Reactive Clay Research Articles

Alkali Activation of Common Clay Deposits: Evaluation of the Suitability by an IR Spectroscopic Method

In the context of a sustainable use of resources with the aim of the reduction of the CO2 footprint, the development of alternative concrete materials has attracted a great deal of attention. In this context, geopolymers, obtained from common clay deposits, are found to be interesting construction materials with very versatile properties. In this paper, a completely novel approach for the evaluation of the suitability of clays for the geopolymer formation is investigated. The method is based on simple and easy-to-handle IR spectroscopic measurements, through which the surface area under the OH stretching band in the IR spectrum of the clay can directly be correlated to the amount of reactive clay components. These reactive components are required for the success of the alkali activation of the clays in order to access geopolymers. Based on the theoretical reaction pathway of the geopolymer formation, the linear relationship between the OH stretching band area and the reactive components can be used for the estimation of the required activator amount for the alkali activation of calcined clays and predict the quality of the casted geopolymer mortar in terms of strength. This new method not only gives an insight into the suitability of a common clay for the geopolymer formation, but also facilitates a straightforward alkali activation procedure without tedious preliminary testing of the required activator amount.

Płuczki wiertnicze w skomplikowanych warunkach: przegląd

The review in this article focuses on various aspects of drilling extended reach (ERD) wells. Reaching extreme depths and setting world records for deviation illustrates the importance of well design and operating strategies. Studies of articles describing various locations, including Sakhalin Island in Russia and offshore Vietnam, provide insight into ERD operations. Furthermore, the challenges of drilling in specific geological conditions, such as layered sandstones and reactive clay, are considered. Particular attention is paid to issues related to wellbore instability and drilling fluid optimization. The results of technical studies highlight the key role of maintaining wellbore stability in achieving successful ERD results. The articles emphasize the importance of understanding geomechanical factors, employing optimal mud weight, lubrication, and specialized drilling fluids to counteract instability. It demonstrates that maintaining appropriate mud weights and employing specific drilling techniques are crucial for mitigating instability-related issues. The integration of mechanical and chemical approaches is advocated for effectively managing shale-related instability. The utilization of innovative materials and fluid systems is central to the successful resolution of stability-related problems. The incorporation of micronized sealing polymers in conjunction with conventional plugging materials is detailed as an effective approach to counter wellbore instability. The synergistic combination of materials, additives and mud salinity is showcased to achieve effective shale stabilization and optimize drilling time. The authors emphasize the importance of selecting the optimal composition for each well based on experience and laboratory testing and present laboratory-tested solutions that have been successfully applied in field operations. In summary, these articles collectively offer insights into a range of strategies to combat wellbore instability. They cover the use of advanced materials, innovative fluid systems, and chemical approaches to maintain wellbore stability, improve drilling efficiency, and reduce nonproductive time.

Geochemistry of oils and condensates from the lower Eagle Ford Formation, south Texas. Part 5: Light hydrocarbons

There is a rich history of using light hydrocarbon distributions to characterize source and thermal maturity based on observations made on source rocks and petroleum fluids produced from conventional reservoirs. In this study, a suite of lower Eagle Ford oils and condensates was used to determine the accuracy and reliability of established light hydrocarbon parameters in an unconventional petroleum system. These samples have well defined organic source facies, generative temperatures, and extent of thermal cracking. They are largely free of the influence of long-distance migration, multiple charging events, reservoir alteration processes that commonly occur in conventional accumulations and free of contributions from other reservoirs along faults induced by fracturing.All established light hydrocarbon thermal maturity parameters are influenced to varying degrees by source facies. Ratios of i-C4/n-C4 and quaternary/tertiary dimethylpentanes linearly correlate with %Ro (R2 > 0.8) with negligible sensitivity to differences in source facies. The Isoheptane and C6–C7 branched/(branched + cyclic) hydrocarbon ratios correlate with %Ro (R2 > 0.8) but also are influenced by source facies. Some established C7 parameters are affected by thermal cracking: i-C5/n-C5 and toluene/n-C7 are the most sensitive ratios to the onset of intense hydrocarbon cracking (∼1.35 %Ro) and do not appear to be significantly influenced by source facies, C6–C7 branched/(branched + normal) hydrocarbons and methylcyclohexane/n-C7 both increase in response to cracking conditions but are significantly influenced by source facies, which is likely related to the presence of reactive clays. A revised formula for Ctemp is proposed: Ctemp = 161.9 + 29.4•(ln[2,4-DMP/2,3-DMP]). The revised Ctemp formula is applicable for oils/condensates with 2,4-DMP/2,3-DMP >0.25, expanding the practical limit from ∼120 to ∼160 °C, and yields Ctemp values consistent with the maximum exposure temperature with an accuracy of ∼ ±5 °C for most samples, excluding those that have been altered by evaporation. The Mango (1997) Ctemp formula should be used for lower maturity oils having DMP/2,3-DMP values < 0.25. Sample integrity is critical as many of the light hydrocarbon parameters are significantly altered by evaporative loss.

