Silica Nanoparticles and pH effect on Sand Production Mechanism due to Smart Water Softening

Abstract

Low salinity water is the most common method of increasing oil production, which has become very common in recent decades. Low-salinity water changes the electric charge of the rock surface in sandstone and carbonate reservoirs, causing the rock to become water wet. By a salt shock, smart water disturbs the static balance of sandstone reservoirs and increases sand production. Stabilizing nanoparticles in smart water can create a nano texture on the rock surface and change its wettability. On the other hand, by sitting on the rock surface in the sandstone reservoirs, they increase the strength of the rock and greatly reduce sand production. One way to improve the properties of low-salt water is to remove magnesium and calcium ions, which can be produced by using smart soft water, which has the ability to increase water viscosity, easier absorption of surfactants, and in any case, smart soft water has higher efficiency and more economical. The purpose of this study is to investigate sand production, with used SiO2 nanoparticles at different pH. By potential zeta test, 1000 ppm SiO2 concentration was selected for testing. The pH value of five containers containing smart soft water And five other containers containing Nanofluid was adjusted to 4.5, 5.5, 6.5, 7.5, and 8.5. In each of the ten containers, a thin section with a specific weight was immersed. After measuring the daily weight of the thin sections for five days, we concluded that the use of SiO2 nanoparticles, 80%, and a change of four pH units, 75%, would prevent sand production.