Nanomaterials for subsurface application: study of particles retention in porous media

E Nourafkan,D Wen,M Garum,H Esmaeili,Z Hu

doi:10.1007/s13204-021-01843-2

Abstract

The ability to transport nanoparticles through porous media has interesting engineering applications, notably in reservoir capacity exploration and soil remediation. A series of core-flooding experiments were conducted for quantitative analysis of functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles transport through various porous media including calcite, dolomite, silica, and limestone rocks. The adsorption of surfactants on the rock surface and nanoparticle retention in pore walls were evaluated by chemical oxygen demand (COD) and UV–Vis spectroscopy. By applying TiO2 nanoparticles, 49.3 and 68.0 wt.% of surfactant adsorption reduction were observed in pore walls of dolomite and silica rock, respectively. Not surprisingly, the value of nanoparticle deposition for dolomite and silica rocks was near zero, implying that surfactant adsorption is proportional to nanoparticle deposition. On the other hand, surfactant adsorption was increased for other types of rock in presence of nanoparticles. 5.5, 13.5, and 22.4 wt.% of nanoparticle deposition was estimated for calcite, black and red limestone, respectively. By making a connection between physicochemical rock properties and nanoparticle deposition rates, we concluded that the surface roughness of rock has a significant influence on mechanical trapping and deposition of nanoparticles in pore-throats.

Highlights

Nowadays, nanotechnology has become one of the promising approaches in enhanced hydrocarbon recovery, soil remediation and reservoir characterization. 0D (e.g. QDs), 1D (e.g. CNTs), 2D (e.g. Graphene oxide) and 3D NPs were successfully applied for reservoir exploration (Hu et al 2019), foam stabilizing (Yekeen et al 2017) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) (Luo et al 2016; Haruna et al 2019)
Surfactant slugs could decrease the interfacial tension (IFT) between oil and aqueous phases which results in reducing the fluid capillary force in pore-scale, mobilizing more residual crude oil in
This study aims to address the gap in the literature by investigating the effect of pore wall’s properties on the transport of surfactant and functionalized NPs through five different types of reservoir rocks

Summary

Introduction

Nanotechnology has become one of the promising approaches in enhanced hydrocarbon recovery, soil remediation and reservoir characterization. 0D (e.g. QDs), 1D (e.g. CNTs), 2D (e.g. Graphene oxide) and 3D NPs (e.g. silica, titanium oxides and alumina) were successfully applied for reservoir exploration (Hu et al 2019), foam stabilizing (Yekeen et al 2017) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) (Luo et al 2016; Haruna et al 2019). 0D (e.g. QDs), 1D (e.g. CNTs), 2D (e.g. Graphene oxide) and 3D NPs (e.g. silica, titanium oxides and alumina) were successfully applied for reservoir exploration (Hu et al 2019), foam stabilizing (Yekeen et al 2017) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) (Luo et al 2016; Haruna et al 2019). Injection of NPs along with low salinity water (LSW) or chemicals (surfactant/polymer) is suggested to alter the rheological properties of injecting fluid, reduce IFT between oil/aqueous phases and decrease the surfactant adsorption on the pore walls of porous media (Olayiwola and Dejam 2019; Venancio et al 2020). Employing the synergistic effect between NPs and surfactant is a promising idea for the improvement of chemical flooding efficiency (Fig. 1) (Wu et al 2017; De Avila et al 2016; Venancio et al 2020). Betancur et al (2019) evaluated the impact of magnetic NPs on the adsorption reduction of surfactants mixture (propoxy sulfate and olefin sulfonate) in the sand pack porous media

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Conclusion