Unraveling the Controls of Rock Permeability Change During Volatile‐Consuming Reactions

Permeability changes of rocks are critical in hydration and carbonation, as they significantly affect the subsurface chemical composition. This study uses a one‐dimensional reactive‐transport‐deformation model to define the dimensionless factors controlling permeability in the presence of rock fracturing, mineralization, and fluid flow. Furthermore, a coupled pore network‐discrete element solver is used to validate the proposed parameters by capturing permeability evolution trends observed in the laboratory. Our analyses reveal a competition between pore clogging due to reaction product formation and pore dilation due to volume expansion and fracturing, showing the emergence of steady state in systems characterized by different initial porosity. Notably, two distinct regimes are found, one dominated by clogging and permeability loss, and the other controlled by fracturing, pore expansion, and permeability increase. These findings help rationalize the often contrasting trends resulting from field and laboratory evidence and can be used to enhance the efficiency of subsurface carbon storage.