scholarly journals Enhanced Oil Recovery with Size-Dependent Interactions of Nanoparticles Surface-Modified by Zwitterionic Surfactants

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 7184
Author(s):  
Han Am Son ◽  
Taehun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Interfacial Tension ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Silica Nanoparticle ◽  
Spatial Density ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Fumed Silica Nanoparticles ◽  
Sandstone Rock

This study reports the size-dependent interactions of silica nanoparticle (NP) dispersions with oil, which facilitate oil recovery from sandstone rock. Herein, we studied various 7–22 nm sized colloidal silica NPs (CSNPs; the colloidal state when dispersed in aqueous solutions) and fumed silica nanoparticles (FSNPs; the dry powder state). Interfacial tension at the oil-nanofluids interface declined with decreasing NP size in a range from 7 to 22 nm. This is because NP spatial density at the interface increased with smaller particle size, thereby, the interface area per NP decreased to approximately 1/30, and interfacial energy had reduced enough. In addition, smaller NPs more strongly were adsorbed to the rock because of improved diffusion in suspension and increased adsorption density. This caused creating a wedge film between oil and rock, which changed the oil contact angle. Due to this effect, core flooding experiments indicated that oil recovery increased with decreasing particle size. However, FSNP dispersions exhibited low recovery factor because of particle aggregation. This phenomenon may facilitate massive permeability reduction, thus causing oil trapping inside rock pore. We found that both the sizes and types of CSNPs and FSNP affected the Interfacial tension at oil-water interface and rock surface wettability, which influenced ultimate oil recovery.

scholarly journals Carbon dioxide adsorption and interaction with formation fluids of Jordanian unconventional reservoirs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Samara ◽  
T. V. Ostrowski ◽  
F. Ayad Abdulkareem ◽  
E. Padmanabhan ◽  
P. Jaeger
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Contact Angle ◽  
Interfacial Tension ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Gas Adsorption ◽  
Sessile Drop ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Gravimetric Method ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Operating Pressure

AbstractShales are mostly unexploited energy resources. However, the extraction and production of their hydrocarbons require innovative methods. Applications involving carbon dioxide in shales could combine its potential use in oil recovery with its storage in view of its impact on global climate. The success of these approaches highly depends on various mechanisms taking place in the rock pores simultaneously. In this work, properties governing these mechanisms are presented at technically relevant conditions. The pendant and sessile drop methods are utilized to measure interfacial tension and wettability, respectively. The gravimetric method is used to quantify CO2 adsorption capacity of shale and gas adsorption kinetics is evaluated to determine diffusion coefficients. It is found that interfacial properties are strongly affected by the operating pressure. The oil-CO2 interfacial tension shows a decrease from approx. 21 mN/m at 0.1 MPa to around 3 mN/m at 20 MPa. A similar trend is observed in brine-CO2 systems. The diffusion coefficient is observed to slightly increase with pressure at supercritical conditions. Finally, the contact angle is found to be directly related to the gas adsorption at the rock surface: Up to 3.8 wt% of CO2 is adsorbed on the shale surface at 20 MPa and 60 °C where a maximum in contact angle is also found. To the best of the author’s knowledge, the affinity of calcite-rich surfaces toward CO2 adsorption is linked experimentally to the wetting behavior for the first time. The results are discussed in terms of CO2 storage scenarios occurring optimally at 20 MPa.

Labortory and Pilot Tests of Enhanced Oil Recovery through Wettability Alteration by Diluted Microemulsions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xurong Zhao ◽  
Tianbo Liang ◽  
Jingge Zan ◽  
Mengchuan Zhang ◽  
Fujian Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Fracturing Fluid ◽  
Invasion Front ◽  
Wetting Ability ◽  
On Line ◽  
Wet Rocks

