Experimental study of chemical sand consolidation using epoxy and furan resins for oil wells: Experimental design models

Abstract

The compressive strength, permeability, porosity and Young's modulus are the most important parameters affecting on the consolation of oil wells rocks. The correct prediction of these parameters depends on the type and concentration of chemical substances in them. Therefore, modeling and optimization of these parameters on the basis of the amount and concentration of chemicals (resins) are important for reducing the production of sand along with hydrocarbon fluids to the highest possible extent. In this research work, the individual and interactive effects of the amount and concentration of chemical substances were studied on compressive strength, permeability, porosity and Young's modulus for the epoxy and furan sand consolidated systems. The experimental design and optimization of the parameters were performed according to Design Expert software.The proposed models can be used to predict the above mentioned parameters in the specified ranges with an error of less than 10%. Also, the models could be employed as an optimization tool for designing epoxy and furan sand consolidation operations in the oil and gas industries. The samples made under optimum conditions with both resins have approximately mechanical strength four times higher than the limit critical sand production. The samples permeability was about 2000 md for epoxy resin and 7500 md for the furan resin at optimum conditions. On the other hand, the Young's modulus of the sample made with epoxy resin was 20% less than the furan resin sample, which showed that the resistance of the epoxy resin sample is higher than that of the furan resin against stress changes. Finally, the accuracy of the optimization and modeling of experimental data were studied through both statistical and experimental data. The accuracy of the modeling and optimization was evident in both methods.