Modeled Near-Field Environment Porosity Modification due to Coupled Thermohydrologic and Geochemical Processes

1999 ◽  
Vol 556 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Nitao ◽  
William E. Glassley
Keyword(s):  
Reactive Transport ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Mineral Dissolution ◽  
Rock Properties ◽  
Actual Distribution ◽  
Porosity Reduction ◽  
Field Environment ◽  
Flow Pathways ◽  
Waste Repositories ◽  
Dissolution And Precipitation

AbstractHeat generated by waste packages in nuclear waste repositories can modify rock properties by instigating mineral dissolution and precipitation along hydrothermal flow pathways. Modeling this reactive transport requires coupling fluid flow to permeability changes resulting from dissolution and precipitation. Modification of the NUFT thermohydrologic (TH) code package to account for this coupling in a simplified geochemical system has been used to model the timedependent change in porosity, permeability, matrix and fracture saturation, and temperature in the vicinity of waste-emplacement drifts, using conditions anticipated for the potential Yucca Mountain repository. The results show dramatic porosity reduction approximately 10 m above emplacement drifts within a few hundred years. Most of this reduction is attributed to deposition of solute load at the boiling front, although some of it also results from decreasing temperature along the flow path. The actual distribution of the nearly sealed region is sensitive to the time-dependent characteristics of the thermal load imposed on the environment and suggests that the geometry of the sealed region can be engineered by managing the waste-emplacement strategy and schedule.

Model Calculations of Porosity Reduction Resulting From Cement-Tuff Diffusive Interaction

1997 ◽  
Vol 506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Lichtner ◽  
Roberto T. Pabalan ◽  
Carl I. Steefel
Keyword(s):  
Reactive Transport ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Computer Code ◽  
Diffusive Transport ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
Porosity Reduction ◽  
Field Environment ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTTo determine the potential effects of alkaline plume migration on the near-field environment of the proposed high-level radioactive waste geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, calculations are conducted simulating interactions between cement and tuff with pure diffusive transport of solute species. The calculations used the reactive transport submodule GEM of the computer code MULTIFLO [6]. The results suggest that strong alteration of the tuff host rock and of cement in contact with the tuff could result from these interactions. Porosity reduction within the tuff could isolate the matrix from fracture pore water. The model calculations predict calcification of the cement as would be expected. In simulations involving counter-diffusive transport across the cement-tuff contact, calcification is more pronounced in a partially-saturated environment compared to a fully-saturated one.

scholarly journals Combining innovative experimental approaches and cross-scale reactive transport modelling for assessing coupled hydrogeochemical processes at interfaces in deep geological repositories for radioactive waste

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 105-107
Author(s):  
Jenna Poonoosamy ◽  
Martina Klinkenberg ◽  
Mara Lönartz ◽  
Yuankai Yang ◽  
Guido Deissmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Reactive Transport ◽  
Mineral Dissolution ◽  
Reactive Transport Modelling ◽  
Transport Models ◽  
Transport Modelling ◽  
Host Rocks ◽  
Dissolution And Precipitation ◽  
Mineral Dissolution And Precipitation

