Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2024
The distinctive response of clay minerals to water indicated that it should be possible to determine the water sensitivities of sedimentary rock samples directly by water- vapor adsorption measurements. Therefore, the adsorption of water-vapor by standard clay samples and by core samples from oil-producing formations has been investigated.
Water-vapor adsorption isotherms of the montmorillonite and kaolinite samples are characteristic of the clay type and serve as an aid in their identification. The illite isotherm was intermediate between those of the other two types.
Water-vapor adsorption by core samples from oil-producing formations varied with the contents of swelling clays and with water-sensitivities as indicated by previous x-ray analyses and permeability studies. Core samples containing montmorillonite clay adsorbed water vapor strongly and exhibited typical adsorption—desorption hysteresis. Correlations of nitrogen and water-vapor adsorption studies with clay analyses and permeability measurements show that the water-vapor adsorption method is a promising means for the direct measurement of the water sensitivities of sedimentary formations.