Experimental investigation of nanoparticle enhanced oil recovery techniques using micromodels

Abstract

Nanotechnology has found widespread application in a diverse range of industries. Researchers are now investigating whether nanotechnology can be applied to enhance oil recovery. The goal of enhanced oil recovery is to manipulate the fluid-fluid properties (interfacial tension, viscosity), and fluid-rock properties (contact angle, relative permeability) to improve pore scale recovery efficiency. In this study, nanofluids were prepared and injected into micromodels to study their effectiveness on oil recovery. Silicon oxide and aluminum oxide nanoparticles were used. Nanofluid viscosity and interfacial tension between nanofluid and oil was measured and modeled. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to investigate the effect of the factors and their interactions. Fluid characterization data shows that nanoparticles are effective in both interfacial tension reduction and viscosity enhancement. The results from the micromodel studies indicate that adding a small amount of nanoparticles to the brine can enhance oil recovery by approximately 10 % - 20 %.