Computed microtomography and numerical study of porous rock samples

• We present the study of porous rock samples by means of microtomography method.
• Laboratory-source-based facility and synchrotron radiation source were used.
• Permeability tensors were calculated by means of Lattice Boltzmann Method.
• Proton Induced X-ray Emission method was used for elemental content determination.

Measurement of physical properties of porous geological materials is a crucial issue in oil and gas recovery industry. A conventional experimental way to obtain information on porosity, pore size distribution, specific surface area and permeability are the intrusion porosimetry and permeameter measurement. However, in this approach Washburn's equation is usually used, thus approximation of cylindrical pore shapes is made. However, in recent times the computed microtomography (CMT) technique is more widely used in geoscience (Appoloni et al., 2007). We have already reported preliminary results of investigation of elemental content, microporosity, and specific surface area of porous rocks by means of the CMT technique based on a laboratory source (Bielecki et al., 2012). In this paper, results of complex study of porous rock samples with the use of X-ray CMT (laboratory-source-based facility and synchrotron radiation source) combined with permeability tensor computation by means of the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) are presented. Moreover, the proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) method was additionally used for elemental content determination of pores-filling substance.