Pore-Scale Dynamics of Multiphase Reactive Transport in Water-Wet Carbonates under CO2-Acidified Brine Injection: Dissolution Patterns and Reaction Rates

Abstract

Depleted carbonate hydrocarbon reservoirs are promising sites for geological CO2 storage, yet the presence of residual hydrocarbons introduces complex pore-scale interactions that influence the dynamics of solid dissolution. This study reveals how residual oil affects dissolution patterns and effective reaction rates during CO2-acidified brine injection into Ketton limestone under reservoir conditions. We combine time-resolved X-ray microtomography (micro-CT), core-flooding experiments, and direct numerical simulations to assess the impact of pore space heterogeneity, oil distribution and injection rate. We find that the coupling between pore structure, residual oil saturation and oil displacement control flow heterogeneity, reactive surface accessibility, dissolution patterns and the reaction rates. At low injection rate, dissolution by channel widening is enhanced by oil displacement. This mechanism is especially important when dissolution is suppressed by heterogeneity in the pore space and the residual oil. At high injection rates, a more uniform dissolution occurs and can be enhanced by re-mobilisation of oil blocking brine flow. Effective reaction rates in two-phase flow are found to be lower than in the the equivalent single-phase case and up to two orders of magnitude lower than the batch rates due to persistent transport limitations. These findings offer mechanistic insights into multiphase reactive transport in carbonates and highlight the need for accurate understanding of the impact of the hydrocarbon phase on reaction to improve predictions of CO2 storage efficiency.