Pore Network Model Development to Study Dissolution and Precipitation of Carbonates

We present the development of a reactive transport model and demonstrate its use to model the geochemical evolution of carbonate-rich pore networks within the context of geological carbon sequestration. The model’s architecture is explained, as well as the equations used to model the transport of species and the kinetic and equilibrium equations used for reaction and speciation. We present model results for two scenarios, one in which calcite dissolution increases the porosity and permeability of the network and a second scenario in which calcite precipitation leads to a decrease in porosity and permeability of the network.