Dissolution of a homogeneous porous medium by surface reaction

In this paper a mathematical model is used to predict the time behavior of porosity and permeability of a porous medium being dissolved by acid. Experimentally determined reaction kinetics and pore size distribution are used in the model. The acidizing process studied here is of importance in the stimulation of oil well reservoirs. A polynomial expansion method is used to obtain an approximate solution to an infinite hierarchy of moment equations resulting from application of the capillary model. Experimental porosity and permeability measurements using a sintered glass disk dissolved by hydrofluoric acid are in good agreement with predictions from the model.