Abstract Replacing oil from small pores of tight oil-wet rocks relies on altering the rock wettability with the injected fracturing fluid. Among different types of wettability-alteration surfactants, the liquid nanofluid has less adsorption loss during transport in the porous media, and can efficiently alter the rock wettability; meanwhile, it can also maintain a certain oil-water interfacial tension driving the water imbibition. In the previous study, the main properties of a Nonionic nanofluid-diluted microemulsion (DME) were evaluated, and the dispersion coefficient and adsorption rate of DME in tight rock under different conditions were quantified. In this study, to more intuitively show the change of wettability of DME to oil-wet rocks in the process of core flooding experiments and the changes of the water invasion front, CT is used to carry out on-line core flooding experiments, scan and calculate the water saturation in time, and compare it with the pressure drop in this process. Besides, the heterogeneity of rock samples is quantified in this paper. The results show that when the DME is used as the fracturing fluid additive, fingering of the water phase is observed at the beginning of the invasion; compared with brine, the fracturing fluid with DME has deeper invasion depth at the same time; the water invasion front gradually becomes uniform when the DME alters the rock wettability and triggers the imbibition; for tight rocks, DME can enter deeper pores and replace more oil because of its dominance. Finally, the selected nanofluids of DME were tested in two horizontal wells in the field, and their flowback fluids were collected and analyzed. The results show that the average droplet size of the flowback fluids in the wells using DME decreases with production time, and the altered wetting ability gradually returns to the level of the injected fracturing fluid. It can be confirmed that DME can migrate within the tight rock, make the rock surface more water-wet and enhance the imbibition capacity of the fracturing fluid, to reduce the reservoir pressure decline rate and increase production.

scholarly journals Application of Augmented Water Flooding Using Ultrasound Energy to Improve Oil Recovery

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
U. Hassan ◽  
M. B. Adamu ◽  
I. Bukar ◽  
M. A. Muhammad
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Flow In Porous Media ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Ultrasound Frequency ◽  
Sandstone Rock ◽  
Ultrasound Energy

The application of ultrasound energy in improving oil recovery is an emerging technique, it has been tested in laboratories and some field applications in different parts of the world. In this study, Nigerian crude oil of 4.21 cSt viscosity and sandstone rock samples were tested using a designed and constructed experimental rig. The rig is an analogue of a standard core flooding set up and works on the principle of fluid flow in porous media. Furthermore, a modeled equation was developed to better understand the effects of power and time on the volume of oil recovered at a constant ultrasound frequency.  Results obtained show a positive impact in the recovery of residual oil during waterflooding with the assisted ultrasound energy. About 2-fold increase in the recovery of oil was observed when the ultrasound energy was applied to augment the waterflooding process. Model equations developed were found to be adequate because the adjusted and predicted R-squared values show reasonable agreement (R-adjusted = 0.9993, R-Predicted = 0.9974). 

scholarly journals Characterization and oil recovery enhancement by a polymeric nanogel combined with surfactant for sandstone reservoirs

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Almahfood ◽  
Baojun Bai
Keyword(s):  
Interfacial Tension ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Suspension Polymerization ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Polymerization Process ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
A Value ◽  
Fixed Concentration ◽  
Oil In Water ◽  
Recovery Mechanisms

Abstract The characterization and enhanced oil recovery mechanisms of a nanosized polymeric cross-linked gel are presented herein. A negatively charged nanogel was synthesized using a typical free radical suspension polymerization process by employing 2-acrylamido 2-methyl propane sulfonic acid monomer. The synthesized nanogel showed a narrow size distribution with one peak pointing to a predominant homogeneous droplet size. The charged nanogels were also able to adsorb at the oil–water interfaces to reduce interfacial tension and stabilize oil-in-water emulsions, which ultimately improved the recovered oil from hydrocarbon reservoirs. In addition, a fixed concentration of negatively charged surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate or SDS) was combined with different concentrations of the nanogel. The effect of the nanogels combined with surfactant on sandstone core plugs was examined by running a series of core flooding experiments using multiple flow patterns. The results show that combining nanogel and SDS was able to reduce the interfacial tension to a value of 6 Nm/m. The core flooding experiments suggest the ability of the nanogel, both alone and combined with SDS, to improve the oil recovery by a factor of 15% after initial seawater flooding.

