Wettability Alteration Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

2025, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects

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2025, Results in Engineering

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques play a crucial role in increasing hydrocarbon production from mature reservoirs, particularly in light and heavy oil systems. This study explores the potential of synthesized citric acidcoated magnetite (Fe 3 O 4) nanoparticles (CM NPs) as a novel, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly EOR agent. The synthesized CM NPs were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to confirm their structure, size distribution, stability, and functional groups. Their EOR performance was then evaluated in both homogeneous and heterogeneous two-dimensional micromodels and compared with conventional low-salinity water flooding (5000 ppm NaCl) and polymer (polyacrylamide) flooding. Image analysis revealed that in the heterogeneous heavy oil micromodel, CM NPassisted flooding achieved a recovery factor (RF) of 66.02 %, which was higher than water flooding (59.04 %) but lower than polymer flooding (83.12 %). In the homogeneous light oil model, CM NPs achieved 80.89 % RF, surpassing water flooding (67.69 %) and approaching polymer flooding (86.36 %) performance. The improved oil recovery using CM NPs is attributed to their ability to reduce interfacial tension, alter wettability, and slightly increase displacing fluid viscosity. Additionally, their magnetic properties allow for easy postrecovery separation, enhancing environmental sustainability and reusability. These findings demonstrate that CM NPs offer a promising alternative to traditional EOR methods, particularly in scenarios where polymer flooding may be less practical or economically viable.

2025

Impact and penetration of a liquid droplet on a substrate having a line of parallel capillary openings drilled along its thickness is experimentally studies. Different regimes of droplet penetration are identified. At low impact velocities, the droplet impacts on the substrate, spreads, and penetrates into the substrate mainly due to the capillary action in each tubular hole. At higher impact velocities, the droplet impacts on the substrate, spreads and penetrates due to the droplet inertia, and then penetrates further due to the capillary action. Threshold velocities for liquid penetration into capillary tubes are identified. Two penetration regimes, capillary and inertia driven regimes, have been studied extensively for a range of parameters related to droplet impact on a line of parallel capillary openings.

2025

2025, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

This study presents experiment and surface complexation modeling (SCM) of synthetic calcite zeta potential in brine with mixed potential determining ions (PDI) under various CO 2 partial pressures. Such SCM, based on systematic zeta potential measurement in mixed brines (Mg 2+ , SO 4 2-, Ca 2+ and CO 3 2-), is currently not available in the literature and is expected to facilitate understanding of the role of electrostatic forces in calcite wettability alteration. We first use a double layer SCM to model experimental zeta potential measurements and then systematically analyze the contribution of charged surface species. Calcite surface charge is investigated as a function of four PDIs and CO 2 partial pressure. We show that our model can accurately predict calcite zeta potential in brine containing a combination of four PDIs and apply it to predict zeta potential in ultra-low and pressurized CO 2 environments for potential application in enhanced oil recovery in carbonate reservoirs. Model prediction reveals that calcite surface will be positively charged in all considered brines in pressurized CO 2 environment (>1atm). The calcite zeta potential is sensitive to CO 2 partial pressure in the various brine in the order of Na 2 CO 3 > Na 2 SO 4 > NaCl > MgCl 2 > CaCl 2 (Ionic strength=0.1M).