Study of the rheological properties of clayey suspensions: an interest in the field of landfills

In the landfill bottom liners design process, geotechnical tests of long duration time are often conducted to ensure the presence of reactive clays and to assess their hydromechanical properties. This study aims to show the interest of the rheometry of clayey suspensions as an alternative tool for identifying clays and determining the shear strength of bottom liners. An experimental protocol, using a six-speed rotary viscometer, was first implemented on bentonite suspensions on the one hand and kaolinite suspensions on the other. The results show that to have similar shear strengths (between 1.0 and 25.4 Pa), the concentration ranges used for these two types of suspensions must be totally different: between 600 to 1200 g/L for kaolinite and 30 to 90 g/L for bentonite, confirming the usefulness of rheometry as a tool for identifying clays. Furthermore, results from rheometry tests also show an increase in the shear stress of kaolinite suspensions when there are made with leachate; such results are in agreement with geotechnical shear tests conducted on compacted samples. This study is of practical use for environmental geotechnics professionals because it offers an alternative to traditional geotechnical tests.

Enhancement of the pozzolanic activity of natural clays by mechanochemical activation

• The pozzolanic activity of natural clays was improved by mechanochemical activation (MCA) in a planetary ball mill. • Strength activity index (SAI) and Frattini test confirmed the increased pozzolanic reactivity after MCA. • XRD and SEM-EDX investigations confirmed the ability of the MCA-clays to act as pozzolans. • Mechanochemical activation can be considered a feasible and alternative method to enhance the pozzolanicity of poorly reactive clays. Replacement of cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) is a proven method to reduce clinker in cement and contribute to decreased CO 2 emissions. Natural clays are commonly occurring materials that do not possess pozzolanic activity in their original state. Mechanochemical activation (MCA) can be an alternative and sustainable method to enhance their reactivity. In this study, the pozzolanic reactivity of three natural clays, originating from Sweden, was analyzed after the application of MCA in a planetary ball mill. Strength activity index (SAI), Frattini test, and conductivity test were used to evaluate the pozzolanic reactivity. All processed clays by MCA have achieved a SAI greater than 100%, while the Frattini test indicated an improved pozzolanic activity of samples containing a higher amount of clay minerals. The obtained results show that MCA could improve the pozzolanic reactivity, but the effect depends on the mineralogical composition and particle size of the clays.

Logistics simulation of a remediation effort for a hypothetical radiological contamination scenario

To mitigate the effects following a large-scale nuclear or radiological material release in an urban environment and to expedite recovery, the Integrated Wash-Aid Treatment Emergency Reuse System (IWATERS) was developed. IWATERS consists of three operations: washing contaminated surfaces with an ionic wash solution, collecting, and treating the contaminated wash solution on-site to remove contaminants, and reusing the treated solution throughout operations to preserve the clean water resource. This study develops a framework to simulate the logistics of IWATERS deployment, thereby gaining an understanding of the timeline for decontamination operations. For this purpose, the Analysis of Mobility Platform and GoldSim were leveraged for a hypothetical contamination scenario covering 65,200 m2 of an urban center. The framework reveals that remediation progress is limited by several resources, notably the availability of vermiculite, a reactive clay that is required to treat the contaminated wash solution. This study also presents how the simulation approach can be used to characterize alternatives to reduce the influence of limited resources on operational progress. Overall, this work lays the foundation for evaluating different decontamination methods through detailed logistics simulation, i.e., by refining simulation assumptions and expanding the range of scenarios the simulation can depict.

