Measurement of Acid Reaction Rates with the Rotating Disk Apparatus

The authors have published several papers on the rotating disk apparatus (RDA) in recent years. The RDA is used to measure acid reaction rates, reaction order and activation energy of acidizing fluids with carbonate reservoir rock. This paper summarizes the different ways that acid reaction rates are measured, the factors that affect the results and why this is important when modelling acid stimulation treatments in the field. In particular, experimental procedures used to obtain acid reaction rates vary widely and can produce very different results. These procedures are often not well-documented in the literature. The validity of different experimental procedures are carefully compared in this paper. In addition to experimental concerns, the reactivity of reservoir rock can also vary widely. It was recently reported that the reactivity of reservoir rock toward acid is strongly affected by mineralogy and by mineral impurities. In particular, clay impurities in calcite rock were found to reduce the dissolution rate by nearly an order of magnitude. Some calcite rocks with clay content as low as 1 wt% showed acid reactivity similar to that of 100 wt% dolomite. Acidizing additives such as polymers and corrosion inhibitors have been shown to significantly affect the way that acid reacts with the reservoir rock.