Understanding the behavior of H+-protected silica nanoparticles at the oil-water interface for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications

Sofla, Saeed Jafari Daghlian; James, Lesley; Zhang, Yahui

doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2018.09.049

Cited by 29 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Among them, silica nanoparticles are considered extensively (Ebrahim et al 2019;Evdokimov et al 2006;Hendraningrat et al 2013;Roustaei et al 2013). Various nanofluids could be prepared by dispersing them in different base-fluids (Sharma and Sangwai 2017;Sofla et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the potential of surface-modified silica nanoparticles using internal olefin sulfonate for enhanced oil recovery

et al. 2019

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Recently, nanoparticles have proven to enhance oil recovery on the core-flood scale in challenging high-pressure high-temperature reservoirs. Nanomaterials generally appear to improve oil production through wettability alteration and reduction in interfacial tension between oil and water phases. Besides, they are environmentally friendly and cost-effective enhanced oil recovery techniques. Studying the rheological properties of nanoparticles is critical for field applications. The instability of nanoparticle dispersion due to aggregation is considered as an unfavorable phenomenon in nanofluid flooding while conducting an EOR process. In this study, wettability behavior and rheological properties of surface-treated silica nanoparticles using internal olefins sulfonates (IOS 20-24 and IOS 19-23), anionic surfactants were investigated. Surface modification effect on the stability of the colloidal solution in porous media and oil recovery was inspected. The rheology of pure and surfacetreated silica nanoparticles was investigated using a HPHT rheometer. Morphology and particle size distributions of pure and coated silica nanoparticles were studied using a field emission scanning electron microscope. A series of core-flood runs was conducted to evaluate the oil recovery factor. The coated silica nanoparticles were found to alter rheological properties and exhibited a shear-thinning behavior as the stability of the coated silica nanoparticles could be improved considerably. At low shear rates, the viscosity slightly increases, and the opposite happens at higher shear rates. Furthermore, the surfacemodified silica nanoparticles were found to alter the wettability of the aqueous phase into strongly water-wet by changing the contact angle from 80° to 3° measured against glass slides representing sandstone rocks. Oil-water IFT results showed that the surface treatment by surfactant lowered the oil-water IFT by 30%. Also, the viscosity of brine increased from 0.001 to 0.008 Pa s by introducing SiO 2 nanoparticles to the aqueous phase for better displacement efficiency during chemicalassisted EOR. The core-flood experiments revealed that the ultimate oil recovery is increased by approximately 13% with a surfactant-coated silica nanofluid flood after the conventional waterflooding that proves the potential of smart nanofluids for enhancing oil recovery. The experimental results imply that the use of surfactant-coated nanoparticles in tertiary oil recovery could facilitate the displacement efficiency, alter the wettability toward more water-wet and avoid viscous fingering for stable flood front and additional oil recovery.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the potential of surface-modified silica nanoparticles using internal olefin sulfonate for enhanced oil recovery

et al. 2019

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“…This indicates that the silica NPs have a very low impact in reducing the IFT of the crude oil−NFs considered in this study. Sofla et al 58 also noticed similar phenomena with increasing NPs concentration up to 2000 ppm. However, with a further increase in the NPs concentration in the NFs, a similar IFT trend may not be observed due to negative surface excess phenomena.…”

Section: Chip Cleaningmentioning

confidence: 60%

Pore-Scale Investigation and Performance Evaluation of SMART LowSal Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery from Matured Reservoirs Using a Lab-on-a-Chip

2022

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Oil recovery from a matured oilfield is challenging due to the low recovery factor. These challenges became opportunities for existing low-salinity water (LSW)-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods. The performance of the LSW in recovering the residual oil from a matured oilfield is improved with the help of additives, viz., surfactant, water-soluble polymer, and silica nanoparticles (NPs). In the present study, series of experiments have been carried out to understand the pore-scale oil displacement phenomena of the novel nanofluids (SMART LowSal) using a microfluidic chip (lab-on-a-chip) integrated with an inverted microscope. The microfluidic chip is saturated with oil and is flooded with different nanofluids (NFs) to recover oil. The efficacy of oil displacement is evaluated using two unique methods (series and parallel). The oil displacement efficacy from the chip matrix, the interaction between rock−oil−nanofluid, and wettability alteration of the rock representative surface have been visually investigated. The oil displacement results are compared with the oil recovery results from the sand-pack reactor and Amott cell. Oil displacement was found to increase with increasing concentration of nanoparticles in NFs and slightly decreases beyond 1000 ppm of NPs. Visual observation clarified the complex interaction of rock− oil−nanofluid systems. A significant reduction in the interfacial tension of the fluid−fluid phase in the presence of surfactant leads to elongation of the oil globules and higher oil recovery. A thin layer of a film of water is noticed between the grain and the fluid phase, which could be the reason for the wettability alteration and improved oil recovery. The lab-on-a-chip method adopted for evaluating the efficacy of oil recovery due to the various nanofluids could help better understand the displacement phenomena and screening of additives for the best formulation of injection fluid for EOR application.