2025, scientific reports

This paper introduces a hybrid enhanced oil recovery (HEOR) method that combines a low-salinity water flooding (LSWF) and nanoparticles (NPs) stabilized with a green surfactant. We experimentally investigated the use of combinations of silica (SiO 2) and gamma alumina (γ-Al 2 O 3) nanohybrids stabilized with Gum Arabic (GA) at different water salinities. Nanofluids (NFs) were prepared by dispersing γ-Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 NPs (0.1 wt%) in deionized water (DW), synthetic seawater (SSW), 2, 5, and 10 times diluted samples of synthetic seawater (in short 2-DSSW, 5-DSSW and 10-DSSW, respectively). The challenge is that NPs become unstable in the presence of cations in saline water. Moreover, an attempt was made to introduce NFs with high stability for a long period of time as the optimal NFs. The effects of temperature on the behaviour of optimal NFs in the presence of different base fluids, distinct mass ratios of γ-Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 and various concentrations of surfactant were analysed via interfacial tension (IFT) and viscosity measurements. The results of the viscosity measurement showed that with increasing temperature, the NPs dispersed in DW had lower viscosity than NPs dispersed in various salinities. However, the IFT measurement for NPs dispersed in different base-fluids revealed that with increasing temperature and presence of cations in saline water, IFT values decreases. Although, the minimum IFT for hybrid nanofluid (HNF) γ-Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 modified with GA and dispersed in 10-DSSW was reported 0.99 mN/m. Finally, according to the micromodel flooding results, in oil-wet conditions, the highest oil recovery for combination γ-Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 modified with GA and dispersed in 2-DSSW was reported 60.34%. It was concluded that NFs modified with GA could enhanced applicability of LSWF via delay in breakthrough time and improving sweep efficiency.

2025, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

Mineral wettability and wettability alteration are important factors that determine the distribution and mobility of oil during the recovery process. Because wettability is dependent on many factors (e.g., hydrocarbon composition, mineralogy, and pH), predicting mineral wettability is often difficult. The goal of this study is to look at changes that occur on the mineral itself, specifically changes in the surface structure and surface potential, using experimental methods complemented by quantum-mechanical calculations to better understand the molecular-level processes involved in wettability alteration. Nanoscale surface imaging is combined with Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) to characterize changes in topography and surface potential for water-wet (hydrophilic) and oil-wet (hydrophobic) calcite surfaces, using the surfactant hexamethyldisilazane (NHSi 2 (CH 3 ) 6 , HMDS) to render the calcite surface oil-wet. KPFM measurements show that HMDS adsorbs preferentially on step edges of the calcite surface and is coupled by an increase in surface potential, which suggests a decrease in electron density in the valence band wherever HMDS is adsorbed. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of HMDS adsorption on calcite confirm an increase in the surface potential of oil-wet calcite and show that Ca corner sites are associated with the most favorable HMDS adsorption energies. Coadsorption of H + and OH -with HMDS is more likely to occur at edges and Ca kink sites and indicates that this surfactant may be an effective wettability modifier at a range of pH conditions. This study is the first application of KPFM to mineral wettability and demonstrates that with further development KPFM can be a powerful tool to study interactions between specific functional groups and surface sites modifying the surface's electronic structure and wettability.

2024, Fuel

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements can be used for estimating porosity, fluid saturation, poresize distribution, and sometimes wettability. However, quantitative interpretation of rock wettability can be challenging in rocks with complex pore structures in the presence of different fluid types. Conventional NMRbased wettability models are applicable only for rocks with unimodal pore-size distributions. In this paper, we develop a new workflow for simultaneous assessment of fluid saturation and wettability in partially-saturated mixed-wet rock samples using 2D NMR measurements. We verify the reliability of this new workflow in three rock types, including unimodal and multi-modal pore-size distributions. The main inputs to the introduced workflow include the transverse relaxivity (T 2) and Diffusivity-T 2 (D-T 2) or longitudinal-T 2 (T 1-T 2) NMR measurements of the partially-saturated mixed-wet rock samples. Other input parameters include the bulk relaxivities of the saturating fluids and the NMR responses of fully water-saturated water-wet and fully oil-saturated oil-wet samples of the same rock type as the partially-saturated mixed-wet rock. In the verification step, we vary the fluid saturation by injecting brine, decane, or diesel into the rock sample using a core-flood setup. Then, we obtain NMR measurements at different fluid saturations to estimate the water/hydrocarbon saturation and wettability. Results demonstrated that the NMR-based wettability index has an average absolute difference of 0.18 when compared to the Amott Index, and the NMR-based water saturation estimates are within 18% average relative error of the gravimetric-estimates for the brine and diesel saturated rock samples.

