Interaction of surface-modified silica nanoparticles with clay minerals

Cigdem Omurlu,Q P Nguyen,H Pham

doi:10.1007/s13204-016-0534-y

Cigdem Omurlu, Q P Nguyen + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-016-0534-y

Copy DOI

Abstract

In this study, the adsorption of 5-nm silica nanoparticles onto montmorillonite and illite is investigated. The effect of surface functionalization was evaluated for four different surfaces: unmodified, surface-modified with anionic (sulfonate), cationic (quaternary ammonium (quat)), and nonionic (polyethylene glycol (PEG)) surfactant. We employed ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy to determine the concentration of adsorbed nanoparticles in conditions that are likely to be found in subsurface reservoir environments. PEG-coated and quat/PEG-coated silica nanoparticles were found to significantly adsorb onto the clay surfaces, and the effects of electrolyte type (NaCl, KCl) and concentration, nanoparticle concentration, pH, temperature, and clay type on PEG-coated nanoparticle adsorption were studied. The type and concentration of electrolytes were found to influence the degree of adsorption, suggesting a relationship between the interlayer spacing of the clay and the adsorption ability of the nanoparticles. Under the experimental conditions reported in this paper, the isotherms for nanoparticle adsorption onto montmorillonite at 25 °C indicate that adsorption occurs less readily as the nanoparticle concentration increases.

Highlights

Nanoparticles have recently gained attention in the oil and gas industry for their potential application in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and as nanosensors in hydrocarbon reservoirs (Amanullah and Al-Tahini 2009; Krishnamoorti 2006; Mokhatab et al.2006; Sensoy et al 2009)
This work aims to characterize the influence of surface modification with sulfonate, polyethylene (PEG), or quat/ polyethylene glycols (PEGs) on the adsorption of silica nanoparticles onto clay minerals under moderate conditions to be encountered in subsurface environments, i.e., 25–50 °C temperature, injected fluid with pH 7–10 and 15,000–30,000 ppm TDS for the applications listed above
Parfitt and Greenland (1970) studied the adsorption of polyethylene glycols (PEGs) of varying molecular weights on clay minerals, and they observed that the affinities of polyethylene glycols to the clay surface increased with molecular weights between 200 and 20,000

Summary

Introduction

Nanoparticles have recently gained attention in the oil and gas industry for their potential application in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and as nanosensors in hydrocarbon reservoirs (Amanullah and Al-Tahini 2009; Krishnamoorti 2006; Mokhatab et al.2006; Sensoy et al 2009). Zhao et al (1989) studied the adsorption of PEG onto montmorillonite clays, arguing that the work by Parfitt and Greenland (1970) primarily used PEG of low molecular weight in impractically high concentrations. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD), PEG was observed to stack as either one or two layers between the clay lamellae as compared to polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyamine (FL15) which were restricted to a single layer

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion