A review of mechanisms influencing stable rheology complex Pickering foams for carbon utilization & storage in subsurface formations

Abstract

While CO2 foams have been utilized for tertiary oil recovery and carbon collection, utilization, and storage for quite some time, but due to foam instability, the storage efficiency and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) of this method have been less efficient. Pickering foam represents a complex fluid made of CO2 bubbles stabilized by nanoparticles in water (NPs). This approach considerably enhances EOR and CO2 storage performance. The various mechanisms influencing the stabilization of a foam by an NPs have also been discussed. As a CO2 foam enhancer, NPs improve the foam layer & interfacial dilatational viscoelasticity and dynamic CO2 storage. Incorporating NPs on the foam lamella inhibits foam bubble disintegration and enhances foam’s durability. The novelty of the work lies in the concise explanation of various mechanisms influencing the success of Pickering foams in this role. A stable CO2 foam when injected into a heterogeneous porous media causes a larger areal sweep, even under adverse shear conditions and regains initial rheological profile, once shear is withdrawn, and the improved CO2 storage contributed to a boost in sweep efficiency, enabling the collection of larger amounts of oil.