scholarly journals Experimental Investigation of Polymer-Coated Silica Nanoparticles for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Bila ◽  
Jan Åge Stensen ◽  
Ole Torsæter
Keyword(s):  
Silica Nanoparticles ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Minor Effect ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
The North ◽  
Particle Retention

Recently, polymer-coated nanoparticles were proposed for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) due to their improved properties such as solubility, stability, stabilization of emulsions and low particle retention on the rock surface. This work investigated the potential of various polymer-coated silica nanoparticles (PSiNPs) as additives to the injection seawater for oil recovery. Secondary and tertiary core flooding experiments were carried out with neutral-wet Berea sandstone at ambient conditions. Oil recovery parameters of nanoparticles such as interfacial tension (IFT) reduction, wettability alteration and log-jamming effect were investigated. Crude oil from the North Sea field was used. The concentrated solutions of PSiNPs were diluted to 0.1 wt % in synthetic seawater. Experimental results show that PSiNPs can improve water flood oil recovery efficiency. Secondary recoveries of nanofluid ranged from 60% to 72% of original oil in place (OOIP) compared to 56% OOIP achieved by reference water flood. In tertiary recovery mode, the incremental oil recovery varied from 2.6% to 5.2% OOIP. The IFT between oil and water was reduced in the presence of PSiNPs from 10.6 to 2.5–6.8 mN/m, which had minor effect on EOR. Permeability measurements indicated negligible particle retention within the core, consistent with the low differential pressure observed throughout nanofluid flooding. Amott–Harvey tests indicated wettability alteration from neutral- to water-wet condition. The overall findings suggest that PSiNPs have more potential as secondary EOR agents than tertiary agents, and the main recovery mechanism was found to be wettability alteration.

Mitigation of Fine Particles Migration in Deep Bed Filters Treated by a Nanofluid Slug: An Experimental Study

2013 ◽  
Vol 829 ◽  
pp. 841-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danial Arab ◽  
Peyman Pourafshary ◽  
Shahaboddin Ayatollahi
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Porous Media ◽  
Zeta Potential ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Fine Particles ◽  
Surface Characteristics ◽  
Dlvo Theory ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Stable Suspension

Fine particles migration in porous media (deep bed filters) is one of the main reasons causing formation damage especially during any well stimulation techniques or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. It has been explained by lifting of in-situ fine particles present in the medium, their motion with the flow, and finally their capture at some pore throats. Attachment of particles to the rock surface during EOR agent injection into the reservoir can be a very promising remedy for the aforementioned challenge. In this experimental study, the role of nanoparticles-treated medium as an adsorbent of suspended particles has been investigated. Different concentrations of MgO and SiO2 nanoparticles were utilized to treat the synthetic porous media. In several core flooding tests, a stable suspension was injected into the already nanoparticles-treated medium and particles concentration of effluents was measured by turbidity analysis. In order to quantify the effect of nanoparticles to alter the medium surface characteristics, zeta potential analysis and dynamic light scattering methods have been applied. The results indicated that the presence of nanoparticles on the medium surface alters the zeta potential of the rock which in turn, results in critically reduction of particles concentration in the effluent samples compared with the non-treated media. It was found that treating with 0.03 wt% of MgO nanoparticles is the best scenario among the tests performed in this study. This finding was confirmed by DLVO theory by which the total energy of interactions existing between a particle and the rock surface was calculated.

scholarly journals Experimental study of the performances of commercial surfactants in reducing interfacial tension and wettability alteration in the process of chemical water injection into carbonate reservoirs

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1551-1563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siamak Najimi ◽  
Iman Nowrouzi ◽  
Abbas Khaksar Manshad ◽  
Amir H. Mohammadi
Keyword(s):  
Contact Angle ◽  
Interfacial Tension ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Reservoir Rock ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Chemical Water

