The Chemistry of Nanosilica Mitigation Approach in sealing Wellbore Cement Leaks in Carbon Dioxide Storage

The Chemistry of Nanosilica Mitigation Approach in sealing Wellbore Cement Leaks in Carbon Dioxide Storage | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Chemistry of Nanosilica Mitigation Approach in sealing Wellbore Cement Leaks in Carbon Dioxide Storage Olayiwola Olatunji, Nabaladiomon Zakaria Coulibaly, Kumarasan Muthian, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9406850/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract During CO₂ storage operations, one of the major risks is leakage through micro-annuli in wellbore cement. These leakage pathways often have very small apertures, requiring a low-viscosity sealant capable of deep penetration and strong, durable sealing performance. Nanosilica dispersions, due to their ultra-fine particle size, offer a promising solution by effectively infiltrating narrow fractures and microcracks. This study investigates the use of nanosilica as a sealant for remediating CO₂ leakage through fractured wellbore cement. Upon the introduction of sodium ions into the nanosilica dispersion, a stable silica gel was formed. The resulting gel demonstrated excellent thermal and mechanical stability under the high-pressure and high-temperature conditions typical of CO₂ storage environments. Core flooding experiments confirmed that the nanosilica-based sealant could form a robust barrier capable of withstanding significant CO₂ pressure. The effects of nanosilica concentration and fracture width on sealing performance were also evaluated. Increasing the nanosilica concentration from 15% to 25% raised the holdback pressure from 300 psi to 900 psi. Conversely, increasing fracture width from 0.05 inch to 0.15 inch led to a reduction in holdback pressure from 400 psi to 250 psi. These findings highlight the potential of nanosilica gel as an effective sealant for preventing CO₂ leakage through wellbore cement fractures in geologic storage applications. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 11 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 08 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 05 May, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 05 May, 2026 Editor invited by journal 02 May, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 29 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9406850","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":638135687,"identity":"ae9cb02b-bcca-41f9-a64e-5829853f8fb4","order_by":0,"name":"Olayiwola Olatunji","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of Louisiana at Lafayette","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Olayiwola","middleName":"","lastName":"Olatunji","suffix":""},{"id":638135688,"identity":"66c23f25-daac-4887-b12d-081e27af4746","order_by":1,"name":"Nabaladiomon Zakaria Coulibaly","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Louisiana at Lafayette","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nabaladiomon","middleName":"Zakaria","lastName":"Coulibaly","suffix":""},{"id":638135689,"identity":"dac74c0e-9c25-492f-9f29-87f080de0492","order_by":2,"name":"Kumarasan Muthian","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"SafesourceDirect","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kumarasan","middleName":"","lastName":"Muthian","suffix":""},{"id":638135690,"identity":"4fb0cdcf-3228-49ab-b8e1-c229a5f9daa7","order_by":3,"name":"Ning Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Louisiana at Lafayette","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ning","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":638135691,"identity":"9e3d661d-03a5-4f85-be6e-3a38e3de2b09","order_by":4,"name":"Boyun Guo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Louisiana at Lafayette","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Boyun","middleName":"","lastName":"Guo","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-13 16:54:24","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9406850/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9406850/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":109195677,"identity":"cdfefab8-1e53-4c69-b8fb-00e1f2c35afd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-13 12:59:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":556142,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Co2sealantPaperCombined2026corrected.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9406850/v1_covered_cb4d7ced-9748-4dcf-bc5b-d338970ae2a3.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Chemistry of Nanosilica Mitigation Approach in sealing Wellbore Cement Leaks in Carbon Dioxide Storage","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-chemical-engineering","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"dice","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Chemical Engineering](https://www.springer.com/journal/43938)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Chemical Engineering","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9406850/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9406850/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eDuring CO₂ storage operations, one of the major risks is leakage through micro-annuli in wellbore cement. 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