Experimental investigation of injectivity alteration due to salt precipitation during CO₂ sequestration in saline aquifers

Injection of CO₂ into saline aquifers causes the geochemical reaction of rock-fluid and salt precipitation due to the evaporation of water as a physical process. Well injectivity is an important issue in carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects because large volumes of CO₂ must be stored for a long time and salt precipitation can significantly reduce injectivity by reducing the permeability. The impact of salt precipitation on the injectivity must therefore be specified in order to maintain the security of CCS projects and enable them to perform at a high level of practicality. The objective of this work is to investigate the influence of the injection rate and brine salinity on injectivity reduction due to evaporation and salt precipitation. In this study, we injected supercritical CO₂ into a sandstone rock sample fully saturated with NaCl brine to characterize the salt precipitation induced by the evaporation process. Evaporation is investigated by mass measurement of the water and vapor produced. The extension in time of salt precipitation and the precipitation profile are analyzed by drying rate measurement, Capillary number and Peclet number. The consequences of salt precipitation on injectivity are specified by permeability and relative permeability analysis. The results show that a high drying rate in the early stage of injection induces rapid salt precipitation. The level of salt precipitation increases with salinity, within a permeability reduction range of 21–66%, and decreases with the injection rate, within a permeability reduction range of 43–62%. The relative permeability of CO₂ is affected by both the injection rate and salinity.