Transport of polymer-coated metal–organic framework nanoparticles in porous media

Abstract

Injecting fluids into deep underground geologic structures is a critical component to development of long-term strategies for managing greenhouse gas emissions and facilitating energy extraction operations. Recently, we reported that metal–organic frameworks are low-frequency, absorptive-acoustic metamaterial that may be injected into the subsurface to enhance geophysical monitoring tools used to track fluids and map complex structures. A key requirement for this nanotechnology deployment is transportability through porous geologic media without being retained by mineral-fluid interfaces. We used flow-through column studies to estimate transport and retention properties of five different polymer-coated MIL-101(Cr) nanoparticles (NP) in siliceous porous media. When negatively charged polystyrene sulfonate coated nanoparticles (NP-PSS-70K) were transported in 1 M NaCl, only about 8.4% of nanoparticles were retained in the column. Nanoparticles coated with polyethylenimine (NP-PD1) exhibited significant retention (> 50%), emphasizing the importance of complex nanoparticle-fluid-rock interactions for successful use of nanofluid technologies in the subsurface. Nanoparticle transport experiments revealed that nanoparticle surface characteristics play a critical role in nanoparticle colloidal stability and as well the transport.

Review of foundational concepts and emerging directions in metamaterial research: design, phenomena, and applications

“…210 Injectable MOF suspensions have been shown to alter the distinct elastic and anelastic properties of rocks, resulting in decreased seismic wave velocities and amplitudes. 65,211 The ability to disperse the contrast agent nanoparticles 212,213 throughout a fluid-rock system allows for the possibility of imposing a 2D or 3D km-scale subsurface meta-structure (Fig. 3C).…”

“…[210] Injectable MOF suspensions have been shown to alter the distinct elastic and anelastic properties of rocks, resulting in decreased seismic wave velocities and amplitudes. [136,211] The ability to disperse the contrast agent nanoparticles [212] throughout a fluidrock system allows for the possibility of imposing a 2D or 3D km-scale subsurface meta-structure (Figure 3C). Overall, these attributes make injectable seismic contrast agents a potentially transformational technology for enabling geophysical sensing and lends new perspective to the burgeoning field of seismic metamaterials.…”