CO2 fracturing of volcanic rocks under geothermal conditions: Characteristics and process

An enhanced geothermal system using carbon dioxide (CO2) for both reservoir creation and thermal energy extraction has attracted attention; however, studies on the CO2 fracturing of volcanic rocks under geothermal conditions are lacking. This study aimed to elucidate CO2 fracturing characteristics and processes in geothermal volcanic rocks via integrated lab-scale fracturing experiments and numerical simulations of basalt and andesite at 250°C and a confining pressure of 30 MPa. Moreover, it proposed and demonstrated an efficient CO2-based fracturing method based on the obtained insights. Fracturing experiments on basalt and andesite with relatively low initial porosity or permeability implied that CO2 fracturing can be initiated at a lower pressure and produce a more complex fracture pattern than water fracturing because of the ease of fluid permeation (e.g., fluid pressure propagation) in rocks owing to the lower viscosity of CO2. The experiments also revealed that the ease of CO2 permeation can produce thinner fractures than those produced by water fracturing, which may severely inhibit the fracturing of andesite rocks with high initial porosity/permeability. Fracturing simulations of rocks with different initial porosity/permeability provided results consistent with the experimental observations. Moreover, the simulations clarified that fluid pressure propagation during CO2 permeation within an unfractured part of the rock and between induced fractures and the surrounding rock matrix could reduce the fracture initiation pressure by effective stress reduction, increase the complexity of the fracture pattern by large stimulated zone development, and inhibit fracture opening and propagation by decreasing the pressure difference between the fractures and matrix. Based on these findings, we proposed a combined CO2-water fracturing system that addresses the drawbacks while maintaining the advantages of CO2 fracturing.