A Novel Experimental Technique to Monitor the Time-Dependent Water and Ions Uptake when Shale Interacts with Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

The time-dependent water and ions uptake when shale interacts with aqueous solutions is quantified using a combination of immersion and gravimetric techniques. Results show that when shale interacts with salt solutions, water uptake into shale goes through three distinct stages; water movement out of shale (due to chemical osmosis), water movement into shale (due to diffusion osmosis) and stationary state (equilibrium stage). This work shows that chemical osmosis dominates water movement in early times while diffusion osmosis takes over later. In addition, it is shown that the amount of water movement due to chemical osmosis depends on the chemical potential gradient while the amount of water movement due to diffusion osmosis is highly related to the ionic concentration imbalance. In addition, the amount of ions uptake into shale at equilibrium is shown to depend on the type and concentration of salt solution. Furthermore, this work shows that potassium ion has a strengthening effect on shale while sodium and calcium ions have a weakening effect on shale. Results also show that the shale’s compressive strength alteration is greatly influenced by the type and concentration of the salt solution. Furthermore, the shale’s compressive strength alteration is shown to be time dependent and correlates very well with the time-dependent flux of water and ions. Finally, it is shown that chemical osmosis and diffusion osmosis take place simultaneously when shale interacts with water-based muds. The overall impact on shale stability is governed by the net water flow resulting from chemical osmosis and diffusion osmosis.