Emerging applications of nanomaterials in chemical enhanced oil recovery:Progress and perspective

In enhanced oil recovery, different chemical methods utilization improves hydrocarbon recovery due to their fascinating abilities to alter some critical parameters in porous media, such as mobility control, the interaction between fluid to fluid, and fluid to rock surface. For decades the use of surfactant and polymer flooding has been used as tertiary recovery methods. In the current research, the inclusion of nanomaterials in enhanced oil recovery injection fluids solely or in the presence of other chemicals has got colossal interest. The emphasis of this review is on the applicability of nanofluids in the chemical enhanced oil recovery. The responsible mechanisms are an increment in the viscosity of injection fluid, decrement in oil viscosity, reduction in interfacial and surface tension, and alteration of wettability in the rock formation. In this review, important parameters are presented,which may affect the desired behavior of nanoparticles, and the drawbacks of nanofluid and polymer flooding and the need for a combination of nanoparticles with the polymer are discussed. Due to the lack of literature in defining the mechanism of nanofluid in a reservoir, this paper covers majorly all the previous work done on the application of nanoparticles in chemical enhanced oil recovery at home conditions. Finally, the problems associated with the nano-enhanced oil recovery are outlined, and the research gap is identified, which must be addressed to implement polymeric nanofluids in chemical enhanced oil recovery.     

纳米流体黏度特性

引言纳米流体是将纳米粒子添加到基液中形成的稳定悬浮混合液。近10年来,国内外许多学者对纳米流体的导热性能进行了大量研究,添加纳米粒子后溶液的导热能力明显加强。Jung等[1]对微渠道中的纳米流体对流传热特性进行了研究,研究发现粒径为170nm、体积分数为1.8%的Al2O3-水纳     

A review on the application of nanofluids in enhanced oil recovery

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has been widely used to recover residual oil after the primary or secondary oil recovery processes. Compared to conventional methods, chemical EOR has demonstrated high oil recovery and low operational costs. Nanofluids have received extensive attention owing to their advantages of low cost, high oil recovery, and wide applicability. In recent years, nanofluids have been widely used in EOR processes. Moreover, several studies have focused on the role of nanofluids in the nanofluid EOR (N-EOR) process. However, the mechanisms related to N-EOR are unclear, and several of the mechanisms established are chaotic and contradictory. This review was conducted by considering heavy oil molecules/particle/surface micromechanics; nanofluid-assisted EOR methods; multiscale, multiphase pore/core displacement experiments; and multiphase flow fluid-solid coupling simulations. Nanofluids can alter the wettability of minerals (particle/surface micromechanics), oil/water interfacial tension (heavy oil molecules/water micromechanics), and structural disjoining pressure (heavy oil molecules/particle/surface micromechanics). They can also cause viscosity reduction (micromechanics of heavy oil molecules). Nanofoam technology, nanoemulsion technology, and injected fluids were used during the EOR process. The mechanism of N-EOR is based on the nanoparticle adsorption effect. Nanoparticles can be adsorbed on mineral surfaces and alter the wettability of minerals from oil-wet to water-wet conditions. Nanoparticles can also be adsorbed on the oil/water surface, which alters the oil/water interfacial tension, resulting in the formation of emulsions. Asphaltenes are also adsorbed on the surface of nanoparticles, which reduces the asphaltene content in heavy oil, resulting in a decrease in the viscosity of oil, which helps in oil recovery. In previous studies, most researchers only focused on the results, and the nanoparticle adsorption properties have been ignored. This review presents the relationship between the adsorption properties of nanoparticles and the N-EOR mechanisms. The nanofluid behaviour during a multiphase core displacement process is also discussed, and the corresponding simulation is analysed. Finally, potential mechanisms and future directions of N-EOR are proposed. The findings of this study can further the understanding of N-EOR mechanisms from the perspective of heavy oil molecules/particle/surface micromechanics, as well as clarify the role of nanofluids in multiphase core displacement experiments and simulations. This review also presents limitations and bottlenecks, guiding researchers to develop methods to synthesise novel nanoparticles and conduct further research.     