The Impact of Moisture and Clay Content on the Unconfined Compressive Strength of Lime Treated Highly Reactive Clays

This study aims to provide a thorough evaluation for the changes in the microstructure and evolution of strength of highly reactive clays that were treated with 7% lime over a period of curing time as a function of the mixing moisture content. Three series of testing were carried out on specimens with 100%, 85% and 75% of bentonite content and prepared with different moisture content of 10, 20, 30 and 40% above the corresponding optimum moisture content. Specimens of 100% bentonite were treated with 7% of lime, compacted to achieve a predetermined dry unit weight and cured at temperatures of 20 °C and 40 °C for up to 28 days whereas the specimens with 85% and 75% of bentonite content were prepared by the addition of sand and were cured at 20 °C for up to 7 days. Unconfined Compressive Strength tests and Scanning Electron Microscopy were conducted to observe the strength and the microstructural changes resulting from increasing mixing moisture content. California Bearing Ratio and Resilient Modulus were correspondingly determined based on correlations with the Unconfined Compressive Strength. The failure pattern was also studied to better understand the ultimate behaviour of lime stabilised clays. The results revealed that the strength of treated bentonite increased with the increase in the moisture content up to 30% above the corresponding optimum moisture content and with increasing the curing time and temperature. Nevertheless, substituting bentonite with sand on the specimen resulted in a significant reduction on the attained strength. Furthermore, the results of California Bearing Ratio and Resilient Modulus showed that values for both parameters are significantly enhanced with lime treatment. The microstructural analysis provided visual evidence to the improved strength in which the pozzolanic reaction was found to be significantly affected by the amount of moisture in the mixture. The results suggested that compacting lime treated expansive clays with moisture content moderately higher than the optimum moisture content would result in a significant enhancement to the attained strength over the period of curing.

Clay swelling inhibition mechanism based on inhibitor-water interaction: A COSMO-RS molecular simulation approach

• Four inhibition mechanisms employed by amino-acids for stabilizing clay-rich formations are proposed. • New data on the inhibition techniques employed by amino acids is introduced. • Natural amino acids mainly inhibit clay swelling via their interactions with the eater-based fluid and not the clay formation. The inclusion of clay stabilizers in water-based fluids (WBFs) during drilling, imparts WBFs with clay swelling-inhibitive properties. This protects the formation from damage due to the enhanced reduction of the swelling components (clay portions) of the formation by these chemicals during drilling. With the increasing demand for ‘green’ clay stabilizers for WBFs, knowledge of their inhibitive mechanisms is necessary for their effective selection and usage. Earlier, we proposed Amino acids (AAs) as effective “green and cheap’ clay stabilizers, However, the mechanisms through which AAs and other clay stabilizers perform shale stabilization have not been adequately described in open literature. This study is a follow-up work employed to evaluate and succinctly describe all the inhibition mechanisms utilized by AAs to prevent the swelling of the reservoir formations. Furthermore, we discovered a novel mechanism for describing the inhibitive potentials between clay stabilizers in WBFs. Herein, we employed five experimental techniques alongside a modelling tool - COSMO-RS, to evaluate and describe the inhibitive mechanisms of six AA clay stabilizers. This study confirmed that the interaction of AA and the water component of the WBF is a significant factor for AAs effective stabilizing potentials. This is an addition to literature which only highlights the interactions of clay stabilizers and clay minerals for the stability of the formation. This work evaluated all the possible interactions during a clay stabilization process and utilized statistical analyses to compare the percentage contributions of all the interactions among the clay stabilizers (AAs), clay minerals and WBFs. It was revealed that 38% of the swelling inhibition potentials of AAs depend on their interactions with the water component of the WBFs. Concurrently, 28% of the AAs inhibition potentials are based on their ability to modify the surface of reactive clays, while 15% is based on AAs ability to replace the exchangeable cations of swelling clays resulting in the strengthening of the clay's cleavage spacing. Lastly, 18% of AAs stabilizing potentials are based on their ability to neutralize the reactive moieties of swelling clays. The percentage distribution reveals that the effective interactions of AAs with the WBFs significantly contribute to their effectiveness in stabilizing shale formations. This study is essential as it provides researchers with a holistic methodology to characterize and evaluate clay stabilizers.

Implementation of New Material “CCO” for Mud Drilling to Prevent Swelling Problem using Geonor As

On the drilling operation, drilling mud is essential in safely and optimizes drilling operations to prevent drilling problems. Drilling problem are caused by many factors. One of the factors causing drilling problems comes from the condition of formation. The condition of formation that makes the drilling problem comes from the shale formation. The shale formation tends to become sloughing and swelling. Then to prevent that, the mud drilling must be designed to encounter that condition to reduce the risk of the drilling operation. The cutting sample for this study was from an EG wellsite with reactive clay that caused the shale problem. To determine the effectiveness of the material used in drilling mud, this study used the methylene blue test and the geonor development test. In this study, crude coconut oil (CCO) as natural material showed a good condition for use in mud drilling.

