TOUGHREACT—A simulation program for non-isothermal multiphase reactive geochemical transport in variably saturated geologic media: Applications to geothermal injectivity and CO2 geological sequestration

TOUGHREACT is a numerical simulation program for chemically reactive non-isothermal flows of multiphase fluids in porous and fractured media. The program was written in Fortran 77 and developed by introducing reactive geochemistry into the multiphase fluid and heat flow simulator TOUGH2. A variety of subsurface thermo-physical–chemical processes are considered under a wide range of conditions of pressure, temperature, water saturation, ionic strength, and pH and Eh. Interactions between mineral assemblages and fluids can occur under local equilibrium or kinetic rates. The gas phase can be chemically active. Precipitation and dissolution reactions can change formation porosity and permeability. The program can be applied to many geologic systems and environmental problems, including geothermal systems, diagenetic, and weathering processes, subsurface waste disposal, acid mine drainage remediation, contaminant transport, and groundwater quality. Here we present two examples to illustrate applicability of the program. The first example deals with injectivity effects of mineral scaling in a fractured geothermal reservoir. A major concern in the development of hot dry rock and hot fractured rock reservoirs is achieving and maintaining adequate injectivity, while avoiding the development of preferential short-circuiting flow paths. Rock–fluid interactions and associated mineral dissolution and precipitation effects could have a major impact on the long-term performance of these reservoirs. We used recent European studies as a starting point to explore chemically induced effects of fluid circulation in the geothermal systems. We examine ways in which the chemical composition of reinjected waters can be modified to improve reservoir performance by maintaining or even enhancing injectivity. The second TOUGHREACT application example is related to CO2 geologic sequestration in a saline aquifer. We performed numerical simulations for a commonly encountered Gulf Coast sediment under CO2 injection conditions in order to analyze the impact of CO2 immobilization through carbonate precipitation. Using the data presented in this paper, the CO2 mineral-trapping capability after 10,000 years can reach 60 kg/m3 of sandstone by secondary carbonate mineral precipitation such as siderite, ankerite, and dawsonite. Most of the simulated mineral alteration pattern is consistent with the field observations of natural CO2 reservoirs.