Flow, Transport, and Controlled Sedimentation of Salt Solutions in Porous Formations with Enhanced Structural Properties

Abstract

Scaling phenomena caused by salt precipitation in pumps and wells are a frequent problem during oil production, CO2 storage, and other underground processes. Several studies have focused on the salt precipitation in porous media, and interesting results concerning salt precipitation have been obtained in the past. Salt precipitation in porous media is a complex phenomenon since it is highly dependent on supersaturation, which is usually not homogeneous along the porous channels. In the present study the coupled solution of the spatiotemporally varied flow and mass transport during mixing and selective precipitation of specific salts in unconsolidated and loosely consolidated porous media were investigated, with a strong dependence on the prevailing conditions. Specific salt solutions mixing, transfer, and deposition rates were studied, targeting the selective enhancement of salts deposition performance to facilitate consolidation of porous formations. Computational fluid dynamics methods have been applied...