Synthesis of sodium nanoparticles for promising extraction of heavy oil

Abstract

As reserves of conventional light oil become depleted, recovery of viscous oil is urgently needed to meet increasing energy demands worldwide before clean energy sources are fully developed. Current oil extraction technologies suffer from low efficiency, high cost, and environmental concerns. Attempts to use nanotechnology in this field have thus far been recognized to have only auxiliary effects, rather than playing a major role. Here we report a reactive sodium nanoparticle fluid able to in situ recover highly viscous crude oil very effectively even at room temperature. Its high recovery performance is based on a chemical reaction that allows the nanofluid to exhibit multiple benefits in displacing subsurface oil: heat, hydrogen gas, and sodium hydroxide. In addition, multi-stage nanofluid injection is found to be superior to a single injection mode. Thus, it opens a new way to extract and process crude oil.