Nanofluids for heat transfer: an engineering approach

An overview of systematic studies that address the complexity of nanofluid systems and advance the understanding of nanoscale contributions to viscosity, thermal conductivity, and cooling efficiency of nanofluids is presented. A nanoparticle suspension is considered as a three-phase system including the solid phase (nanoparticles), the liquid phase (fluid media), and the interfacial phase, which contributes significantly to the system properties because of its extremely high surface-to-volume ratio in nanofluids. The systems engineering approach was applied to nanofluid design resulting in a detailed assessment of various parameters in the multivariable nanofluid systems. The relative importance of nanofluid parameters for heat transfer evaluated in this article allows engineering nanofluids with desired set of properties.     

纳米流体对储层润湿性反转提高石油采收率研究进展

储层岩石的润湿性对于石油采收率至关重要,近年来纳米流体润湿反转技术在提高石油采收率方面的应用得到了广泛关注,并取得了一系列成果。本文首先介绍了利用纳米流体对储层润湿性反转在提高石油采收率方面的应用,包括提高水驱效率和降压增注,其次归纳了润湿性变化的实验评价方法并分析影响纳米流体润湿反转效果的因素,表明纳米材料性质（类型、尺寸、浓度）和地层环境（温度、矿化度）均有不同程度的影响。然后阐述了纳米流体改变储层润湿性的机制,认为其包含纳米流体润湿铺展和纳米颗粒岩石壁面吸附的双重机制。最后指出运用此技术存在的问题和难点,并对以后的研究方向进行了展望。     

聚合物和二元驱对稠油驱油效果影响的实验研究

辽河油田龙618区块是一个常规稠油区块,针对该区块地层压力下降快,原油粘度高等问题,进行室内岩心实验,研究聚合物驱和二元驱对稠油驱油效果的影响。结果表明:二元化学驱采出程度高于聚合物化学驱采出程度,且在二元驱的驱油过程中含水率下降的最低值更低,二元驱低于聚合物驱在驱油过程中的平均注入压力。     

油田化学驱油技术的应用

三次采油是国家重点科技攻关项目,而化学驱油则是三次采油的主攻技术。化学驱油是向地层中注入化学物质,改变地层渗透率、岩石润湿性和驱替相黏度,因此注入液既能减小流度比又能增大毛细管数,从而使驱油效率和波及系数增加,达到提高原油采收率的目的。主要介绍碱驱、聚合物驱、表面活性剂驱、复合驱四种驱油技术的机理、研究进展、应用现状。对各种方法进行了评价和比较,并对化学驱油技术今后的发展提出了建议。     

Influence of different nanoparticles on the gas injection performance in EOR operation: Parametric and CFD simulation study

This study aims to simulate the process of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) during gas injection along with nanoparticles and investigate the affecting parameters in a conventional carbonate oil reservoir. Ansys Fluent software with a suitable multiphase model was used to simulate natural gas injection with a nanoparticle into a core sample. The simulation model was validated with a laboratory test of natural gas injection. Then, to obtain the optimal values of each of the parameters affecting the process of EOR during the natural gas injection along with nanoparticles, the design of the experiment was carried out with the help of Qualitek-4 software and the Taguchi method. Therefore, three factors, including nanoparticle type (clay, titanium oxide, and silica nanoparticles), nanoparticle diameter (2–50 nm), and the volume fraction of nanoparticles in the base fluid (0.5–5 vol.%), as influential factors on the EOR during natural gas injection along with nanoparticles were chosen. The results of the numerical study indicated that silica nanoparticles significantly affect EOR more than clay and titanium oxide nanoparticles. Moreover, the smaller the diameter of nanoparticles (close to 2 nm) and the more significant the volume fraction of nanoparticles in the base fluid (close to 5 vol.%), the higher the oil recovery factor will be. This phenomenon occurs due to changes in the density and viscosity of the base fluid and, consequently, improves the mobility ratio of the injected fluid. On the other hand, the tiny size of nanoparticles allows them to easily enter the pores of the reservoir rock without entrapping and producing oil from them. Eventually, the highest oil recovery factor (59%) was obtained using silica nanoparticles with a diameter of 2 nm and a volume fraction of 5 vol.% in natural gas injection.     

