A Hydro-Geomechanical Porous-Media Model to Study Effects of Engineered Carbonate Precipitation in Faults

Yue Wang; Holger Class

doi:10.69631/ipj.v2i2nr41

Authors

Yue Wang University of Stuttgart https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9455-7621
Holger Class University of Stuttgart https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4476-8017

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69631/ipj.v2i2nr41

Keywords:

Hydro-geomechanical coupling, Biomineralization, Fault reactivation, Model verification

Abstract

Hydro-geomechanical models are required to predict or understand the impact of subsurface engineering applications such as gas storage in geological formations. This study focuses on engineered carbonate precipitation through biomineralization in a fault zone of a cap-rock, aiming to reduce gas leakage from a reservoir. In addition to altering hydraulic properties such as porosity and permeability, precipitated carbonates also change the mechanical properties of the rock. We present a conceptual modeling approach implemented in the open-source simulator DuMu^x. After model verification, we applied the model to a CO₂-storage scenario to investigate how biomineralization affects stress distribution within the rock, as well as how it may alter the risks of fault reactivation and induced seismic events. The generic study shows a tendency towards increased stiffness due to precipitated carbonate, which may cause shear failure events to occur earlier than in an untreated setup, while the magnitude of the seismicity is smaller.

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