well cement carbonation at realistic reservoir stress, pore-pressure, and temperature conditions. The high-resolution time-lapse 3D images allow monitoring the progress of reaction fronts in Portland cement, including density changes, sample deformation, and mineral precipitation and dissolution. By switching between flow and nonflow conditions of CO-saturated water through cement, we were able to delineate regimes dominated by calcium carbonate precipitation and dissolution. For the first time, we demonstrate experimentally the impact of the flow history on CO leakage risk for cement plugging. In-situ μ-CT experiments combined with geochemical modeling provide unique insight into the interactions between CO and cement, potentially helping in assessing the risks of CO storage in geological reservoirs.

Address: Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskoleringen 5, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.; SINTEF Energy Research, Postboks 4761 Torgarden, 7465, Trondheim, Norway.; The Njord Centre, Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0315, Norway.; ESRF, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France.; SINTEF Industry, S. P. Andersens veg 15B, 7031 Trondheim, Norway.; Atmospheric Earth and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550, United States.; Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.; Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Fysikvej, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.; Resources Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.; University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre, 38000, Grenoble, France.; LUNAM, IMMM, UMR 6283 CNRS, Le Mans Université, 72085 Le Mans Cedex 09, France.; PoreLab, Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskoleringen 5, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.; Department of Microsystems, University of South-Eastern Norway, Campus Bakkenteigen, 3184 Borre, Norway.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c00578

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MeSH Terms: Carbon Dioxide, Carbonates, Construction Materials, Water, X-Ray Microtomography