Microfluidic studies of Salt Precipitation: Influence of Brine Composition, Interfacial Tension, Flow Conditions, and Chemical Additives

TL;DR

This study uses microfluidic experiments to analyze how brine composition, flow conditions, and additives influence salt crystallization and interfacial behavior during CO2 injection, revealing complex, heterogeneous precipitation patterns.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of various chemical additives and flow parameters on salt crystallization and interfacial tension in microfluidic pore-scale models.

Findings

Higher NaCl concentrations accelerate crystallization.

Additives reduce interfacial tension and salt accumulation.

Ammonia solutions cause rapid bicarbonate crystallization and clogging.

Abstract

This study investigates the interfacial tension, fluid mobility, and crystallization behavior of various saline and additive-modified solutions in a microfluidic chip environment, simulating pore-scale processes during CO2 injection. The brine compositions included NaCl solutions at different concentrations, surfactant-modified fluids, alcohol-water mixtures, and ammonia solutions. Microfluidic experiments were performed on a range of flow rates and the dynamics of CO2 breakthrough, brine evaporation, and salt precipitation were analyzed. The results show that higher NaCl concentrations accelerate crystallization and increase the final fraction of the crystal, though they also introduce spatial variability and localized precipitation. Additives such as alkylbenzene sulfonate and propan-2-ol reduce interfacial tension, promote greater mobility, and suppress salt accumulation. Ammonia-based solutions demonstrate rapid ammonia bicarbonate crystallization immediately upon CO2 contact, leading to elevated water saturation and frequent chip clogging. Despite faster brine evaporation and earlier crystal nucleation at higher CO2 flow rates, no significant impact was observed on initial brine saturation or final crystal coverage. Crystal growth occurs within and outside brine pools, driven by capillary flow, with spatial distributions governed by stochastic breakthrough dynamics. The random nature of the residual brine geometry results in heterogeneous crystal patterns, which were found to be repeatable but not deterministic.