Abstract Surfactants are used in the process of chemical water injection to reduce interfacial tension of water and oil and consequently decrease the capillary pressure in the reservoir. However, other mechanisms such as altering the wettability of the reservoir rock, creating foam and forming a stable emulsion are also other mechanisms of the surfactants flooding. In this study, the effects of three commercially available surfactants, namely AN-120, NX-1510 and TR-880, in different concentrations on interfacial tension of water and oil, the wettability of the reservoir rock and, ultimately, the increase in oil recovery based on pendant drop experiments, contact angle and carbonate core flooding have been investigated. The effects of concentration, temperature, pressure and salinity on the performances of these surfactants have also been shown. The results, in addition to confirming the capability of the surfactants to reduce interfacial tension and altering the wettability to hydrophilicity, show that the TR-880 has the better ability to reduce interfacial tension than AN-120 and NX-1510, and in the alteration of wettability the smallest contact angle was obtained by dissolving 1000 ppm of surfactant NX-1510. Also, the results of interfacial tension tests confirm the better performances of these surfactants in formation salinity and high salinity. Additionally, a total of 72% recovery was achieved with a secondary saline water flooding and flooding with a 1000 ppm of TR-880 surfactant.

scholarly journals Variations in Wettability and Interfacial Tension during Alkali–Polymer Application for High and Low TAN Oils

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2241
Author(s):  
Vladislav Arekhov ◽  
Rafael E. Hincapie ◽  
Torsten Clemens ◽  
Muhammad Tahir
Keyword(s):  
Interfacial Tension ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Acid Number ◽  
Spontaneous Imbibition ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Chemical Agent ◽  
Aging Effects ◽  
Divalent Ions ◽  
Total Acid

The injection of chemicals into sandstones can lead to alterations in wettability, where oil characteristics such as the TAN (total acid number) may determine the wetting state of the reservoir. By combining the spontaneous imbibition principle and the evaluation of interfacial tension index, we propose a workflow and comprehensive assessment to evaluate the wettability alteration and interfacial tension (IFT) when injecting chemical-enhanced oil-recovery (EOR) agents. This study examines the effects on wettability alteration due to the application of alkaline and polymer solutions (separately) and the combined alkali–polymer solution. The evaluation focused on comparing the effects of chemical agent injections on wettability and IFT due to core aging (non-aged, water-wet and aged, and neutral to oil-wet), brine composition (mono vs. divalent ions); core mineralogy (~2.5% and ~10% clay), and crude oil type (low and high TAN). Amott experiments were performed on cleaned water-wet core plugs as well as on samples with a restored oil-wet state. IFT experiments were compared for a duration of 300 min. Data were gathered from 48 Amott imbibition experiments with duplicates. The IFT and baselines were defined in each case for brine, polymer, and alkali for each set of experiments. When focusing on the TAN and aging effects, it was observed that in all cases, the early time production was slower and the final oil recovery was longer when compared to the values for non-aged core plugs. These data confirm the change in rock surface wettability towards a more oil-wet state after aging and reverse the wettability alteration due to chemical injections. Furthermore, the application of alkali with high TAN oil resulted in a low equilibrium IFT. By contrast, alkali alone failed to mobilize trapped low TAN oil but caused wettability alteration and a neutral–wet state of the aged core plugs. For the brine composition, the presence of divalent ions promoted water-wetness of the non-aged core plugs and oil-wetness of the aged core plugs. Divalent ions act as bridges between the mineral surface and polar compound of the in situ created surfactant, thereby accelerating wettability alteration. Finally, for mineralogy effects, the high clay content core plugs were shown to be more oil-wet even without aging. Following aging, a strongly oil-wet behavior was exhibited. The alkali–polymer is demonstrated to be efficient in the wettability alteration of oil-wet core plugs towards a water-wet state.

