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Minerals
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Mineral Dissolution and Precipitation in Geologic Porous Media
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Mineral Dissolution and Precipitation in Geologic Porous Media

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 3768

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jianping Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Interests: mineral dissolution and precipitation; transport in porous media; microfluidics for geosciences; CO2 storage/mineralization; geologic hydrogen
Dr. Na Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen, Norway
Interests: multiphase flow in porous media

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mineral dissolution and precipitation in geologic porous media are present in numerous natural and engineering processes such as hydrogeological processes, the Karst process, biomineralization in subsurface rocks, geologic CO2 storage/mineralization, scaling in oil field water injection, petroleum reservoir acid stimulation, drilling fluid filtration, in situ mining, hydrothermal processes during geologic hydrogen generation, underground energy storage, etc. In-depth investigations into these processes advance our understanding of the evolution of the Earth system and contribute to a better leverage of the subsurface environment and resources for a decarbonized and clean energy future. Considering the highly interdisciplinary nature and breadth of this topic, in this Special Issue we invite manuscripts from all related fields that contribute to a better understanding of the science and engineering of mineral dissolution and precipitation in geologic porous media. Our focus will be centered on the following areas: (1) experimental or/and computational works in investigating the reactive transport mechanisms of mineral dissolution and precipitation and the evolution of aqueous phase–mineral interfaces, ranging from the pore-scale to field-scale; (2) abiotic and biotic crystal growth dynamics in rock pore spaces and the influencing factors; (3) novel techniques of characterizing and quantifying the structure, morphology, and fate of stable and metastable mineral phases in the pore spaces during dissolution and precipitation processes; (4) multiphysics and multiscale processes during mineral dissolution and precipitation in geologic porous media; and (5) review of recent advances in investigating the dissolution and precipitation in geologic porous media. 

Dr. Jianping Xu
Dr. Na Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mineral dissolution and precipitation
  • reactive transport in porous media
  • mineralization/biomineralization
  • multiphase flow in porous media
  • energy, the environment, and climate