Synergistic Effect of Biosurfactant and Nanoparticle Mixture on Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery

Recently, nanoparticles have become an attractive agent for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Because much of the work on nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery is still at the laboratory stage and to gain a better understanding of this technique, it is essential to study the effect of nanoparticles on EOR. In addition, the world is now more environmentally aware, presenting the opportunity to use biosurfactants for EOR. In this paper, the synergistic effect of biosurfactant and nanoparticles on the removal of oil in a glass micromodel was evaluated. In this study, an aqueous solution of emulsan biosurfactant with addition of SiO₂ nanoparticles was used as a nanofluid. The emulsan biosurfactant was produced by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus PTCC1318. The production of emulsan was confirmed by FTIR and ¹H NMR analysis. According to our results, the use of the mixture of biosurfactant and nanoparticle (nanofluid) permitted a 90% reduction of interfacial tension in comparison with biosurfactant solution alone. Micromodel oil displacement experiments with kerosene showed around 10 and 20% recovery of residual oil after water flooding when the emulsan and nanofluid were injected, respectively. These results are useful in extending the application of nanostructures in ex situ microbial enhanced oil recovery.     

氧化铝有机纳米流体的流动传热基础特性

以氧化铝为纳米粒子、丙二醇和水为基础液体制备了氧化铝有机纳米流体,分别测量了它的沸点、热导率、比热容和黏度。以1％～5％（体积分数）的氧化铝纳米流体作为冷介质,测试了在车用机油冷却器中的传热系数和流动阻力。试验结果表明,纳米粒子能够显著强化基础液体在机油冷却器中的换热能力,粒子体积分数和流体温度是影响纳米流体热物性的重要因素。氧化铝纳米流体的沸点高于120℃,比热容随体积分数增加而降低,热导率、黏度和在机油冷却器中的传热系数均随粒子体积分数的增加而提高。在试验Ⅱ中,5％（体积分数）纳米流体的平均传热系数比基础液体提高了124.56％,而流动阻力增幅较小。     

Ultrasonication effects on thermal and rheological properties of carbon nanotube suspensions

The preparation of nanofluids is very important to their thermophysical properties. Nanofluids with the same nanoparticles and base fluids can behave differently due to different nanofluid preparation methods. The agglomerate sizes in nanofluids can significantly impact the thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids and lead to a different heat transfer performance. Ultrasonication is a common way to break up agglomerates and promote dispersion of nanoparticles into base fluids. However, research reports of sonication effects on nanofluid properties are limited in the open literature. In this work, sonication effects on thermal conductivity and viscosity of carbon nanotubes (0.5 wt%) in an ethylene glycol-based nanofluid are investigated. The corresponding effects on the agglomerate sizes and the carbon nanotube lengths are observed. It is found that with an increased sonication time/energy, the thermal conductivity of the nanofluids increases nonlinearly, with the maximum enhancement of 23% at sonication time of 1,355 min. However, the viscosity of nanofluids increases to the maximum at sonication time of 40 min, then decreases, finally approaching the viscosity of the pure base fluid at a sonication time of 1,355 min. It is also observed that the sonication process not only reduces the agglomerate sizes but also decreases the length of carbon nanotubes. Over the current experimental range, the reduction in agglomerate size is more significant than the reduction of the carbon nanotube length. Hence, the maximum thermal conductivity enhancement and minimum viscosity increase are obtained using a lengthy sonication, which may have implications on application.     

Ag纳米流体浸没射流冲击换热特性

采用超声膜扩散法一步制备出水基Ag纳米流体作为实验工质,并对不同质量分数的Ag纳米流体在受限浸没阵列射流冲击针肋热沉中的流动和换热特性进行了实验研究.结果表明:采用超声膜扩散法制备的Ag纳米颗粒粒径分布均匀,平均粒径只有4.8 nm;表面活性剂对纳米流体的黏度影响较大;相同射流速度下,与基液(水+表面活性剂)相比,Ag...     

