Fracture conductivity is a measure of the fracture ability to transfer fluids from a hydrocarbon-bearing zone to a well. Proppant embedment in soft formations and rock weakening due to the acid/rock reaction limit the stimulation success resulting in sharp fracture conductivity decline. The focus of this study is to increase the rock strength by mineralogical alteration aimed at sustaining long-term fracture conductivity. To achieve these, several standard cylindrical Indian limestone plugs with diameters of 1.5 and 2.5 in and length of 3 in were treated with different types of zinc solutions to substitute calcium with zinc in calcite crystals. The goal of these mineral alterations is to change the principal component of limestone rocks surface, calcite (CaCO₃), into smithsonite (ZnCO₃). Smithsonite is harder than calcite and its lattice system is similar to calcite. The treatment was carried out by full immersion of samples into zinc solutions at a predetermined time intervals. The rock strength was measured from samples surface (Young’s modulus) before and after the treatment by a non-destructive technique using an impulse hammer. Zinc sulfate solution was found to enhance the rock hardness by values ranging from 25% to 35% via the formation of a layer of smithsonite on the sample's surface. SEM, XRF, XPS and FIB-SEM experiments were conducted to understand the exchange mechanism that eventually led to the hardening. Also, effective porosity and permeability were measured before and after the chemical treatment to investigate its impact. A field-scale modelling study of rock hardness impact on productivity is provided as a preliminary proof of concept.

断裂传导率是将流体从含烃区转移到井中的断裂能力的量度。支撑剂在软岩层中的嵌入以及由于酸/岩石反应而导致的岩石软化限制了增产成功，导致裂缝导流能力急剧下降。这项研究的重点是通过矿物学改变来提高岩石强度，以维持长期的裂缝导流能力。为了达到这些目的，用不同类型的锌溶液处理了几个直径为1.5和2.5英寸，长度为3英寸的标准圆柱形印度石灰石塞，以用方解石晶体中的锌代替钙。这些矿物蚀变的目的是将石灰石岩石表面的方解石（CaCO ₃）的主要成分转变为新铁矿（ZnCO _3）。）。史密森尼比方解石更坚硬，其晶格体系与方解石相似。通过以预定的时间间隔将样品完全浸入锌溶液中来进行处理。在处理之前和之后通过使用脉冲锤的非破坏性技术从样品表面（杨氏模量）测量岩石强度。发现硫酸锌溶液通过在样品表面形成一层新铁矿，可将岩石硬度提高25％至35％。进行了SEM，XRF，XPS和FIB-SEM实验以了解最终导致硬化的交换机制。另外，在化学处理之前和之后测量有效孔隙率和渗透率以研究其影响。