Hemayati Mohammad, Aghaei Hamed, Daman Shokouh Alireza, Nikooee Ehsan, Niazi Ali, Khodadadi Tirkolaei Hamed
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, Shiraz University, P.O.Box 71348-51156, Shiraz, Iran.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 1;14(1):17832. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-68720-0.
Geological fractures are mechanical breaks in subsurface rock volumes that provide important subsurface flow pathways. However, the presence of fractures can cause unwanted challenges, such as gas leakage through fractured caprocks, which must be addressed. In this study, the dynamics of enzymatically induced carbonate precipitation in rock fractures and their subsequent influence on CO leakage were investigated from a pore-scale perspective for the first time. This was achieved through real-time monitoring of the injection of the solution into a rock-microfluidic flow cell using optical and scanning electron microscopy. It was revealed that the main growth dynamics occur during the first three injection cycles, with growth continuing until the fracture aperture is fully closed in the 6th cycle. Based on the flow simulation, a significant reduction of up to 25% in the CO conductivity of the original fracture is expected even after the first treatment cycle. Future studies are suggested to explore different resolutions, testing conditions, and to conduct 3-dimensional investigations of the growth dynamics.
地质裂缝是地下岩体中的机械断裂，它们提供了重要的地下流动通道。然而，裂缝的存在可能会带来一些不良挑战，比如气体通过破裂的盖层泄漏，这必须加以解决。在本研究中，首次从孔隙尺度的角度研究了岩石裂缝中酶促诱导碳酸盐沉淀的动力学及其对二氧化碳泄漏的后续影响。这是通过使用光学显微镜和扫描电子显微镜实时监测溶液注入岩石微流体流动池来实现的。结果表明，主要的生长动力学发生在前三个注入周期，生长持续进行，直到在第6个周期裂缝孔隙完全闭合。基于流动模拟，预计即使在第一个处理周期后，原始裂缝的二氧化碳传导率也会显著降低高达25%。建议未来的研究探索不同的分辨率、测试条件，并对生长动力学进行三维研究。
