4D Neutron Imaging of Solute Transport and Fluid Flow in Sandstone Before and After Mineral Precipitation
Abstract In many geological systems, the porosity of rock or soil may evolve during mineral precipitation, a process that controls fluid transport properties. Here, we investigate the use of 4D neutron imaging to image flow and transport in Bentheim sandstone core samples before and after in‐situ ca...
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Wiley
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Water Resources Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036293 |
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| author | Paiman Shafabakhsh Benoît Cordonnier Anne Pluymakers Tanguy Le Borgne Joachim Mathiesen Gaute Linga Yi Hu Anders Kaestner François Renard |
| author_facet | Paiman Shafabakhsh Benoît Cordonnier Anne Pluymakers Tanguy Le Borgne Joachim Mathiesen Gaute Linga Yi Hu Anders Kaestner François Renard |
| author_sort | Paiman Shafabakhsh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In many geological systems, the porosity of rock or soil may evolve during mineral precipitation, a process that controls fluid transport properties. Here, we investigate the use of 4D neutron imaging to image flow and transport in Bentheim sandstone core samples before and after in‐situ calcium carbonate precipitation. First, we demonstrate the applicability of neutron imaging to quantify the solute dispersion along the interface between heavy water and a cadmium aqueous solution. Then, we monitor the flow of heavy water within two Bentheim sandstone core samples before and after a step of in‐situ mineral precipitation. The precipitation of calcium carbonate is induced by reactive mixing of two solutions containing CaCl2 and Na2CO3, either by injecting these two fluids one after each other (sequential experiment) or by injecting them in parallel (co‐flow experiment). We use the contrast in neutron attenuation from time‐resolved tomograms to derive three‐dimensional fluid velocity field by using an inversion technique based on the advection‐dispersion equation. Results show mineral precipitation induces a wider distribution of local flow velocities and leads to alterations in the main flow pathways. The flow distribution appears to be independent of the initial distribution in the sequential experiment, while in the co‐flow experiment, we observed that higher initial local fluid velocities tended to increase slightly following precipitation. The outcome of this study contributes to progressing the knowledge in the domain of reactive solute and contaminant transport in the subsurface using the promising technique of neutron imaging. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-14beb5adb35c44c8a4f1fc6c0600ba8a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0043-1397 1944-7973 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water Resources Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-14beb5adb35c44c8a4f1fc6c0600ba8a2025-08-20T03:22:16ZengWileyWater Resources Research0043-13971944-79732024-03-01603n/an/a10.1029/2023WR0362934D Neutron Imaging of Solute Transport and Fluid Flow in Sandstone Before and After Mineral PrecipitationPaiman Shafabakhsh0Benoît Cordonnier1Anne Pluymakers2Tanguy Le Borgne3Joachim Mathiesen4Gaute Linga5Yi Hu6Anders Kaestner7François Renard8The Njord Centre, Departments of Geosciences and Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayThe Njord Centre, Departments of Geosciences and Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayDepartment of Geoscience and Engineering Delft University of Technology Delft The NetherlandsThe Njord Centre, Departments of Geosciences and Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayThe Njord Centre, Departments of Geosciences and Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayThe Njord Centre, Departments of Geosciences and Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayThe Njord Centre, Departments of Geosciences and Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayLaboratory for Neutron Scattering and Imaging Paul Scherrer Institute Villigen SwitzerlandThe Njord Centre, Departments of Geosciences and Physics University of Oslo Oslo NorwayAbstract In many geological systems, the porosity of rock or soil may evolve during mineral precipitation, a process that controls fluid transport properties. Here, we investigate the use of 4D neutron imaging to image flow and transport in Bentheim sandstone core samples before and after in‐situ calcium carbonate precipitation. First, we demonstrate the applicability of neutron imaging to quantify the solute dispersion along the interface between heavy water and a cadmium aqueous solution. Then, we monitor the flow of heavy water within two Bentheim sandstone core samples before and after a step of in‐situ mineral precipitation. The precipitation of calcium carbonate is induced by reactive mixing of two solutions containing CaCl2 and Na2CO3, either by injecting these two fluids one after each other (sequential experiment) or by injecting them in parallel (co‐flow experiment). We use the contrast in neutron attenuation from time‐resolved tomograms to derive three‐dimensional fluid velocity field by using an inversion technique based on the advection‐dispersion equation. Results show mineral precipitation induces a wider distribution of local flow velocities and leads to alterations in the main flow pathways. The flow distribution appears to be independent of the initial distribution in the sequential experiment, while in the co‐flow experiment, we observed that higher initial local fluid velocities tended to increase slightly following precipitation. The outcome of this study contributes to progressing the knowledge in the domain of reactive solute and contaminant transport in the subsurface using the promising technique of neutron imaging.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036293fluid flowporous rockcalcium carbonate precipitationneutron and X‐ray microtomography |
| spellingShingle | Paiman Shafabakhsh Benoît Cordonnier Anne Pluymakers Tanguy Le Borgne Joachim Mathiesen Gaute Linga Yi Hu Anders Kaestner François Renard 4D Neutron Imaging of Solute Transport and Fluid Flow in Sandstone Before and After Mineral Precipitation Water Resources Research fluid flow porous rock calcium carbonate precipitation neutron and X‐ray microtomography |
| title | 4D Neutron Imaging of Solute Transport and Fluid Flow in Sandstone Before and After Mineral Precipitation |
| title_full | 4D Neutron Imaging of Solute Transport and Fluid Flow in Sandstone Before and After Mineral Precipitation |
| title_fullStr | 4D Neutron Imaging of Solute Transport and Fluid Flow in Sandstone Before and After Mineral Precipitation |
| title_full_unstemmed | 4D Neutron Imaging of Solute Transport and Fluid Flow in Sandstone Before and After Mineral Precipitation |
| title_short | 4D Neutron Imaging of Solute Transport and Fluid Flow in Sandstone Before and After Mineral Precipitation |
| title_sort | 4d neutron imaging of solute transport and fluid flow in sandstone before and after mineral precipitation |
| topic | fluid flow porous rock calcium carbonate precipitation neutron and X‐ray microtomography |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036293 |
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