Overlooked Impacts of Thermochemical Fluids on Indiana Limestone: A Unique Perspective

This study aims to investigate the thermochemical fluids interaction with limestone in the absence and presence of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to examine the petrophysical, geochemical and mechanical changes before and after interaction. The results indicated that the porosity of limestone was increased while rock strength decreased because of calcite dissolution. In addition, a decrease in permeability by precipitation was also observed upon interaction with thermochemical solution in the presence and absence of CO₂. In particular, the thermochemical effects are pronounced in the presence of CO₂compared to the scenario in which CO₂ was absent. The results of this study thus provide guidelines in terms of the use of the adverse effect of thermochemical treatment which can have implications on well-stimulation applications.