2024, arXiv (Cornell University)

Superantiwettability, including superhydrophobicity, is an enhanced effect of surface ruggedness via the Cassie-Baxter wetting state 1 , and has many applications such as antifouling 2,3 , drop manipulation 4,5 , and self-cleaning 6-9 ,. However, superantiwettability is easily broken due to Cassie-Baxter to Wenzel wetting state transition caused by various environmental disturbances 10-17. Since all observed reverse transitions required energy inputs 18-20 , it was believed that the Cassie-Baxter state couldn't be monostable 21. Here we show that there is a regime in the phase space of the receding contact angle and ruggedness parameters in which a Wenzel state can automatically transit into the Cassie-Baxter one without an external energy input, namely the Cassie-Baxter state in this regime is monostable. We further find a simple criterion that predicts very well experimentally observed Wenzel to Cassie-Baxter transitions for different liquids placed on various pillar-structured substrates. These results can be used as a guide for designing and engineering durable superantiwetting surfaces. To find rugged substrates that may have monostable Cassie-Baxter states, we use various periodical pillar-structures fabricated from a flat silicon wafer. Figure 1a shows a typical pillarstructured substrate with the pillar side length = 20 m, height ℎ = 100 m and separation = 100 m. This rugged surface is treated with a commercial coating (Glaco Mirror Coat "Zero", Soft 99, Japan) 22,23 that contains hydrophobic nanoparticles (see Supplementary Section 1). The receding and advancing contact angles of water on a flat silicon surface with this coating are measured as 150 ± 3° and 164 ± 2°, respectively. Figure 1b shows a side view of a water drop placed on this substrate, appearing clearly in the Cassie-Baxter state (namely the liquid rests on the tops of the

2024, Scientia Iranica

In order to investigate the feasibility and e ects of core permeability on capillary imbibition recoverable oil from carbonate cores, some laboratory tests were carried out at the EOR research laboratories of Sharif University, Iran. Outcrop rocks with di erent permeabilities were taken away from a recognized outcrop and used in these experiments. Special core analysis tests were run on two core samples to nd out relative permeability and end point saturations. Wellhead separator oil and gas samples were collected and recombined to a reservoir gas-oil ratio. A core ooding system with a capability of free and forced imbibition testing was designed and installed. A number of free and forced imbibition tests with di erent cores under reservoir conditions were conducted. The results of the tests revealed that capillary imbibition is an almost fast process at laboratory scale and the higher permeable cores will imbibe more easily. A good correlation could be obtained when the ratio of recovery factor to ultimate recovery factor versus a de nite function of time was plotted. From these experiments, it concluded that an up scaled relation can be perceived for very low permeable cores, the testing of which may take too long.

2024

Submitted for the DFD14 Meeting of The American Physical Society Wettability Patterning for Enhanced Dropwise Condensation 1 ARITRA GHOSH, RANJAN GANGULY 2 , CONSTANTINE MEGARIDIS, University of Illinois at Chicago-Dropwise condensation (DwC), in order to be sustainable, requires removal of the condensate droplets. This removal is frequently facilitated by gravity. The rate of DwC heat transfer depends strongly on the maximum departing droplet diameter. Based on wettability patterning, we present a facile technique designed to control the maximum droplet size in DwC within vapor/air atmospheres, and demonstrate how this approach can be used to enhance the corresponding heat transfer rate. We examine various hydrophilic-superhydrophilic patterns, which, respectively sustain DwC and filmwise (FwC) condensation on the substrate. The fabrication method does not employ any hydrophobizing agent. By juxtaposing parallel lines of hydrophilic (CA ∼ 78 •) and superhydrophilic (CA ∼ 0 •) regions on the condensing surface, we create alternating domains of DwC and FwC. The average droplet size on the DwC domain is reduced by ∼ 60% compared to the theoretical maximum, which corresponds to the line width. We compare heat transfer rate between unpatternend DwC surfaces and patterned DwC surfaces. Even after sacrificing 40% of condensing area, we achieve up to 20% improvement in condensate collection rate using an interdigitated superhydrophilic pattern, inspired by the vein network of plant leaves. The bioinspired interdigitated pattern is found to outperform the straight hydrophilic-superhydrophilic pattern, particularly under higher vapor loadings in an air/vapor ambient atmosphere.

