Review of Effective Porosity in Sandstone Aquifers: Insights for Representation of Contaminant Transport

Prodeo Yao Agbotui, Farnam Firouzbehi and Giacomo Medici ()
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Prodeo Yao Agbotui: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Accra Technical University, Barnes Road, Accra P.O. Box GP 561, Ghana
Farnam Firouzbehi: Earth Science Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
Giacomo Medici: Earth Science Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-21

Abstract: Assessment of contaminant dispersal in sandstones requires hydraulic characterization with a combination of datasets that span from the core plugs to wellbores and up to the field scale as the matrix and fractures are both hydraulically conductive. Characterizing the hydraulic properties of the matrix is fundamental because contaminants diffuse into the fractured porous blocks. Fractures are highly conductive, and the determination of the number of hydraulically active rock discontinuities makes discrete fracture network models of solute transport reliable. Recent advances (e.g., active line source temperature logs) in hydro-geophysics have allowed the detection of 40% of hydraulically active fractures in a lithified sandstone. Tracer testing has revealed high (~10 −4 –10 −2 ms −1 ) flow velocities and low (~10 −2 –10 −4 ) effective porosities. Contaminants can therefore move rapidly in the subsurface. The petrophysical characterization of the plugs extracted from the cores, in combination with borehole hydro-geophysics, allows the characterization of either matrix or fracture porosity, but the volume of sandstone characterized is low. Tracer tests cannot quantify matrix or fracture porosity, but the observation scale is larger and covers the minimum representative volume. Hence, the combination of petrophysics, borehole hydro-geophysics, and tracer testing is encouraged for the sustainable management of solute transport in dual porosity sandstones.

Keywords: sustainability fractured sandstone; effective porosity; petrophysics; borehole hydro-geophysics; tracer test (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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