InterPore2026

Subsurface Carbon Mineralization in Porous Media: A Review of Flow, Reactive Transport, and Multiscale Controls

22 May 2026, 15:30

1h 30m

Poster Presentation (MS08) Mixing, dispersion and reaction processes across scales in heterogeneous and fractured media Poster

Speaker

Cenk Temizel

Description

The process of subsurface carbon mineralization creates enduring storage for carbon dioxide (CO₂) which serves as a fundamental element of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) systems. The research evaluates current physical and mathematical models which describe carbon mineralization processes that occur in porous and fractured media through a review of laboratory results and field data and numerical simulation findings.
The review presents all documented processes which control CO₂ movement through rocks and its dissolution and chemical interactions with mineral components of the host rock while focusing on the scale-dependent relationships between multiphase flow and reactive transport processes. Research studies at the pore scale have observed how surface contact area, surface properties and small-scale structural variations impact the speed of dissolution and the processes of precipitation. The study examines the current models which describe mineral reactions, surface-controlled kinetics and transport-limited regimes through their application to pore-scale and continuum-scale models.
The review investigates how Darcy-scale reactive transport models depict mineral trapping through their implementation of effective reaction rates together with their use of averaged transport parameters at different size levels. The literature presents an evaluation of scale transition obstacles which involve determining representative elementary volume (REV) variables and the process of upscaling pore-scale reaction dynamics. It reviews the feedback systems which link mineralization events to their effects on porosity evolution and permeability transformations. The study assesses existing models through their ability to model these linked processes.
The study evaluates scientific evidence about carbon mineralization reactions which happen in fractured systems through an analysis of how fracture-matrix interfaces and fluid movement patterns and residence times in different zones influence reaction progression. The literature presents documented evidence of geochemical and geomechanical effects which include mineral precipitation and dissolution causing stress changes in the system.
The review presents a summary of current knowledge about subsurface carbon mineralization by defining its current state and its remaining unknowns and persistent multiscale obstacles which affect storage performance and prediction accuracy.