Epoxy resin‐cement paste composite for wellbores: Evaluation of chemical degradation fostered carbon dioxide

Abstract

Excessive carbon dioxide (CO2) environmental emission can be partially solved using carbon geological storage technologies. Up‐to‐date materials in CO2 injection wells are strongly susceptible to acidic attacks causing their irreversible damage over a long time scale. This study investigates degradation by CO2 of epoxy resin‐cement paste composites at elevated pressure (50 bar) and temperature (70°C) to mimic wellbore conditions. The effect of epoxy resins on cement carbonation was evaluated by phenolphthalein test, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and numerical simulations. According to electronic‐structure‐based molecular dynamics simulations, the epoxy resin forms a separate phase that blocks potential reaction sites between the cement and CO2. Thanks to CO2‐phobic behavior, the resin repels CO2 and minimizes cement damage due to degradation process. The optimal content of epoxy resin in the cement paste was up to 30% w/w. The reported results provide clear guidelines for further evolution of reinforced cements for use in CO2 injection wellbores. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Crystal-Chemical and Thermal Properties of Decorative Cement Composites

“…Based on our earlier results [19], and data by the others [51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59], it is evidenced that the ML in this temperature range are associated with the portlandite dehydroxylation. The measured values of ML are lower in comparison to literature data, showing the lower quantity of portlandite crystals leading to the increased quantity of C-S-H phases.…”

“…In this temperature range, the dehydroxylation of crystal bonded water molecules in hydrated phases (ettringite, monocarboaluminate, hillebrandite, etc.) occurs [48,[50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58].…”

Chemical degradation of reinforced epoxy‐cement composites under CO2‐rich environments

“…According to Baldissera et al , incorporation of epoxy resin into cement paste can block potential reaction sites between the cement and CO 2 because the polymer forms a separate phase within cement matrix. Due to size and mass difference, CO 2 molecules cannot remove or substitute the polymer chains adsorbed at cement surface even at an elevated temperature (approximately 126°C).…”

“…Addition of polymers to cement paste can be considered an alternate method to reduce the effects of the carbonation process, since literature reports improvements in mechanical and chemical properties of cement‐based materials containing polymeric admixtures . Epoxy resins are a class of thermoset materials widely used as polymer composite matrices because of their high mechanical and adhesion characteristics, effective electrical insulation, chemical and solvent resistance, relatively low shrinkage during curing, low toxicity and cost as well as ease in processing .…”

Life Cycle Perspective of Liquid Epoxy Resin Use in the Automotive Industry

“…Due to the high stability of epoxy bonds, their chemical degradation is a complex and multistage process, being important, for example, in the construction industry, too [43,44]. Resins are infusible and insoluble [45], and that causes problems in processing LER during waste management, as represented in product parts having terminated their life cycles [46,47].…”