Abstract. Deep geological repositories with a multi-barrier concept are foreseen by various countries for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. A reliable and consistent assessment of the safety of these repositories over time scales of some hundred thousand years requires an advancement of process understanding. Simulation tools need to be developed for a close-to-reality description of repository evolution scenarios. This is especially required to resolve the challenging task of comparing and assessing the safety of different repository concepts in different host rocks within the German site-selection process. The construction of underground galleries and geotechnical barriers in the host rock formation and the emplacement of nuclear waste packages will create perturbations induced by chemical, thermal and pressure gradients at the interfaces of the different barriers, leading to mineral dissolution and precipitation to achieve re-equilibration. Such coupled hydrogeochemical processes generate non-linear responses in transport and mechanical properties of barrier materials and host rocks, which have to be taken into account for a more rigorous assessment of repository system evolution. Reactive transport modeling (RTM) can be applied to investigate these perturbations and processes across temporal and spatial scales, from the micro-scale at interfaces via the repository near field to the entire repository system – information not accessible through experiments alone. Although RTM is capable of addressing highly complex hydrogeochemical phenomena, the application of RTM codes to real systems is impeded by the often simplified description of coupled processes. To enhance the predictive capabilities of reactive transport models and to gain fundamental insights into the coupling between solute and radionuclide transport properties (e.g., permeability and diffusivity) of porous media and dissolution/precipitation processes, we conducted experiments on “simplified” chemical systems combined with pore-scale and continuum-scale reactive transport modelling to study processes in isolation, with the final aim of improving conceptual approaches for process couplings implemented in reactive transport codes. In this context, we investigated the effects of coupled mineral dissolution and precipitation in porous media on changes in permeability using flow-through experiments conducted in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner, which enabled the in situ investigation of porosity evolution in combination with monitoring changes in permeability and mineralogy. Our observations showed that classical implementations in reactive transport codes such as the Kozeny–Carman equation (Carman, 1937) failed to reproduce the changes in permeability and that more sophisticated approaches are required (Poonoosamy et al., 2020a, b). Moreover, we developed a novel “lab-on-a-chip” setup, i.e., micronized counter diffusion reactors with in operando 3D Raman tomography (Poonoosamy et al., 2019, 2020c), which enables evaluation of the alteration in pore architecture and study of the effect of coupled mineral dissolution and precipitation on the diffusive transport of solutes and radionuclides in porous media. Our approach enables the development of process-based theoretical models which allow for improvements in RTM codes and for predicting the evolution of perturbed interfaces in waste repositories, thus building confidence in the predictive capabilities of reactive transport models and reducing uncertainties with respect to future repository evolution.

A Novel Pore-Scale Thermal-Fracture-Acidizing Model With Heterogeneous Rock Properties

SPE Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (01) ◽  
pp. 280-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Lyons ◽  
Hadi Nasrabadi ◽  
Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Reactive Transport ◽  
Reaction Rate ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Injection Rate ◽  
Rock Properties ◽  
Thermal Fracture ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Heterogeneous Rock ◽  
Acid Reaction

Summary Fracture acidizing is a well-stimulation technique used to improve the productivity of low-permeability reservoirs and to bypass deep formation damage. The reaction of injected acid with the rock matrix forms etched channels through which oil and gas can then flow upon production. The properties of these etched channels depend on the acid-injection rate, temperature, reaction chemistry, mass-transport properties, and formation mineralogy. As the acid enters the formation, it increases in temperature by heat exchange with the formation and the heat generated by acid reaction with the rock. Thus, the reaction rate, viscosity, and mass transfer of acid inside the fracture also increase. In this study, a new thermal-fracture-acidizing model is presented that uses the lattice Boltzmann method to simulate reactive transport. This method incorporates both accurate hydrodynamics and reaction kinetics at the solid/liquid interface. The temperature update is performed by use of a finite-difference technique. Furthermore, heterogeneity in rock properties (e.g., porosity, permeability, and reaction rate) is included. The result is a model that can accurately simulate realistic fracture geometries and rock properties at the pore scale and that can predict the geometry of the fracture after acidizing. Three thermal-fracture-acidizing simulations are presented here, involving injection of 15 and 28 wt% of hydrochloric acid into a calcite fracture. The results clearly show an increase in the overall fracture dissolution because of the addition of temperature effects (increasing the acid-reaction and mass-transfer rates). It has also been found that by introducing mineral heterogeneity, preferential dissolution leads to the creation of uneven etching across the fracture surfaces, indicating channel formation.

