Barite nucleation and growth was observed in-situ in a micro-porous column of glass beads and quartz, using synchrotron-based X-ray computed micro-tomography. Solutions supersaturated with respect to barite were continuously flowed through the column during the scans. The tomography of the column was analyzed every 24 minutes over a period of 14 hours, with a resolution of 1.2 mm. Segmentation of the images allowed us to separate the three main components in the column: 1) fluid, comprising the pore space; 2) SiO2, comprising the solid matrix; and 3) barite, which nucleated and grows over time. Precipitation was measured from the total volume of barite as a function of time and pore size. Three distinct growth periods were observed: 1) Nucleation, during which the total volume of barite increases slowly but the number of crystals increases rapidly; 2) Free growth, more rapid increase of the total barite volume and slow increase of the number of crystals; 3) Restricted growth, slower increase of volume and negligible increase of the number of particles due to space restrictions and reduced porosity/permeability. Nucleation and growth was more pronounced in smaller pores (Fig. 1).

Nucleation and growth of barite (BaSO4) observed in-situ in porous media using X-ray computed tomography

249th National Meeting (2015)

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