2024, Journal of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

Condensate and liquid blockage is a serious problem in gas condensate reservoirs as it reduces gas production. There are many methods to solve this problem, however, most of them are temporary or expensive. Wettability alteration of reservoir rocks from a liquid-wet state to a gas-wet state via nanoparticles is a long-lasting, cheap, and environmentally friendly solution to condensate blockage. With the aim of promoting this treatment in field scales, this review article presents a report of almost all the research carried out in this area. The results of different research teams are compared and the advantages and disadvantages of each research are detailed. Furthermore, the mechanisms and effects of gas-wetting alteration are fully explained, and the existence of an optimum wettability state is discussed. We found that silica nanoparticles are the most commonly used type of nanoparticles in wettability alteration towards a gas wet state due to their effectiveness and endurance. Most importantly, we present two new theories about the application of nanoparticles in the wettability alteration process of condensate reservoirs. First, it may be possible to inject nanoparticles into reservoirs via foam which not only stabilizes foam but also increases the effectiveness of wettability alteration treatment. Second, nanoparticles can be used to alter the wettability and prevent fines migration and sand production simultaneously. This review can be utilized as a reference in expanding the use of nanoparticles in gas-wetting alteration in field scales.

2024, Petroleum Research

2024

During coreflood tests in the laboratory to determine relative permeability, capillary discontinuities at sample ends influence fluid flow and retention. When this influence or end-effect artifact is appreciable, the laboratory data incorrectly models the reservoircondition scenario, which may result in serious errors in reservoir performance predictions. The end effect artifact is a well-known problem with unsteady-state test data. It is also an issue with steady-state data; it is typically handled by increasing sample length or experiment flow rates. Increasing sample length by arranging a series of core plugs to create a long composite is not a perfect fix to the end-effect issue, because endeffects can still exist between core plugs as well as at the end of the composite. Increasing flow rate may not be possible for gas-liquid or gas-condensate tests in which the experimentalist limits pressure drop because of mass transfer considerations. The “Intercept Method” is a modified st...

2024

This paper simulated the dynamic process of a water droplet impinging onto a wax substrate in COMSOL, using the Phase Field method for tracking the free surface. The predicted spreading factor and apex height agree well with the experimental results during the initial dynamic impingement process, but the discrepancy between the simulation and experimental results increases in the later spreading and receding stages. Three contact angle models were implemented and the simulation results were compared to study the effects of the contact angle on the impingement process. It was found that a dynamic contact angle model is important for accurately modeling the droplet spreading and receding process. The instantaneous evolution of the dynamic contact angle cannot be represented by a constant static contact angle or the advancing-receding static contact angles. The simulation results can provide a good understanding of the dynamic impingement process and provide insights on how surface wettability can affect the droplet spreading and rebounding process.

2024

Many atmospheric water harvesting technologies have been produced to mitigate water scarcity as an auxiliary source of water. These technologies may be described as direct and indirect water collection techniques. The direct method is to induce a phase-change turning from vapor to liquid on a cooling surface and generate condensate without interim processes. On the other hand, the indirect method has absorption or adsorption processes to take water from humid air before producing water. This paper focuses on the direct methods and discusses the effects of humidity and surface temperature on water generation rates and condensate droplet formation patterns in a macro-and micro-view with previous experimental data. In the view of water harvesting, the generation rate of condensate showed a dependency on the temperature difference between a dew point and a surface temperature. As a result of analyzing droplet formation behaviors considering the importance of the subcooling effect in the macro-view, it was investigated that droplet formation rates and the growth regimes of the condensate also had strong relationships with the humidity of air and the surface temperature. This review would be useful for further research on the modeling of condensate droplet formation and condensation enhancement for thermally driven water generation systems.

