Résumé
A CO2-rich brine core-flood experiment in calcite limestone for conditions representative of underground storage (P = 12 MPa and T = 100°C) was performed in order to explore the dissolution mechanisms arising at moderate CO2 partial pressure (0.3 MPa). An increase of the total porosity (φT) accompanied by a persistent permeability (k) decrease was measured. The mechanisms controlling this atypical anticorrelated k − φT relationship were investigated from the analysis of high-resolution X-ray microtomography images of the sample acquired before and after the experiment. All the evidences converge to the conclusion that the ubiquitous decrease of permeability measured during the 44 h of dissolution is due to the clogging of a fraction of the macroporosity by microporous material triggered by the rearrangement of the detached undissolved particles. This mechanism results in the development of low permeability zones bridging the macroporosity.