Ultralow-permeability oil reservoirs are characterized
by small
pore throats, ultralow permeability, and high fluid flow resistance,
which often lead to challenging injection during water flooding processes.
Black nanosheet, as an emerging sheet-like nano oil displacement material,
can alter the wettability of reservoir rocks, effectively improving
water injection performance. However, its dispersion stability in
an aqueous solution is insufficient, leading to probable aggregation
during water flooding and affecting the oil recovery efficiency. In
this study, anionic-modified black nanosheet was developed using a
chemical method. The dispersion stability of the anionic-modified
black nanosheet was evaluated by using a multiple light stability
analyzer and a ζ-potential analyzer. Additionally, the interfacial
properties were assessed with a contact angle measurement instrument
and emulsification experiments. Finally, the imbibition performance
in ultralow-permeability oil reservoirs was evaluated through imbibition
experiments combined with nuclear magnetic resonance technology. Results
showed that sulfonate groups can be grafted onto black nanosheets
by chemical methods. Anionic-modified black nanosheet exhibited a
black sheet-like structure, showing potential applicability in ultralow-permeability
oil reservoirs. The transmittance stability index (TSI) value of the
anionic-modified black nanosheet decreased from 14.26 to 3.33, and
the absolute value of ζ-potential increased from 10.4 to 27.5
mV, indicating significantly improved dispersion stability. The effect
of anionic-modified black nanosheet on altering the surface wettability
of oil-saturated rocks was more pronounced, and the crude oil emulsification
effect was also enhanced. In addition, solutions of modified black
nanosheets showed a better imbibition oil recovery performance. The
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) T
2 spectrum
revealed at the microscopic scale that the modified black nanosheet
could facilitate the better imbibition from the small pores of ultralow-permeability
reservoir core samples, thereby enhancing the efficiency of microscopic
flooding.