2024, Petroleum Science and Technology

First and foremost thanks are due to Allah who gave me strength, patience and ability to accomplish the present work. Acknowledgment is due to the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals for supporting this research. I wish to express my appreciation to Dr. Gharib M. Hamada, who served as my major advisor, for his guidance and patience through the thesis. His continuous support and encouragement can never be forgotten. I would like also to thank my thesis committee members Dr. Abdulaziz A. Al-Majed and Dr. Taha M. Okasha for their suggestions and valuable comments. Thanks are also due to the Chairman of the Petroleum Department Dr. Sidqi A. Abu-Khamsin for providing all the available facilities. I am also grateful to all faculty members for their encouragement and their direct or indirect help. Many thanks are also due to all the laboratory staff members in the Petroleum Section of the Research Institute for their cooperation and help during the experimental work. My special thanks are addressed to my family for their encouragement throughout my academic career. Also, I thank my friends in and out of campus. v

2024

Surfactants have long been considered to enhance oil recovery from petroleum reservoirs through reduction in oil-water interfacial tension. However, the possibility of altering wettability by surfactants for oil recovery enhancement remains largely unexplored. Furthermore, most of the few previous studies conducted to investigate the surfactant-induced wettability alterations were done using stocktank crude oils and at ambient conditions. Hence, to investigate the influence of surfactants on wettability alteration at realistic reservoir conditions, corefloods were conducted in this study at reservoir conditions (82º F and 700 psi) using Yates reservoir fractured dolomite cores. The fluids used were Yates stocktank crude oil, Yates live oil, synthetic Yates reservoir brine and the nonionic, ethoxy alcohol surfactant. The secondary recovery characteristics of the rock-fluids systems were examined by conducting brine floods at varying surfactant concentrations. The relative permeabilities were computed by history matching the pressure drop and recovery data obtained from the experiments. The relative permeability variations were then used to discern the wettability alterations induced by the surfactant. Only marginal increments of about 6% OOIP were obtained due to the surfactant in the rock-fluids system consisting of stocktank oil. The gradual shift to the right in the relative permeability ratio (k rw /k ro) curves indicates the wettability alterations from an initial strongly oil-wet to a weakly oil-wet state. However, in the rock-fluids system consisting of live oil, significant oil recovery enhancements of about 20% OOIP were obtained due to the surfactant. The gradual shift to the right in the relative permeability ratio (k rw /k ro) curves, steady increase in initial water saturation, very low residual oil saturations, all indicate the development of a special kind of heterogeneous wettability

2024, Energies

In this study, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques—namely low salinity and nanofluid EOR—are probed at the nanometer-scale using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Mica substrates were used as model clay-rich rocks while AFM tips were coated to present alkyl (-CH3), aromatic (-C6H5) and carboxylic acid (-COOH) functional groups, to simulate oil media. We prepared brine formulations to test brine dilution and cation bridging effects while selected concentrations (0 to 1 wt%) of hydrophilic SiO2 nanoparticles dispersed in 1 wt% NaCl were used as nanofluids. Samples were immersed in fluid cells and chemical force mapping was used to measure the adhesion force between polar/non-polar moieties to substrates. Adhesion work was evaluated based on force-displacement curves and compared with theories. Results from AFM studies indicate that low salinity waters and nanoparticle dispersions promote nanoscale wettability alteration by significantly reducing three-phase adhesion force and the r...

2024, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

Low Salinity waterfloods, even in carbonates, have received a great deal of attention because of their potential to significantly increase waterflood recoveries in addition to being cost effective. Wettability alteration has been found to play a major role in affecting higher recoveries from carbonates in low salinity floods. A large volume of research has accumulated for determining the effect of brine chemistry on wettability alteration and consequent recoveries. Both divalent cations (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+) and anions (SO 4 2-) as well as their interactions have been found to affect wettability. Charges on the mineral surface were also linked to observed wettability change. Despite the efforts, a clear understanding of the mechanisms of such wettability changes seems to be still elusive. Here in our work, first we have attempted to find viable alternatives for sulfates which pose fouling risks for reservoirs. Sulfur oxyanions such as bisulfites and metabisulfites have been found to be potential anions capable of affecting the desired wettability change without the risk associated with sulfates. Secondly, an effort has been made to understand the mechanism (s) behind such wettability alteration in carbonates during low salinity waterfloods based on our work and that by various authors. A potential mechanism has been proposed for wettability alteration, which seem to explain the works of many researchers. The mechanism is based on the isoelectric point of the carbonate rock surface, pH and interfacial energy between the aqueous brine solution and the rock surface. It is proposed that carbonates would be strongly oil-wet at the isoelectric point of the carbonate rock crystal, when the aqueous solution-rock interfacial tension is maximum. On the other hand, it would exhibit more water-wet or less oil-wet behavior, the further the pH of the brine solution is away from the isoelectric point of the carbonate rock. The wettability change is as a result of electrostatic attraction between polar water molecules with the charged surface that helps to bring down the brine-rock interfacial energy. This minimization of interfacial energy is manifested as the wettability change at the 3phase carbonate mineral-oil-water contact line. The shift in the isoelectric point due to changes imposed in brine composition needs to be accounted for in addition to brine pH and salinity in order to optimize recoveries from low-salinity waterfloods.

