Improvement of Steam Injection Processes Through Nanotechnology: An Approach through in Situ Upgrading and Foam Injection

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate a high-performance nanocatalyst for upgrading of extra-heavy crude oil recovery and at the same time evaluate the capacity of foams generated with a nanofluid to improve the sweeping efficiency through a continuous steam injection process at reservoir conditions. CeO2±δ nanoparticles functionalized with mass fractions of 0.89% and 1.1% of NiO and PdO, respectively, were employed to assist the technology and achieve the oil upgrading. In addition, silica nanoparticles grafted with a mass fraction of 12% polyethylene glycol were used as an additive to improve the stability of an alpha-olefin sulphonate-based foam. The nanofluid formulation for the in situ upgrading process was carried out through thermogravimetric analysis and measurements of zeta potential during eight days to find the best concentration of nanoparticles and surfactant, respectively. The displacement test was carried out in different stages, including, (i) basic characterization, (ii) steam injection in the absence of nanofluids, (iii) steam injection after soaking with nanofluid for in situ upgrading, (iv) N2 injection, and (v) steam injection after foaming nanofluid. Increase in the oil recovery of 8.8%, 3%, and 5.5% are obtained for the technology assisted by the nanocatalyst-based nanofluid, after the nitrogen injection, and subsequent to the thermal foam injection, respectively. Analytical methods showed that the oil viscosity was reduced 79%, 77%, and 31%, in each case. Regarding the asphaltene content, with the presence of the nanocatalyst, it decreased from 28.7% up to 12.9%. Also, the American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity values increased by up to 47%. It was observed that the crude oil produced after the foam injection was of higher quality than the crude oil without treatment, indicating that the thermal foam leads to a better swept of the porous medium containing upgraded oil.

Effect of Steam Quality on Extra-Heavy Crude Oil Upgrading and Oil Recovery Assisted with PdO and NiO-Functionalized Al2O3 Nanoparticles

“…Also, a hydrogen donor (Tetralin C 10 H 12 , Petroraza S.A.S, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia) was used during displacement tests. Silica sand (Ottawa sand, US sieves 20-40 mesh -Minercol S.A) was used as porous media, and it was cleaned with methanol (99.8% purity, Merk KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany), toluene (99.8% purity, Merk KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany), and HCl (37% purity, Merk KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) before tests as reported in a previous study [24,25].…”

“…Then, X was raised to 1 to verify the incremental oil production in the presence of nanoparticles. The dosage and soaking time of the nanofluids were selected based on previous works [21,24,25].…”

“…Recently, nanomaterials have been proposed to overcome the different challenges regarding thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) of HO and EHO by decomposing heavy oil fractions like asphaltenes and resins. Some nanoparticles of different chemical nature have been employed, including SiO 2 [4,[18][19][20][21], CeO 2 [22][23][24][25][26][27], TiO 2 [28], and Al 2 O 3 [28,29], among others. The materials are characterized as having a high affinity for heavy oil fractions and reducing the asphaltene decomposition temperature near 300 • C. In search of improving their catalytic activity, the benefits of functionalized materials have been reported in the literature, which with low concentrations of transition metal oxides, can reduce the decomposition temperature close to 200 • C. Some of the most used active phases in literature are Ni [18,19,30,31], Pd [18,23,24], Fe [19,26,32], Co [26,33], and Au [34].…”

“…Some nanoparticles of different chemical nature have been employed, including SiO 2 [4,[18][19][20][21], CeO 2 [22][23][24][25][26][27], TiO 2 [28], and Al 2 O 3 [28,29], among others. The materials are characterized as having a high affinity for heavy oil fractions and reducing the asphaltene decomposition temperature near 300 • C. In search of improving their catalytic activity, the benefits of functionalized materials have been reported in the literature, which with low concentrations of transition metal oxides, can reduce the decomposition temperature close to 200 • C. Some of the most used active phases in literature are Ni [18,19,30,31], Pd [18,23,24], Fe [19,26,32], Co [26,33], and Au [34]. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the functionalized nanoparticles improve the conductivity of porous media, and hence, the heat transfer from the steam to the fluids.…”

Catalytic Conversion of n-C7 Asphaltenes and Resins II into Hydrogen Using CeO2-Based Nanocatalysts

“…Resins have a lower amount of aromatic species but longer aliphatic chains; therefore, they have a higher H/C ratio and lower polarity than asphaltenes [ 17 , 18 ]. Commonly, to improve the mobility of HO and EHO, thermal processes like steam injection [ 19 , 20 ], steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) [ 7 , 21 ], and in situ combustion [ 22 ] are used. However, in most cases, these techniques produce less than 50% in situ crude oil and low calorific gaseous products, including greenhouse gases like CO 2 [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”