Capillary‐Driven Backflow During Salt Precipitation in a Rough Fracture

Abstract

AbstractSalt precipitation is a crucial process occurring during CO2 injection into saline aquifers. It significantly alters the porous space, leading to reduced permeability and impaired injectivity. While the dynamics of precipitation have been studied within porous media, our understanding of precipitation patterns and permeability evolution within rough fractures remains inadequate. Here, we conduct flow‐visualization experiments on salt precipitation, wherein dry air invades brine‐filled rough fractures under various flow rate conditions. Our observations reveal that the precipitation pattern shifts from ex situ precipitation to homogeneous form as the flow rate (capillary number Ca) increases. Through real‐time imaging of the salt precipitation process, we determine that ex situ precipitation is due to capillary‐driven backflow. This backflow phenomenon occurs when previously precipitated salt, acting as a hydrophilic porous medium, attracts the brine flow backward. As a result, precipitation occurs at a location different from the original site. We further show that the impact of capillary‐driven backflow is significant at low flow rates and is gradually suppressed as the flow rate increases. We provide a theoretical estimation for the critical Ca for the occurrence of capillary‐driven backflow. As Ca is smaller than this critical value, backflow‐precipitation positive feedback causes fracture voids to become completely clogged, thereby leading to a more substantial permeability reduction. In contrast, a homogeneous precipitation pattern tends to only partially clog the fracture voids, causing a relatively smaller permeability reduction. This study enhances our understanding of the role of capillary‐driven backflow in controlling salt precipitation and permeability reduction in fractures.