Nanoparticles for Inhibition of Asphaltenes Deposition during CO2 Flooding

Abstract

The deposition of asphaltenes in porous media is one of the most difficult problems during CO2 flooding. In this paper, the adsorption of asphaltenes onto Al2O3 nanoparticles was studied through two methods: (i) by adding a certain mass of nanoparticles in a fixed volume of solution with different initial concentrations of asphaltenes and (ii) by exposing a certain amount of asphaltenes in a fixed volume of solution to different nanoparticles additions. Then, the impact of Al2O3 nanoparticles on the asphaltene precipitation was investigated using the IFT behavior of the oil–CO2 system. Coreflood tests were conducted to study the potential of nanoparticles for inhibition of asphaltenes damage during CO2 flooding, and the effect of injection parameters of nanofluid. It is found that the solid–liquid equilibrium (SLE) can well describe the isotherms of asphaltene adsorption. The trend of the IFT–pressure curve is affected by asphaltene accumulation at the oil–CO2 interface. The slopes in the high pressure re...