Experimental study and modeling of uranium (VI) transport through ferrous olivine rock columns

2000 ◽  
Vol 88 (9-11) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rovira ◽  
F.Z. El Aamrani ◽  
L. Duro ◽  
Ignasi Casas ◽  
Joan de Pablo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Reactive Transport ◽  
Calculated Data ◽  
Buffering Capacity ◽  
Retardation Factor ◽  
Reactive Transport Modeling ◽  
Redox Active ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Free Media ◽  
Waste Repositories

The Lovasjärvi intrusion (SE-Finland) contents a high percentage of ferrous olivine (> 65%). This material has been suggested as a redox-active backfill-additive in deep nuclear waste repositories, due to the large Fe(II) proportion in its mineral composition. In order to understand the processes involved in the redox buffering capacity of this material the transport of uranium (VI) through olivine columns was studied. The results showed considerable retardation factor for the U(VI), particularly in carbonate-free media. The experimental data were simulated by means of reactive transport modeling. The best agreement between the experimental and calculated data was obtained considering that the interaction of U(VI) with the olivine surface occurred at two different types of sorption sites. One type accounts for the sorption capacity of the olivine mineral, and a second type accounts for the sorption on amorphous Fe(OH)

scholarly journals The Relationship between Fluid Flow, Structures, and Depositional Architecture in Sedimentary Rocks: An Example-Based Overview

Geofluids ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vilde Dimmen ◽  
Atle Rotevatn ◽  
Casey W. Nixon
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Flow ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Structure Type ◽  
Mineral Dissolution ◽  
Rock Properties ◽  
Hydrocarbon Migration ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Depositional Architecture ◽  
The Relationship

Fluid flow in the subsurface is fundamental in a variety of geological processes including volcanism, metamorphism, and mineral dissolution and precipitation. It is also of economic and societal significance given its relevance, for example, within groundwater and contaminant transport, hydrocarbon migration, and precipitation of ore-forming minerals. In this example-based overview, we use the distribution of iron oxide precipitates as a proxy for palaeofluid flow to investigate the relationship between fluid flow, geological structures, and depositional architecture in sedimentary rocks. We analyse and discuss a number of outcrop examples from sandstones and carbonate rocks in New Zealand, Malta, and Utah (USA), showing controls on fluid flow ranging from simple geological heterogeneities to more complex networks of structures. Based on our observations and review of a wide range of the published literature, we conclude that flow within structures and networks is primarily controlled by structure type (e.g., joint and deformation band), geometry (e.g., length and orientation), connectivity (i.e., number of connections in a network), kinematics (e.g., dilation and compaction), and interactions (e.g., relays and intersections) within the network. Additionally, host rock properties and depositional architecture represent important controls on flow and may interfere to create hybrid networks, which are networks of combined structural and stratal conduits for flow.

scholarly journals Influence of Storage Period on the Geochemical Evolution of a Compressed Energy Storage System

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chidera O. Iloejesi ◽  
Lauren E. Beckingham
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Reactive Transport ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Storage Period ◽  
Energy Storage System ◽  
Storage Conditions ◽  
Mineral Dissolution ◽  
Geochemical Evolution ◽  
Operational Life ◽  
Storage Zone

Subsurface porous aquifers are being considered for use as reservoirs for compressed energy storage of renewable energy. In these systems, a gas is injected during times in which production exceeds demand and extracted for energy generation during periods of peak demand or scarcity in production. Current operational subsurface energy facilities use salt caverns for storage and air as the working gas. CO2 is potentially a more favorable choice of working gas where under storage conditions CO2 has high compressibility which can improve operational efficiency. However, the interaction of CO2 and brine at the boundary of the storage zone can produce a chemically active fluid which can result in mineral dissolution and precipitation reactions and alter the properties of the storage zone. This study seeks to understand the geochemical implications of utilization of CO2 as a working gas during injection, storage and extraction flow cycles. Here, reactive transport simulations are developed based on 7 h of injection, 11 h of withdrawal and 6 h of reservoir closure, corresponding to the schedule of the Pittsfield field test, for 15 years of operational life span to assess the geochemical evolution of the reservoir. The evolution in the storage system is compared to a continuously cyclic system of 12 h injection and extraction. The result of the study on operational schedule show that mineral reactivity occurs at the inlet of the domain. Furthermore, the porosity of the inner domain is preserved during the cycling of CO2 acidified brine for both systems.

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