Two-phase flow properties of a sandstone rock for the CO2/water system: Core-flooding experiments, and focus on impacts of mineralogical changes

Abstract : The two-phase flow characterization (CO2/water) of a Triassic sandstone core from the Paris Basin, France, is reported in this paper. Absolute properties (porosity and water permeability), capillary pressure, relative permeability with hysteresis between drainage and imbibition, and residual trapping capacities have been assessed at 9 MPa pore pressure and 28°C (CO2 in liquid state) using a single core-flooding apparatus associated with magnetic resonance imaging. Different methodologies have been followed to obtain a data set of flow properties to be upscaled and used in large-scale CO2 geological storage evolution modeling tools. The measurements are consistent with the properties of well-sorted water-wet porous systems. As the mineralogical investigations showed a nonnegligible proportion of carbonates in the core, the experimental protocol was designed to observe potential impacts on flow properties of mineralogical changes. The magnetic resonance scanning and mineralogical observations indicate mineral dissolution during the experimental campaign, and the core-flooding results show an increase in porosity and water absolute permeability. The changes in two-phase flow properties appear coherent with the pore structure modifications induced by the carbonates dissolution but the changes in relative permeability could also be explained by a potential increase of the water-wet character of the core. Further investigations on the impacts of mineral changes are required with other reactive formation rocks, especially carbonate-rich ones, because the implications can be significant both for the validity of laboratory measurements and for the outcomes of in situ operations modeling.