Volatile-consuming reactions fracture rocks and self-accelerate fluid flow in the lithosphere.

ABSTRACT: Hydration and carbonation reactions within the Earth cause an increase in solid volume by up to several tens of vol%, which can induce stress and rock fracture. Observations of naturally hydrated and carbonated peridotite suggest that permeability and fluid flow are enhanced by reaction-induced fracturing. However, permeability enhancement during solid-volume-increasing reactions has not been achieved in the laboratory, and the mechanisms of reaction-accelerated fluid flow remain largely unknown. Here, we present experimental evidence of significant permeability enhancement by volume-increasing reactions under confining pressure. The hydromechanical behavior of hydration of sintered periclase [MgO + H₂O → Mg(OH)₂] depends mainly on the initial pore-fluid connectivity.

SUBMITTER: Uno M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8784132 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature