Abstract
The increasing demand for fossil fuels and the depleting of light crude oil in the next years generates the need to exploit heavy and unconventional crude oils. To face this challenge, the oil and gas industry has chosen the implementation of new technologies capable of improving the efficiency in the enhanced recovery oil (EOR) processes. In this context, the incorporation of nanotechnology through the development of nanoparticles and nanofluids to increase the productivity of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils has taken significant importance, mainly through thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) processes. The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of nanotechnology applied to oil recovery technologies with a focus on thermal methods, elaborating on the upgrading of the heavy and extra-heavy crude oils using nanomaterials from laboratory studies to field trial proposals. In detail, the introduction section contains general information about EOR processes, their weaknesses, and strengths, as well as an overview that promotes the application of nanotechnology. Besides, this review addresses the physicochemical properties of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils in Section 2. The interaction of nanoparticles with heavy fractions such as asphaltenes and resins, as well as the variables that can influence the adsorptive phenomenon are presented in detail in Section 3. This section also includes the effects of nanoparticles on the other relevant mechanisms in TEOR methods, such as viscosity changes, wettability alteration, and interfacial tension reduction. The catalytic effect influenced by the nanoparticles in the different thermal recovery processes is described in Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7. Finally, Sections 8 and 9 involve the description of an implementation plan of nanotechnology for the steam injection process, environmental impacts, and recent trends. Additionally, the review proposes critical stages in order to obtain a successful application of nanoparticles in thermal oil recovery processes.
Highlights
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world’s demand for fossil fuels is expected to increase by about one-third by the year 2035 [1]
The results showed that the magnetite nanoparticles (MNP) have a maximum adsorption capacity of 108.1 mg·g−1 while those of hematite (HNP) have a maximum adsorption capacity of 458 mg·g−1
(6) Environmental remediation technology nanoparticles represent a new generation of environmental remediation technologies that could help solve some of the most challenging environmental problems [165,166,167]; (7) reduction of technology costs since NPs can be cheaper than chemicals, for example, it has been reported that silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) improve oil production being environmentally friendly since are the main component of sandstone [143,168]
Summary
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world’s demand for fossil fuels is expected to increase by about one-third by the year 2035 [1]. Gas methods use hydrocarbon gases (CH4 , C3 H8 , or natural gas) or nonhydrocarbon gases (N2 or CO2 ) that dissolve in crude oil and improve its recovery by decreasing oil viscosity and expanding oil volume [17,18,19,20] The theory behind these processes is the HO and EHO viscosity reduction caused by the dissolving of the gas injected and, the displacement efficiency is improved. The same behavior for EOR is observed by surfactant flooding [16] In this order, gas and chemical injection often lead to poor mobility control and severe viscous fingering mainly in heavy and extra-heavy crude oils due to the high viscosities, resulting in insufficient sweep and displacement efficiencies [22].
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