Supercritical CO2 injection and residence time in fluid-saturated rocks: Evidence for calcite dissolution and effects on rock integrity

X-ray tomographic monitoring suggests that scCO2 first displaces the water, leading to an average water saturation of about 70-90%. Then, scCO2 dissolves in the pore brine, leading to a homogeneous decrease by about 3% in water saturation of the sample. As a result, the pore brine acidifies even after 2 h of exposure only, which leads to calcite dissolution and a significant increase in the brine's concentration in calcium cations. For the samples and most exposure experiments, evidence of calcite dissolution is inferred from the measured physical properties. For the brine-saturated Tuffeau limestone and CIPS sandstone, calcite dissolution leads to significant mechanical weakening. For the brine-saturated Savonnieres limestone, the sample subject to two-hour residence time shows evidence of calcite dissolution, whereas the sample after four-hour residence time does not. Calcite re-precipitation could be the cause of this unexpected response after four hours.