Preparation and properties of copper-oil-based nanofluids

In this study, the lipophilic Cu nanoparticles were synthesized by surface modification method to improve their dispersion stability in hydrophobic organic media. The oil-based nanofluids were prepared with the lipophilic Cu nanoparticles. The transport properties, viscosity, and thermal conductivity of the nanofluids have been measured. The viscosities and thermal conductivities of the nanofluids with the surface-modified nanoparticles have higher values than the base fluids do. The composition has more significant effects on the thermal conductivity than on the viscosity. It is valuable to prepare an appropriate oil-based nanofluid for enhancing the heat-transfer capacity of a hydrophobic system. The effects of adding Cu nanoparticles on the thermal oxidation stability of the fluids were investigated by measuring the hydroperoxide concentration in the Cu/kerosene nanofluids. The hydroperoxide concentrations are observed to be clearly lower in the Cu nanofluids than in their base fluids. Appropriate amounts of metal nanoparticles added in a hydrocarbon fuel can enhance the thermal oxidation stability.     

Evaluating the performance of designed terpolymers for polymer flooding

In this work, polymeric materials designed for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) were evaluated for their intended application. Properties including viscosity, flow through porous media (resistance factor and residual resistance factor), and heavy oil displacement (incremental oil recovery) were assessed for designed terpolymers of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulphonic acid (AMPS), acrylamide (AAm), and acrylic acid (AAc). The same properties were evaluated for two commercially available reference materials (e.g., partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides or HPAM) with similar characteristics, which allowed for direct comparison between the newly designed terpolymers and materials that are currently on the market for the polymer flooding application. The incremental oil recovery directly associated with polymer flooding, which includes both the polymer flooding and post-polymer waterflooding stages (excluding the initial waterflooding injection (or secondary) oil recovery), demonstrates that the designed terpolymers provided a higher incremental recovery (42% and 58%) than the reference materials (33% and 46%). Therefore, the terpolymers provided a higher contribution to incremental (or enhanced) oil recovery than the typical HPAM. Additionally, both designed terpolymers showed better injectivity in unconsolidated porous media and are less likely to cause plugging than the commercially available reference materials. Therefore, using a targeted design approach ultimately led to polymeric materials with excellent performance for EOR polymer flooding applications.     

Experimental study of secondary and tertiary modes combined low salinity water and polymer flooding in sandstone porous media

Combined low salinity water (LSW) and polymer (LSP) flooding is the most attractive method of enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Considerable research has investigated effective mechanisms of LSP flooding. In this study, 10 laboratory core flood tests were carried out to evaluate the effects of LSW injection into samples without any clay particles, the timing of LSW injection, and the advantages of adding polymer to the injection water for EOR. Secondary and tertiary LSW injections were performed on sandpack samples with different wettability states and water salinity. Tertiary LSW injection after secondary synthetic seawater (SSW) injection in oil-wet samples resulted in 13% more oil recovery, while the water-wet sample showed no effect on the oil recovery. Secondary LSW injection in oil-wet porous media improved oil recovery by 8% of the original oil in place (OOIP) more than secondary SSW injection. Tertiary LSP flooding after secondary SSW injection in the oil-wet sample provided a recovery of 67.3% of OOIP, while secondary LSW injection followed by tertiary LSP flooding yielded the maximum ultimate oil recovery of about 77% of OOIP. The findings showed that the positive EOR effects of LSW and LSP flooding were the results of wettability alteration, pH increase, improved mobility ratio, better sweep efficiency, and oil redistribution. In addition, results showed that wettability alteration is possible without the presence of clay particles. The findings of this study can help for a better understanding of fluid propagation through the porous media and an investigation of delays in reaching ultimate oil recovery.     

