Abstract
Natural magnetite in Banded Iron Formations (BIFs) is attracting interest as a hydrothermal H2-generating medium and a potential caprock for subsurface hydrogen storage because of its low permeability. However, its wettability under reservoir conditions remains poorly understood. In this study, the wettability of natural and organically aged magnetite was evaluated using the tilted plate contact angle method at 1–100 bar and 25–65 °C with deionized water and 5 and 10 wt% NaCl brines as droplet fluids. The results showed that magnetite remained water-wet throughout the tested conditions. Higher pressure shifted the system toward less water-wet behaviour, whereas increasing temperature enhanced water wetness. Increasing salinity caused only a slight reduction in water wetness, while stearic acid aging produced a much stronger shift toward H2-wet conditions. These findings demonstrate that wettability alteration influences mineral–water interactions relevant to geological hydrogen generation while affecting the sealing efficiency of magnetite-bearing formations for underground hydrogen storage.
Keywords
natural hydrogen, natural magnetite, organic aging, salinity effect, underground hydrogen storage, wettability alteration
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
9-10-2026
Article Number
157068
ISSN
03603199
Volume
267
Publication Title
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Publisher
Elsevier
School
School of Engineering
Funding Information
We gratefully acknowledge the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for support through a CSIRO PhD Scholarship, and the Australian Research Council for funding under grant DP220102907.
Funding received from the Australian Research Council (ARC)
DP220102907
Administering Institution
Edith Cowan University
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Moghanirahimi, K., Esteban, L., Shulakova, V., Iglauer, S., & Keshavarz, A. (2026). Experimental investigation of factors affecting natural magnetite wettability: Implications for geological hydrogen generation and storage. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 267, Article 157068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.157068