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 6239 KiB  
Article
Calcite Precipitation with Palmitic and Stearic Acids
by Maurice P. Testa, Erik B. Larson and Brenda L. Kirkland
Minerals 2025, 15(4), 361; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15040361 - 30 Mar 2025
Viewed by 297
Abstract
The objective of this project was to document the early stages of growth of carbonate minerals in the presence of two different organic compounds commonly associated with cell walls or found in biofilms. Organic molecules are believed to influence an environment to be [...] Read more.
The objective of this project was to document the early stages of growth of carbonate minerals in the presence of two different organic compounds commonly associated with cell walls or found in biofilms. Organic molecules are believed to influence an environment to be more favorable for carbonate mineral precipitation or serve as a substrate for the initiation of crystal growth. Palmitic and stearic acids are common fatty acids that bind to cell walls and are the most common organic molecules in marine environments. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (X-EDS) analyses were used to image the interface between the organic molecules and calcite minerals. The SEM and TEM images were used to further understand the interactions between organic compounds and calcite minerals. The palmitic and stearic acid showed a curious formation of spheroidal structures in a spatial relationship with calcite crystal growth. This research is significant because it shows that a spatial relationship exists between organic matter and the mineral calcite. More importantly, the organic material may be acting as a nucleation surface. These experiments represent patterns similar to those observed in nature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineral Dissolution and Precipitation in Geologic Porous Media)
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20 pages, 10254 KiB  
Article
Discernible Orientation for Tortuosity During Oxidative Precipitation of Fe(II) in Porous Media: Laboratory Experiment and Micro-CT Imaging
by Wenran Cao, Ekaterina Strounina, Harald Hofmann and Alexander Scheuermann
Minerals 2025, 15(1), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15010091 - 19 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1107
Abstract
In the mixing zone, where submarine groundwater carrying ferrous iron [Fe(II)] meets seawater with dissolved oxygen (DO), the oxidative precipitation of Fe(II) occurs at the pore scale (nm~μm), and the resulting Fe precipitation significantly influences the seepage properties at the Darcy scale (cm~m). [...] Read more.
In the mixing zone, where submarine groundwater carrying ferrous iron [Fe(II)] meets seawater with dissolved oxygen (DO), the oxidative precipitation of Fe(II) occurs at the pore scale (nm~μm), and the resulting Fe precipitation significantly influences the seepage properties at the Darcy scale (cm~m). Previous studies have presented a challenge in upscaling fluid dynamics from a small scale to a large scale, thereby constraining our understanding of the spatiotemporal variations in flow paths as porous media evolve. To address this limitation, this study simulated subsurface mixing by injecting Fe(II)-rich freshwater into a DO-rich saltwater flow within a custom-designed syringe packed with glass beads. Micro-computed tomography imaging at the representative elementary volume scale was utilized to track the development of Fe precipitates over time and space. Experimental observations revealed three distinct stages of Fe hydroxides and their effects on the flow dynamics. Initially, hydrous Fe precipitates were characterized by a low density and exhibited mobility, allowing temporarily clogged pathways to intermittently reopen. As precipitation progressed, the Fe precipitates accumulated, forming interparticle bonding structures that redirected the flow to bypass clogged pores and facilitated precipitate flushing near the syringe wall. In the final stage, a notable reduction in the macroscopic capillary number from 3.0 to 0.05 indicated a transition from a viscous- to capillary-dominated flow, which led to the construction of ramified, tortuous flow channels. This study highlights the critical role of high-resolution imaging techniques in bridging the gap between pore-scale and continuum-scale analyses of multiphase flows in hydrogeochemical processes, offering valuable insights into the complex groundwater–seawater mixing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineral Dissolution and Precipitation in Geologic Porous Media)
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17 pages, 2713 KiB  
Article
Mineral Deposition on the Rough Walls of a Fracture
by Nathann Teixeira Rodrigues, Ismael S. S. Carrasco, Vaughan R. Voller and Fábio D. A. Aarão Reis
Minerals 2024, 14(12), 1213; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14121213 - 28 Nov 2024
Viewed by 751
Abstract
Modeling carbonate growth in fractures and pores is important for understanding carbon sequestration in the environment or when supersaturated solutions are injected into rocks. Here, we study the simple but nontrivial problem of calcite growth on fractures with rough walls of the same [...] Read more.
Modeling carbonate growth in fractures and pores is important for understanding carbon sequestration in the environment or when supersaturated solutions are injected into rocks. Here, we study the simple but nontrivial problem of calcite growth on fractures with rough walls of the same mineral using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of attachment and detachment of molecules and scaling approaches. First, we consider wedge-shaped fracture walls whose upper terraces are in the same low-energy planes and show that the valleys are slowly filled by the propagation of parallel monolayer steps in the wedge sides. The growth ceases when the walls reach these low-energy configurations so that a gap between the walls may not be filled. Second, we consider fracture walls with equally separated monolayer steps (vicinal surfaces with roughness below 1 nm) and show that growth by step propagation will eventually clog the fracture gap. In both cases, scaling approaches predict the times to attain the final configurations as a function of the initial geometry and the step-propagation velocity, which is set by the saturation index. The same reasoning applied to a random wall geometry shows that step propagation leads to lateral filling of surface valleys until the wall reaches the low-energy crystalline plane that has the smallest initial density of molecules. Thus, the final configurations of the fracture walls are much more sensitive to the crystallography than to the roughness or the local curvature. The framework developed here may be used to determine those configurations, the times to reach them, and the mass of deposited mineral. Effects of transport limitations are discussed when the fracture gap is significantly narrowed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineral Dissolution and Precipitation in Geologic Porous Media)
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Graphical abstract

22 pages, 9844 KiB  
Article
Numerical Investigation of Heterogeneous Calcite Distributions in MICP Processes
by Lingxiang Wang, Yajie Chu, Xuerui Wang, Pengzhi Pan and Dianlei Feng
Minerals 2024, 14(10), 999; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14100999 - 30 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 989
Abstract
Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is a sustainable and environmentally friendly technology with applications in soil stabilization, concrete crack repair, and wastewater treatment. This study presents an improved Darcy-scale numerical model to simulate the MICP processes in heterogeneous porous media. It focuses on [...] Read more.
Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is a sustainable and environmentally friendly technology with applications in soil stabilization, concrete crack repair, and wastewater treatment. This study presents an improved Darcy-scale numerical model to simulate the MICP processes in heterogeneous porous media. It focuses on the effects of porosity heterogeneity, characterized by average porosity and correlation length, as well as injection strategies. Both average porosity and correlation length are critical factors influencing mass transport and calcite distribution during MICP treatment. An increase in average porosity leads to significant reductions in transport distance and total calcite mass. Notably, in the case of low averaged porosity, a larger correlation length results in more heterogeneous calcite distributions. However, there exists an upper threshold value of the initial averaged porosity (ϕ0=0.45) above which the heterogeneity of the calcite does not present clear dependence on the correlation length. Additionally, injection strategies significantly impact the consolidation effects. Compared to continuous injection, using the phased injection strategy can greatly improve the precipitated calcite area and mass due to its high utility and the efficiency of reactants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineral Dissolution and Precipitation in Geologic Porous Media)
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