The Effect of Zinc Oxide and Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles on Interfacial Tension and Viscosity of Nanofluids for Enhanced Oil Recovery

2014 ◽  
Vol 1024 ◽  
pp. 56-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasnah Mohd Zaid ◽  
Noor Rasyada Ahmad Latiff ◽  
Noorhana Yahya
Keyword(s):  
Zinc Oxide ◽  
Interfacial Tension ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Aluminium Oxide ◽  
Reservoir Rock ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles

Application of nanotechnology in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has been increasing in the recent years. After secondary flooding, more than 60% of the original oil in place (OOIP) remains in the reservoir due to trapping of oil in the reservoir rock pores. One of the promising EOR methods is surfactant flooding, where substantial reduction in interfacial tension between oil and water could sufficiently displace oil from reservoir. The emulsion that is created between the two interfaces has a higher viscosity than its original components, providing more force to push the trapped oil. In this paper, the recovery mechanism of the enhanced oil recovery was determined by measuring oil-nanofluid interfacial tension and the viscosity of the nanofluid. Series of core flooding experiments were conducted using packed silica beads whichreplicate core rocks to evaluate the oil recovery efficiency of the nanofluid in comparison to that using an aqueous commercial surfactant, 0.3wt% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). 117 % increase in the recovery of the residual oil in place (ROIP) was observed by the 2 pore volume (PV) injection of aluminium oxide nanofluid in comparison with 0.3wt% SDS. In comparison to the type of material, 5.12% more oil has been recovered by aluminium oxide compared to zinc oxide nanofluid in the presence of EM wave. The effect of the EM wave on the recoverywas also studied by and it was proven that electric field component of the EM waves has been stimulating the nanofluid to be more viscous by the increment of 54.2% in the oil recovery when aluminium oxide nanofluid was subjected to 50MHz EM waves irradiation.

scholarly journals Design and Tuning of Nanofluids Applied to Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery Based on the Surfactant–Nanoparticle–Brine Interaction: From Laboratory Experiments to Oil Field Application

Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos A. Franco ◽  
Lady J. Giraldo ◽  
Carlos H. Candela ◽  
Karla M. Bernal ◽  
Fabio Villamil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interfacial Tension ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Field Trial ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Field Application ◽  
Ftir Spectra ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Surfactant Adsorption ◽  
Core Flooding

The primary objective of this study is to develop a novel experimental nanofluid based on surfactant–nanoparticle–brine tuning, subsequently evaluate its performance in the laboratory under reservoir conditions, then upscale the design for a field trial of the nanotechnology-enhanced surfactant injection process. Two different mixtures of commercial anionic surfactants (SA and SB) were characterized by their critical micelle concentration (CMC), density, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. Two types of commercial nanoparticles (CNA and CNB) were utilized, and they were characterized by SBET, FTIR spectra, hydrodynamic mean sizes (dp50), isoelectric points (pHIEP), and functional groups. The evaluation of both surfactant–nanoparticle systems demonstrated that the best performance was obtained with a total dissolved solid (TDS) of 0.75% with the SA surfactant and the CNA nanoparticles. A nanofluid formulation with 100 mg·L−1 of CNA provided suitable interfacial tension (IFT) values between 0.18 and 0.15 mN·m−1 for a surfactant dosage range of 750–1000 mg·L−1. Results obtained from adsorption tests indicated that the surfactant adsorption on the rock would be reduced by at least 40% under static and dynamic conditions due to nanoparticle addition. Moreover, during core flooding tests, it was observed that the recovery factor was increased by 22% for the nanofluid usage in contrast with a 17% increase with only the use of the surfactant. These results are related to the estimated capillary number of 3 × 10−5, 3 × 10−4, and 5 × 10−4 for the brine, the surfactant, and the nanofluid, respectively, as well as to the reduction in the surfactant adsorption on the rock which enhances the efficiency of the process. The field trial application was performed with the same nanofluid formulation in the two different injection patterns of a Colombian oil field and represented the first application worldwide of nanoparticles/nanofluids in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. The cumulative incremental oil production was nearly 30,035 Bbls for both injection patterns by May 19, 2020. The decline rate was estimated through an exponential model to be −0.104 month−1 before the intervention, to −0.016 month−1 after the nanofluid injection. The pilot was designed based on a production increment of 3.5%, which was successfully surpassed with this field test with an increment of 27.3%. This application is the first, worldwide, to demonstrate surfactant flooding assisted by nanotechnology in a chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) process in a low interfacial tension region.

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