微通道中原位分散技术可控制备氧化铜纳米流体及复合薄膜前体

疏水纳米颗粒分散于有机体系中形成的纳米分散体,具有独特的理化性质和重要的应用价值。其中,纳米颗粒的单分散性、均匀性和稳定性是决定纳米分散体性能的关键。以CuO纳米分散体作为纳米流体和复合薄膜前体这一典型体系为研究对象,通过设计平板型微通道实现了CuO纳米分散体制备过程中的液滴聚并和改性CuO纳米颗粒的原位分散。制备了颗粒体积分数达2%、平均粒径约30 nm的CuO-基础油纳米流体,该纳米流体具有良好的稳定性和达到0.184 W·m^-1·K^-1的较高热导率;制备的CuO-PDMS（聚二甲基硅氧烷）复合薄膜具有较强的抗菌性能和颗粒复合层稳定性。通过系统性实验研究,证明了原位分散方法在强化改性颗粒高效分散中的重要作用,确定了颗粒性能及分散行为对分散体性能的影响规律。     

碳酸盐岩油藏提高采收率技术研究应用进展

介绍了国内外碳酸盐岩油藏实施的注CO2驱、注N2驱、注空气驱、注烃气驱、热采技术和化学驱的历史与现状,同时探讨了未来碳酸盐岩油藏提高采收率技术发展趋势:注气提高采收率技术仍会是主要方法,化学驱可能成为气驱的替代或辅助方式。对于化学驱而言,开发新型化学剂是提高采收率的重要途径,未来的研究应主要集中在以下两个重要领域:①选择显碱性的有机化合物;②研究基于新工程材料("纳米流体")的新流体配方。     

Lab simulation of profile modification and enhanced oil recovery with a quaternary ammonium cationic polymer

Long-term water flooding in oilfield exploitation generally results in a marked increase of interlayer and/or inner-layer heterogeneity of oil reservoirs and premature polymer production in large quantities from flooding reservoirs. This paper presents a novel quaternary ammonium cationic polymer (NCP), which was prepared by using maize starch and (2,3-epoxypropyl)trimethylammonium chloride as raw materials. The effect of NCP on water plugging and profile modificaton after polymer HPAM (partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide) flooding was evaluated by laboratory simulation tests of enhanced oil recovery. The experimental results indicate that crosslinking gel system formed after HPAM-NCP alternate injection could effectively seal off the high permeability zone to force the successive liquid to flow to mid-low permeability zones and get profile control in depth. In addition, the contact angle measurements reveal that the adsorption of NCP on the montmorillonite changed its surface wettability and enhanced its hydrophilicity, which promoted enhance oil recovery significantly.     

Review on application of nanoparticles for EOR purposes: A critical review of the opportunities and challenges

Nanoparticles have already gained attentions for their countless potential applications in enhanced oil recovery.Nano-sized particles would help to recover trapped oil by several mechanisms including interfacial tension reduction, impulsive emulsion formation and wettability alteration of porous media. The presence of dispersed nanoparticles in injected fluids would enhance the recovery process through their movement towards oil–water interface. This would cause the interfacial tension to be reduced. In this research, the effects of different types of nanoparticles and different nanoparticle concentrations on EOR processes were investigated. Different flooding experiments were investigated to reveal enhancing oil recovery mechanisms. The results showed that nanoparticles have the ability to reduce the IFT as well as contact angle, making the solid surface to more water wet. As nanoparticle concentration increases more trapped oil was produced mainly due to wettability alteration to water wet and IFT reduction. However, pore blockage was also observed due to adsorption of nanoparticles, a phenomenon which caused the injection pressure to increase. Nonetheless, such higher injection pressure could displace some trapped oil in the small pore channels out of the model. The investigated results gave a clear indication that the EOR potential of nanoparticle fluid is significant.     

海上油藏变浓度聚合物驱剖面控制实验与应用

针对渤海强非均质、中高粘油藏聚驱过程中低渗层吸液剖面初期改善,之后又变差的现象,首先通过岩心驱替实验分析了聚合物溶液浓度对吸液剖面的影响规律;然后测试了高浓-低浓聚合物驱交替注入方式在非均质油藏中的驱油效果。结果表明:通过在聚驱早、中期阶段增加聚合物溶液的浓度,能够对高渗层有效的封堵,增加注入压力、显著改善低渗层的吸液剖面。结合油田实例研究表明:在现场条件允许情况下,相同聚合物用量,采用高浓-低浓段塞聚合物驱方式相比恒浓度聚驱,能够提高低渗层动用程度,增加总体采收率约1%。