Application of Electromagnetic Waves and Dielectric Nanoparticles in Enhanced Oil Recovery

Abstract

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) refers to the recovery of oil that is left behind in a reservoir after primary and secondary recovery methods, either due to exhaustion or no longer economical, through application of thermal, chemical or miscible gas processes. Most conventional methods are not applicable in recovering oil from reservoirs with high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) due to the degradation of the chemicals in the environment. As an alternative, electromagnetic (EM) energy has been used as a thermal method to reduce the viscosity of the oil in a reservoir which increased the production of the oil. Application of nanotechnology in EOR has also been investigated. In this study, a non-invasive method of injecting dielectric nanofluids into the oil reservoir simultaneously with electromagnetic irradiation, with the intention to create disturbance at oil-water interfaces and increase oil production was investigated. During the core displacement tests, it has been demonstrated that in the absence of EM irradiation, both ZnO and Al2O3 nanofluids recovered higher residual oil volumes in comparison with commercial surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). When subjected to EM irradiation, an even higher residual oil was recovered in comparison to the case when no irradiation is present. It was also demonstrated that a change in the viscosity of dielectric nanofluids when irradiated with EM wave will improve sweep efficiency and hence, gives a higher oil recovery.

Nanotechnology Applied to Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes: A Review

“…For low frequencies, heating by resistance or ohmic is given, while the induced heating, on the other hand, induces a secondary current to produce heat, and for high frequencies (microwave) the way to generate heat is due to the molecules forming dipoles and they align them in an electric field. The electrical current is induced by a coil located in the injector well, and in general, it is recommended to use two horizontal wells like the SAGD technique [145]. Since most conventional methods do not resist processes involving high pressures and high temperatures (HTHP), the application of electromagnetic energy has been chosen in conjunction with the application of nanotechnology.…”

Experimental Study of Electromagnetic-Assisted Rare-Earth Doped Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) Nanofluids on Wettability and Interfacial Tension Alteration

“…To further improve oil recovery rate, the magnetic aspect of nanoparticles is crucial. Oscillating magnetization forces experienced by the magnetic nanoparticles has been shown to initiate interfacial movement at the oil-water interface, and altering the apparent viscosity of the nanofluids due to their magnetorheological and electrorheological properties, which improve the oil mobilization rate [6][7][8][9]. In a simulation study [10], high magnetic susceptibility nanoparticles were recommended as the magnetic perturbation caused by nanoparticles within the pore wall will facilitate oil blob detachment, thus improving the oil recovery rate.…”

Fast optical method for characterizing plasmonic nanoparticle adhesion on functionalized surfaces

“…In this paper, we present a methodology to characterize pH-, shape-, and functionalization-dependent adhesion strength of model AuNPs as plasmonic nanoparticles, and theoretically any other plasmonic metal and even metal-oxide nanoparticles in simple continuous flow systems. As the modern enhanced oil recovery processes (EOR) utilize metal-oxide nanoparticles beside surfactants and polymers to further increase the oil recovery rate [22,23], the presented methodology could potentially be helpful during the optimization of novel EOR processes. Furthermore, in this work also the polarization reflectometric interference spectroscopy (polarization RIfS, PRIfS) method [24] is used to verify the results.…”