Carbonic Acid Resistance of Hydroxyapatite Based Cement

With the current applications of CO2 in oil wells for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and sequestration purposes, the dissolution of CO2 in the formation brine and the formation of carbonic acid is a major cause of cement damage. This degradation can lead to non-compliance with the functions of the cement as it changes compressive and shear bond strengths and porosity and permeability of cement. It becomes imperative to understand the degradation mechanism of cement and methods to reduce the damage such as the addition of special additives to improve the resistance of cement against acid attack. Hence, the primary objective of this study is to investigate the effects of hydroxyapatite on cement degradation. To investigate the impacts of hydroxyapatite additive on oil well cement performance, two Class H cement slurry formulations (baseline/HS and hydroxyapatite containing cement/HHO) were compared after exposure to acidic environments. To evaluate the performance of the formulations, samples were prepared and aged in high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) autoclave containing 2% brine saturated with mixed gas containing methane and carbon dioxide. Tests were performed at different temperatures (38 to 221°C), pressures (21 to 63 MPa) and CO2 concentrations (10 to 100%). After aging for 14 days at constant pressure and temperature, the samples were recovered and their bond and compressive strength, porosity and permeability were measured and compared with those of unaged samples. The results demonstrated that adding hydroxyapatite limits carbonation. Baseline samples that do not contain hydroxyapatite carbonated and consequently their compressive strength, porosity, permeability, and shear bond strength significantly changed after aging while hydroxyapatite-containing samples displayed a limited change in their properties. However, hydroxyapatite-containing samples exhibit high permeability due to the formation of microcracks after exposure to carbonic acid at high temperature (221°C). The formation of microcracks could be attributed to thermal retrogression or other phenomena that cause the expansion of the cement. This article sheds light on the application of hydroxyapatite as a cement additive to improve the carbonic acid resistance of oil well cement. It presents hydroxyapatite containing cement formulation that has acceptable slurry properties for field applications and better carbonic acid resistance compared to conventional cement.