Strength and electrical resistivity characteristic of carbonating reactive MgO-mixed red clay under different water contents

Strength and electrical resistivity characteristic of carbonating reactive MgO-mixed red clay under different water contents

California Bearing Ratio of a Reactive Clay Treated with Nano-Additives and Cement

AbstractPlastic clays in subgrade may cause major engineering defects such as excessive heave or settlement during the wet season that contribute to the formation of uneven geometry at the pavement...

Sap flow monitoring of two Australian native tree species in a suburban setting: Implications for tree selection and management

Sap flow, the transport of fluid in the water-conducting xylem tissues of plants, is commonly measured in studies of plant-water relationships by the heat pulse velocity method. Publications have been rare of long-term sap flow measurements for individual trees in a suburban environment. Plant-water relations in urban settings are essential for promoting urban greening where there is a perceived danger to infrastructure and buildings from planting trees in streets on clay sites. The function of residential houses built on reactive clays can be significantly impaired and walls of buildings cracked if considerable amounts of water are extracted from the soil by the root system of a tree or a group of trees in close proximity, leading to localised soil shrinkage settlement. This part of the wider study aimed to monitor sap flow of eight individual Australian native trees from two species using the heat ratio method (HRM) in the field over 12 months. The analysis of monthly sap flow volume showed a similar pattern for all monitored trees, although daily water demand varied substantially. Methods for estimating tree leaf surface area, crown shape and crown volume were investigated and the equation for calculating thermal diffusivity (k) and sap flow velocity on the basis of the HRM was reviewed. It has been proposed that k may vary substantially depending on how thermal conductivity (K) is estimated, which could lead to significant discrepancies for estimations of plant transpiration. Two K models (KHog and KVan) were investigated and it was found that the impact on mean daily sap volume was negligible for the trees in this study.

Impervious synthetic layered silicates coating to restrict the swelling of clay‐rich shales

AbstractAn incremental demand towards the use of water‐based fluids for drilling oil and gas wells has generated numerous challenges in the field of shale inhibition characteristics. One of the major problems associated with the use of water‐based drilling fluids is the interaction of water with clay‐rich shales that leads to hydration and swelling of reactive clays. We have developed functionalized nanoplatelets composed of amine functionalities anchored on the nanometre‐thick magnesium silicates (LMS‐NH2). A facile synthetic approach was employed to synthesize lab‐scale quantity of LMS‐NH2 through combination of sol–gel and precipitation techniques. The structural characterization was conducted using powder X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis to evaluate generation of anticipated LMS‐NH2. Shale stabilization characteristics of LMS‐NH2 were tested and compared with other commercial shale inhibitors. Clay swelling and clay dispersion tests were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the impermeable coating of nano‐platelets on to the clay‐rich shales. The LMS‐NH2 demonstrated 87% recovery of swellable shales after dispersion tests. The microscopic study conducted on shales revealed the formation of inorganic film, which provide impervious coating to protect the water‐susceptible clays. The linear swelling measurements were also performed to understand the effectiveness of LMS‐NH2 over 72 h. LMS‐NH2 demonstrated linear swelling of 31.7% when compared with drilling fluid without shale inhibitor. The newly developed inhibitor in the current study has outperformed conventional shale inhibitors (a 18.7% reduction in linear swelling), wherein the presence of inorganic constituents aids stronger film formation compared to solely organic inhibitors.

Soil carbon density can increase when Australian savanna is converted to pasture, but may not change under intense cropping systems

