Detecting Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation in a Model Well-Bore Using Downhole Low-Field NMR.

Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) has been widely researched recently due to its relevance for subsurface engineering applications including sealing leakage pathways and permeability modification. These applications of MICP are inherently difficult to monitor nondestructively in time and space. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) can characterize the pore size distributions, porosity, and permeability of subsurface formations. This investigation used a low-field NMR well-logging probe to monitor MICP in a sand-filled bioreactor, measuring NMR signal amplitude and T2 relaxation over an 8 day experimental period. Following inoculation with the ureolytic bacteria, Sporosarcina pasteurii, and pulsed injections of urea and calcium substrate, the NMR measured water content in the reactor decreased to 76% of its initial value. T2 relaxation distributions bifurcated from a single mode centered about approximately 650 ms into a fast decaying population (T2 less than 10 ms) and a larger population with T2 greater than 1000 ms. The combination of changes in pore volume and surface minerology accounts for the changes in the T2 distributions. Destructive sampling confirmed final porosity was approximately 88% of the original value. These results indicate the low-field NMR well-logging probe is sensitive to the physical and chemical changes caused by MICP in a laboratory bioreactor.

In Situ Detection of Subsurface Biofilm Using Low-Field NMR: A Field Study.

Subsurface biofilms are central to bioremediation of chemical contaminants in soil and groundwater whereby micro-organisms degrade or sequester environmental pollutants like nitrate, hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents and heavy metals. Current methods to monitor subsurface biofilm growth in situ are indirect. Previous laboratory research conducted at MSU has indicated that low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is sensitive to biofilm growth in porous media, where biofilm contributes a polymer gel-like phase and enhances T2 relaxation. Here we show that a small diameter NMR well logging tool can detect biofilm accumulation in the subsurface using the change in T2 relaxation behavior over time. T2 relaxation distributions were measured over an 18 day experimental period by two NMR probes, operating at approximately 275 kHz and 400 kHz, installed in 10.2 cm wells in an engineered field testing site. The mean log T2 relaxation times were reduced by 62% and 43%, respectively, while biofilm was cultivated in the soil surrounding each well. Biofilm growth was confirmed by bleaching and flushing the wells and observing the NMR signal's return to baseline. This result provides a direct and noninvasive method to spatiotemporally monitor biofilm accumulation in the subsurface.

NMR Logging to Estimate Hydraulic Conductivity in Unconsolidated Aquifers.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging provides a new means of estimating the hydraulic conductivity (K) of unconsolidated aquifers. The estimation of K from the measured NMR parameters can be performed using the Schlumberger-Doll Research (SDR) equation, which is based on the Kozeny-Carman equation and initially developed for obtaining permeability from NMR logging in petroleum reservoirs. The SDR equation includes empirically determined constants. Decades of research for petroleum applications have resulted in standard values for these constants that can provide accurate estimates of permeability in consolidated formations. The question we asked: Can standard values for the constants be defined for hydrogeologic applications that would yield accurate estimates of K in unconsolidated aquifers? Working at 10 locations at three field sites in Kansas and Washington, USA, we acquired NMR and K data using direct-push methods over a 10- to 20-m depth interval in the shallow subsurface. Analysis of pairs of NMR and K data revealed that we could dramatically improve K estimates by replacing the standard petroleum constants with new constants, optimal for estimating K in the unconsolidated materials at the field sites. Most significant was the finding that there was little change in the SDR constants between sites. This suggests that we can define a new set of constants that can be used to obtain high resolution, cost-effective estimates of K from NMR logging in unconsolidated aquifers. This significant result has the potential to change dramatically the approach to determining K for hydrogeologic applications.