Effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the efficiency of surfactant flooding of heavy oil in a glass micromodel

Nanotechnology has the potential to profoundly change enhanced oil recovery and to improve mechanism of recovery, and it is chosen as an alternative method to unlock the remaining oil resources and applied as a new enhanced oil recovery method in last decade. The objective of this research is identification of potential of nanotitanium dioxide as an appropriate agent for improving the efficiency of surfactant flooding in five-spot glass micromodels. In this work a series of solvent injection experiments was conducted on horizontal glass micromodels at same conditions. Surfactant solutions and newly developed nanosurfactant solutions with 1600–2000 ppm sodium dodecyl sulfate were tested. Observations showed that nanotitanium dioxide has appropriate performance in enhancing the oil recovery at surfactant solution, near critical micelle concentration conditions. Also The results of experiments illustrated improvement of heavy oil recovery in micromodel test with nanotitanium dioxide (51.0%).     

Thermal Resistance and Application of Nanoclay on Polymer Flooding in Heavy Oil Recovery

High molecular weight and water-soluble synthetic organic polymers are currently being used in the field with the hope of enhancing the recovery of oil by water flooding. Nanotechnology has been used in many applications and new possibilities are discovered constantly. Recently, a renewed interest arises in the application of nanotechnology for the upstream petroleum industry. The author focuses on roles of clay nanoparticles on polymer viscosity. Polymer-flooding schemes for recovering residual oil have been in general less than satisfactory due to loss of chemical components by adsorption on reservoir rocks, precipitation, and resultant changes in rheological properties. Rheological properties changes are mainly determined by the chemical structure and mix of the polymers, surface properties of the rock, composition of the oil and reservoir fluids, nature of the added polymers, and solution conditions such as salinity and temperature. On the other hand, the author's focus is on viscosity, temperature, and salinity of solutions polyacrylamide polymer solutions with different nanoparticles. Results show that ultimate oil recovery by nanoclay polymer flooding enhances by a factor of 5.8% in comparison to polymer flooding high salinity and temperature.     

Effect of Nanoclay on Heavy Oil Recovery During Polymer Flooding

Polymer flooding for improving sweep efficiency has been studied extensively in laboratory and tested in fields for conventional oils. A novel nanofluid based on polyacrylamide clay has been developed and its properties have been experimentally tested as a suitable candidate in polymer flooding for oil field projects. This authors review the polymer flood fundamentals as they are applied to heavy oil recovery. In this study, they focus on roles of clay nanoparticles on polymer viscosity and improve recovery in heavy oil recovery. The theory is supported with coreflood and physical model results for several oils ranging in viscosity from 200 to 4200 mPa.sec. For some of these coreflood tests the nanopolymer flood was able to increase the oil recovery in comparison to a baseline polymer flood. These laboratory results will be helpful for the planning of nanoclay polymer flooding for heavy oil reservoirs. Also flooding test showed a 5% increase in oil recovery for nanoclay polymer solution in comparison with polymer solution after one pore volume fluid injection.     

Improvement of heavy oil recovery and role of nanoparticles of clay in the surfactant flooding process

Increasing demand and dwindling supply of crude oil have spurred efforts toward enhancing heavy oil recovery. Recently, applications of nanoparticles (NPs) for heavy oil recovery have been reported. In this study, the use of clay NPs is investigated for enhanced oil recovery. Surfactant solutions and newly developed nanosurfactant solutions with 1600–2000 ppm SDS were tested. The crude oil had a viscosity of 1320 mPa.sec at test conditions. In this study, the role of NPs in the adsorption of surfactant onto solid surfaces of reservoir core is studied. The core flooding experiments showed high potential of using nanoclay for enhancing heavy oil recovery, where 52% of surfactant flooded heavy oil was recovered after injecting the NPs solvent. Moreover, nanoclay has generally better performance in enhancing the oil recovery at surfactant solution, near CMC conditions. The nanoclay surfactant solutions improved oil recovery. The nanoclay, however, showed improved performance in comparison with clay.     

Zero-Shot Learning on 3D Point Cloud Objects and Beyond

International Journal of Computer Vision - Zero-shot learning, the task of learning to recognize new classes not seen during training, has received considerable attention in the case of 2D image...     

An Experimental Study of Surfactant Polymer for Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery Using a Glass Micromodel by Adding Nanoclay

The nanotechnology has been widely used in several other industries, and the interest in the oil industry is increasing. Nanotechnology has the potential to profoundly change enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and to improve mechanism of recovery, and it chosen as an alternative method to unlock the remaining oil resources and applied as a new EOR method in last decade. Conventional production procedures give access to on average only one-third of the original oil in place, the use of surfactants and polymers allows for recovery of up to another third of this oil. Chemical flooding is of increasing interest and significance due to high oil prices and the need to increase oil production. Objective of this research is Identification of potential of nanoclay as an appropriate agent for improving the efficiency of surfactant polymer flooding in five-spot glass micromodels. In this work a series of solvent injection experiments was conducted on horizontal glass micromodels at same conditions. Observations showed that in the case of nanoclay concentration, the nanoparticles concentration increased the slope of recovery curve and consequently improved the final oil recovery. Also, the results of experiments illustrated that improvement of heavy oil recovery in micromodel test with nanoclay (60.6%).     

Effect of nano titanium dioxide on heavy oil recovery during polymer flooding

In recent years, polymer flood of heavy oil has been extensively studied in laboratories and successfully applied in several fields. Polymer flooding is the most successful chemical enhanced oil recovery method. However, still, the need for a large amount of polymer, leading to high operational costs, presents a big challenge in technologies. This challenge can be addressed by considering the newly emerging nanomaterials. In this work, the author focuses on roles of TiO₂ nanoparticles on polymer viscosity and improve recovery in heavy oil recovery. He present the results obtained from a coreflood experiment with polymer injection in heavy oil at 1320 mPa.sec viscosity. Nanopolymer exhibits an outstanding flow behavior and enhanced oil recovery performance in coreflood displacement tests compared to base polymers. The results indicate that polymer flooding with higher viscosity can significantly improve oil recovery. Flooding test showed about 4% increase in oil recovery for nanopolymer solution in comparison with polymer solution after one pore volume fluid injection.     

Application of nano-fumed silica in heavy oil recovery

The resources of heavy oil in the world are more than twice those of conventional light crude oil and the technology utilized for the recovery of heavy oil has steadily increased recovery rates. Polymer flooding is the most commonly applied chemical enhanced heavy oil recovery technique. However, still there is a need for a large amount of polymer, leading to high operational costs, presenting a big challenge in technologies. This challenge can be addressed by considering the newly emerging nanomaterials especially those made from silica. In this work, the author focuses on roles of silica nanoparticles on polymer viscosity and improvement of recovery in heavy oil recovery. The author presents the results obtained from a coreflood experiment with polymer injection in heavy oil at 1320 mPa.sec viscosity. The results indicate that polymer flooding with higher viscosity can significantly improve oil recovery. These laboratory results will be helpful for the planning of nano silica polymer flooding for heavy oil reservoirs. Also flooding test showed a 8.3% increase in oil recovery for nanosilica polymer solution in comparison with polymer solution after one pore volume fluid injection.