2024, SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering

Summary Do the three-phase oil-water-rock systems remain unaltered in wettability or do they become more strongly water- or oil-wet when the reservoir temperature is increased during thermal recovery operations? The published literature provides an affirmative support to each of the three possible answers to this question. Should we let this controversy continue or is it time to put together different pieces of the puzzle to reach at least a semblance of a solution? The latter is the purpose of this paper. This paper aims to shed more light on the controversy surrounding the effect of temperature on wettability by bringing together the various schools of thought on this subject under a simple mechanistic explanation involving an interrelationship between the spreading behavior in solid-liquid-liquid (SLL) systems and the liquid-liquid interfacial tension, and thin wetting film stability considerations. This paper extends the Zisman-type correlation between contact angles and surface...

2024, SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering

Summary The effect of surface-active chemicals on oil/water interfacial tension (IFT) and wettability in crude-oil/brine/rock systems at reservoir conditions is important in enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) processes. However, most of the experimental studies on IFT and contact angles have been conducted at ambient conditions and using stock-tank crude oils. In this study, live and stock-tank crude oils have been used at reservoir conditions to make IFT and dynamic contact-angle measurements using the drop-shape-analysis (DSA) and dual-drop/dual-crystal (DD/DC) techniques, respectively. Yates reservoir rock and fluids, and two types of surfactants (nonionic and anionic) in varying concentrations have been used at reservoir conditions of 82°F and 700 psi (27.8°C and 4.8 MPa). The dynamic oil/water IFT was found to be a strong function of oil composition and of temperature, and it showed a slight dependence on pressure. An attempt has been made to explain the dynamic behavior of IFT using ...

2024, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects

This paper presents a recently developed technique, which has been used successfully in several oilfield applications, to generate reproducible measurements of both the water-advancing and-receding contact angles at reservoir conditions of temperature and pressure using live reservoir fluids. Unlike the conventional sessile drop and modified sessile drop contact angle tests, which require 30-40 days to complete, the new technique enables these measurements within 2-3 days while assuring measurement accuracy within about 2-3°. The new technique is called the dual-drop-dual-crystal (DDDC) technique, and involves the equilibration of two parallel solid surfaces immersed in reservoir brine with two crude oil drops placed on them before creating the advancing and receding interfaces. The fluids-solid equilibrium is attained quickly due to the effect of buoyancy forces that help in draining the water film trapped between the crude oil drop and the solid surface. Dynamic measurements are presented to demonstrate the dynamic behavior of the oil-water-rock three-phase boundary in water-, intermediate-and oil-wet solid-fluid systems. The paper includes the methodology and salient features of the new technique, some of the recent results to demonstrate its accuracy and short run times, and actual reservoir cases involving serious wettability shifts caused by fluids incompatibility and temperature variations. Due to its accuracy, short run duration and operability at reservoir conditions, the new technique offers excellent potential for detailed understanding of the influence of various surfactants used in oilfield operations on reservoir wettability alteration, screening and optimization of fluids for field applications, optimization of production strategies, and for many other practical applications involving solid-liquidfluid systems.