Savanna regions are increasingly developed for agriculture to support population growth, food demand and export economies. This is driving interest in the conversion of natural savanna to cattle grazed pastures or horticultural crops in Northern Australia. Savanna clearing leads to aboveground carbon (C) loss but impacts below-ground are less certain as studies have focused on high rainfall regions, low reactive clay soils and shallow depths of 0.3 m or less.To examine impact of land use change (LUC) in Northern Australia, we sampled the upper 1.0 m soil profile of: 1) savanna woodlands, 2) old and young C4 perennial cattle grazed pastures and 3) old and young, melon-sorghum rotation fields. Soil C concentrations and soil bulk density in the upper 0.3 m were significantly greater in cattle grazed pastures than savanna woodland, such that savanna to pasture LUC significantly increased soil C density from 30.2 ± 1.5–43.4 ± 3.0 Mg C ha-1 over 28 years. Soil bulk density in the upper 0.7 m of savanna woodland was significantly less than that in the melon-sorghum rotations. In contrast, soil C concentrations below 0.5 m were significantly greater in the savanna woodland than in the 3 y.o. melon-sorghum rotation fields. There was no significant difference in soil C density between savanna woodland and 12 y.o. melon-sorghum rotations. This may relate to the beneficial effects of ploughing in sorghum as a green manure, or simply that the decrease in soil C concentration was offset by increased soil C density in the upper layers of soil where most C is located. In contrast, conversion of savanna to cattle grazed pasture sites is equivalent to a soil sequestration rate of 0.34 Mg C ha-1 y-1, approximately 50% of the observed net ecosystem productivity estimated using eddy covariance methods. Changing the depth to which soil C density was estimated changed significant differences amongst land-use systems. Whereas, estimating soil C density using a ‘fixed depth’ or ‘equivalent mass’ method did not change the statistical significance.There is an increasing focus on the potential of soil carbon sequestration especially in north Australia and understanding potential change and impact of accounting methods is essential for meaningful policy development. Policy settings to maintain, or improve, soil C storage and soil health may contradict agricultural development goals.

Simple yet quick stabilization of clay using a waste by-product

Soil stabilization with chemical additives is a reliable engineering practice for improving the mechanical behaviour of low bearing soils. The present study investigates the effect of dunder as an organic waste produced during the distillation of ethanol which contains 85% water, on the compressive strength of a reactive clay. In this study, two non-traditional soil stabilization techniques (i.e., precipitation and spraying techniques) that require less execution effort for an effective soil improvement outcome have been employed. The UCS of the clay stabilized with dunder concentrations of 0%~15% cured for 1 h, 14, and 28 days was determined. The UCS of the clay increased with dunder concentration and further improved with the curing period. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the stabilized clay showed the formation of calcium alumina hydrate (CAH) components within the microfabric of the clay. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images also confirmed the formation of a uniform aggregated fabric with less intra-pore spaces compared to the unstabilized clay. The outcomes of this study can be used for a quick and simple stabilization of unsealed temporary roads without the requirement for excavation and re-mixing and re-compacting the soil. Therefore, lower carbon dioxide production and lower construction and maintenance costs are anticipated.

The effect of various molarity sodium hydroxide (NaOH) on the hydrosodalite formation from synthesis of Johor Kaolin, Malaysia by hydrothermal method

In this present work, hydrosodalite was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method from the raw Johor kaolin, Malaysia. In order to get the size that was less than 63 μm, the raw kaolin was ground and sieved. Since the raw kaolin did not undergo the beneficiation process, thus the raw kaolin then was calcinated for four hours at 650 °C to produce more reactive clay (metakaolin). The synthesizing of hydrosodalite form of the metakaolin powder was conducted by mixing the powder with different molarities of sodium hydroxide, NaOH. This mixture was further treated by soaking it at a temperature of 40 °C for 24 h. The reaction mixture was then moved for 12 h into the autoclave for the 100 °C under hydrothermal conditions. The results through phase analysis via XRD, microstructure observation via SEM and bonding analysis via FTIR has revealed the existence of hydrosodalite phase in comparison with pure kaolin and metakaolin. The result also indicated the lower NaOH (4 M) molarity gave a higher percentage of hydrosodalite formation in comparison with higher molarity of NaOH at 5 M, 6 M and 7 M.

Ground movement in a moderately expansive soil subject to rainfall infiltration through pervious paving

Pavements, rooftops and compacted soils inhibit rainfall infiltration across our cities and drains built to prevent flooding can further reduce water availability to urban ecosystems. These hydrological changes diminish the provision of ecosystem service benefits to local populations and negatively impact downstream communities and environments. Stormwater engineering can help restore infiltration, but little use has been made of infiltration systems in expansive clay soil (often referred to as reactive clay), due to the potential for problematic shrinking and swelling soil movements in response to changes in soil moisture. In an experiment in South Australia, ground movement and moisture variation were monitored in moderately reactive clay soil beneath pervious and impervious paving, revealing that soil moisture and ground movement were influenced by interactions between pavement treatment, the design of the pervious pavement’s gravel base layer, the size and proximity of trees, and the season. Where there were no tree influences, water-related ground movement was smaller near impervious paving, but ground movement was smaller near pervious paving at sites near trees. The differences in ground movement between pervious and impervious pavements were small when compared with the amplitude of ground movement observed at pervious and impervious pavement treatments between summer and winter.