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“…The underlying mechanism in the case of divalent cations is the adsorption of 300 ppm ZnO−γAl 2 O 3 nanoparticles onto the oil components and transportation through the porous media, which also decreases nanoparticle deposition (Figure a). In these circumstances, greater oil mobility results in better oil component transportation and more OR . The mobility of nanoparticles through a porous media is greatly influenced by a number of important factors, including the nanoparticles’ surface charge and stability as well as the surface charge and grain surface roughness of the porous media.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these circumstances, greater oil mobility results in better oil component transportation and more OR. 43 The mobility of nanoparticles through a porous media is greatly influenced by a number of important factors, including the nanoparticles’ surface charge and stability as well as the surface charge and grain surface roughness of the porous media. The adsorption of nanoparticles on the rock surface diminishes when the surface charge signs of the nanoparticles and porous media are similar, and increased mobility is attained because of the nanoparticles’ excellent stability against deposition.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Suspensions that are less stable experience particle deposition, affecting physical properties such as IFT. In this regard, it has been shown in most reports that the stability of nanoparticle suspensions in the presence of surfactants can be increased. − In the case of zinc oxide nanoparticles, anionic surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate are generally very promising in stabilizing the suspension. IFT reduction is caused by surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate, making sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions an excellent choice for EOR processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental Core Flooding Investigation of New ZnO−γAl₂O₃ Nanocomposites for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbonate Reservoirs

et al. 2022

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Generally, crude oil production in mature oil reservoirs is difficult. In this regard, some nanoparticles have been used to upgrade injected water into oil reservoirs. These nanoparticles can be used in a variety of injectable waters, including smart water (SMW) with special salinity. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the injection of SMW with ZnO−γAl 2 O 3 nanoparticles in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The performance of SMW with ZnO−γAl 2 O 3 nanoparticles in regard to contact angle (CA), interfacial tension (IFT) reduction, and oil production with core flooding tests was investigated. The newly prepared ZnO−γAl 2 O 3 structure was characterized by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses in this research. The effects of different concentrations of nanofluids on zeta potential (ZP) and conductivity were investigated. The ZP test confirmed the results of the stability tests of the developed nanofluids in water-based solutions. After the introduction of ZnO−γAl 2 O 3 nanoparticles into the formation of brine and SMW solutions, oil−water (O/W) IFT was reduced. Based on the results, the IFT decreased more when nanoparticles and ions were present in the system. The results of the present study showed that at the concentration of SW+300 ppm ZnO−γAl 2 O 3 , the IFT value reached 11 mN/m from 27.24 mN/m. The results of the CA tests showed that improving the capabilities of salt water in the presence of nanoparticles has resulted in a very effective reduction. Also, in this regard, very hydrophilic wettability was achieved using SMW with stable nanoparticles. Moreover, the results of the present study showed that at the concentration of SMW+300 ppm ZnO−γAl 2 O 3 nanoparticles, the CA value reached 31 from 161°. In the end, the solution of SW+300 ppm ZnO−γAl 2 O 3 improved the OR by 15 and 24%. This research indicated that it is possible to develop and implement different nanoparticles by combining SMW to manage reservoir rock wettability and maximize OR from carbonate reservoirs. Thus, this combination as an effective agent could significantly increase reservoir sweep efficiency. Thus, as a result, using the established hybrid technique has distinct advantages over using SMW flooding alone.

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Understanding the behavior of H+-protected silica nanoparticles at the oil-water interface for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications

Cited by 29 publications

References 54 publications

Evaluating the potential of surface-modified silica nanoparticles using internal olefin sulfonate for enhanced oil recovery

Evaluating the potential of surface-modified silica nanoparticles using internal olefin sulfonate for enhanced oil recovery

Pore-Scale Investigation and Performance Evaluation of SMART LowSal Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery from Matured Reservoirs Using a Lab-on-a-Chip

Experimental Core Flooding Investigation of New ZnO−γAl₂O₃ Nanocomposites for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbonate Reservoirs

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Understanding the behavior of H+-protected silica nanoparticles at the oil-water interface for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications

Cited by 29 publications

References 54 publications

Evaluating the potential of surface-modified silica nanoparticles using internal olefin sulfonate for enhanced oil recovery

Evaluating the potential of surface-modified silica nanoparticles using internal olefin sulfonate for enhanced oil recovery

Pore-Scale Investigation and Performance Evaluation of SMART LowSal Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery from Matured Reservoirs Using a Lab-on-a-Chip

Experimental Core Flooding Investigation of New ZnO−γAl2O3 Nanocomposites for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbonate Reservoirs

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Experimental Core Flooding Investigation of New ZnO−γAl₂O₃ Nanocomposites for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbonate Reservoirs