Engineering Reactive Clay Systems by Ground Rubber Replacement and Polyacrylamide Treatment.

This study investigates the combined performance of ground rubber (GR), the additive, and polyacrylamide (PAM), the binder, as a sustainable solution towards ameliorating the inferior geotechnical attributes of an expansive clay. The first phase of the experimental program examined the effects of PAM concentration on the soil’s mechanical properties—consistency, sediment volume attributes, compactability, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), reactivity and microstructure features. The second phase investigated the effects of GR content, with and without the optimum PAM concentration. An increase in PAM beyond 0.2 g/L, the identified optimum concentration, caused the excess PAM to act as a lubricant rather than a flocculant. This feature facilitated reduced overall resistance to sliding of soil particles relative to each other, thereby adversely influencing the improvement in stress–strain–strength response achieved for ≤0.2 g/L PAM. This transitional mechanism was further verified by the consistency limits and sediment volume properties, both of which exhibited only minor variations beyond 0.2 g/L PAM. The greater the GR content, the higher the mobilized UCS up to 10% GR, beyond which the dominant GR-to-GR interaction (i.e., rubber-clustering) adversely influenced the stress–strain–strength response. Reduction in the soil’s swell–shrink capacity, however, was consistently in favor of higher GR contents. Addition of PAM to the GR-blended samples amended the soil aggregate–GR connection interface, thereby achieving further improvements in the soil’s UCS and volume change behaviors. A maximum GR content of 20%, paired with 0.2 g/L PAM, managed to satisfy a major decrease in the swell–shrink capacity while improving the strength-related features, and thus was deemed as the optimum choice.

Influence of reactivity and mineralogical composition on instability due to the disintegration of shales from Paraíba and Ceará States, Brazil

Abstract This work aimed to correlate the reactivity and mineralogical composition of shales to their disintegration. To accomplish this, five samples of shale from Rio do Peixe Basin and Araripe Basin, located in the Brazilian States of Paraíba and Ceará, respectively, were characterized. A sample of industrialized bentonite clay was used as a reference to provide a comparison. Characterization was performed through cation exchange capacity, particle size analysis, X-ray fluorescence, and X-ray diffraction. Disintegration tests were performed according to the American Petroleum Institute standards in the presence of deionized water, aqueous potassium citrate solution, and drilling fluid. The results suggested that samples presenting no reactive clay mineral content may be unstable and the higher the reactivity of the samples to aqueous fluids does not necessarily imply a higher level of disintegration. This demonstrated that different mechanisms not associated with clay swelling may assume greater or lesser relevance on the instability of a formation.

Evaluating the integrity of clayey sandstone rocks flooded with high pH EDTA chelating agent solutions

Abstract Understanding the interactions between the injected enhanced oil recovery (EOR) fluids and sandstone reservoir rock minerals during the flooding processes requires special attention due to the presence of several types of highly reactive clays and non-clay minerals with different concentrations which interact with the injected non-native solutions and affect the effeciency of the oil recovery process. In this study, four coreflood experiments were carried out using two different sandstone core samples namely Gray Berea and Gray Bandera sandstone having clay contents of 8 wt% and 12 wt%, respectively, to evaluate the integrity of the clayey sandstone rocks flooded with 5 wt% and 10 wt% EDTA solutions with pH of 12. To study the presence and distribution of the clay and non-clay minerals into these sandstone rocks, x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used to characterize the core samples before the coreflooding tests. After the coreflooding experiments, XRD analysis was used to identify the precipitated minerals, and the alteration in the flooded rocks integrity was investigated through application of NMR, computed tomography (CT) scan analyses, and permeability measurements. The exchangeability of the chelated iron from the sandstone rocks to the EDTA solutions was studied by analyzing the produced effluents through inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analyses. The pressure drop observed during the coreflooding experiments revealed the compatibility of the injected solutions and the core samples. The results of this study dominates that Gray Berea sandstone is compatible with the 5 wt% and 10 wt% of the EDTA solutions as confirmed by the permeability measurements, CT scan analysis, NMR results, and the pressure drop during the flooding tests; which indicates that there was no fine migration, clay minerals swelling, and/or non-clay minerals dissolution caused by the interaction of Gray Berea with the EDTA solutions. On the other hand, Gray Bandera core samples were found to exhibit incompatibility with a solution of more than 5 wt% of EDTA as indicated by the CT scan and the high permeability enhancement because of the interaction of EDTA with ankerite mineral.