2024, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

The injection of engineered water to increase the oil recovery from carbonates is increasingly becoming popular due to its reduced environmental impact and low cost of operation. However, the related variation in electric properties of rock and fluid with this technique is still ambiguous and needs thorough investigation. This study explores the variation in electrical conductivity, ion mobility, electrical double layer thickness, and the related oil recovery with the change in water composition from a geochemical perspective. In this study, we implemented the improved wettability alteration model based on the variation in electrical conductivity with a Matlab-IPhreeqc coupled simulator, to model the electrical conductivity, ion mobility, and electrical double layer (EDL) thickness. The variation in concentration of the ionic species obtained from the geochemical model is used to determine the electrical conductivity. This electrical conductivity-based wettability modification is dynamically simulated in the transport model. The model is validated with experimental coreflood data conducted on carbonates by simulating the electrical conductivity measurements reported in the literature. From the findings, it is evident that the formation temperature, sulfate concentration, and dilution of injected seawater have a noticeable effect on electrical conductivity during engineered water injection. In addition, EDL thickness is the main parameter affected by the change in electrical conductivity. In addition, it is suggested to inject high-temperature water in carbonate reservoirs because it would increase ion mobility. This increase in ion mobility would enhance the EDL thickness and water film would be stabilized. Moreover, seawater dilution would decrease electrical conductivity while spiking of sulfate concentration would increase the activity of sulfate ions. However, the concentration of sulfate ions should be controlled as a wettability alteration agent, as it could cause the formation and precipitation of calcium sulfate. Furthermore, the variation in electrical conductivity and EDL thickness caused by the injection of seawater and diluted seawater increased the recovery of oil by approximately 16-21% in the selected case study.

2024, Petroleum

Introducing the novel technique for enhancing oil recovery from available petroleum reservoirs is one of the important issues in future energy demands. Among of all operative factors, wettability may be the foremost parameter affecting residual oil saturation in all stage of oil recovery. Although wettability alteration is one of the methods which enhance oil recovery from the petroleum reservoir. Recently, the studies which focused on this subject were more than the past and many contributions have been made on this area. The main objective of the current study is experimentally investigation of the two nonionic surfactants effects on altering wettability of reservoir rocks. Purpose of this work is to change the wettability to preferentially the water-wet condition. Also reducing the residual oil saturation (Sor) is the other purpose of this work. The wettability alteration of reservoir rock is measured by two main quantitative methods namely contact angle and the USBM methods. Results of this study showed that surfactant flooding is more effective in oil-wet rocks to change their wettability and consequently reducing Sor to a low value. Cedar (Zizyphus Spina Christi) is low priced, absolutely natural, and abundantly accessible in the Middle East and Central Asia. Based on the results, this material can be used as a chemical surfactant in field for enhancing oil recovery.

2024

Surfactants have all along been used to reduce the interfacial tension (IFT) between oil and water to overcome the trapping phenomena that causes oil to be trapped. The costs of surfactants on the other hand derived from petroleum-based source are costly. This study aims to extract lignin compound from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and coconut fiber by soda pulping technique, and characterize it by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Three formulations from each lignin with lowest IFT were evaluated for their performance in remobilizing residual oil through oil displacement experiments. All experiments were performed at room temperature and pressure. For the formulation containing oil palm lignin, the formulation containing (SDBS-E4) gives the highest oil recovery (4.10% of original oil in place) while for the formulation containing coconut fiber, formulation containing (SDBS-C5) gives the second highest oil recovery (3.30% of original oil in place). The results...

2024, Journal of Molecular Liquids

2024, Research Square (Research Square)

Stereolithography (SLA)-based three-dimensional (3D) printing has become a popular tool for creating experimental models to study the two-phase flow behavior in complex flow structures. The main drawback while implementing such models is the wettability nature of the 3D printed surfaces. As non-geological materials are used while printing the porous designs, the flow mechanics do not follow similar patterns as in the reservoir. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using an SLA-based printing technique to replicate a porous structure. The porosity and pore size values of the 3D print are observed to be very close to that of the porous input image of the rock sample. A simple method to modify the surface characteristics of 3D printed surfaces using an ultrasonic-atomized fine spraying technique is developed. Here a thin layer of CaCO3 is deposited on the 3D printed surface by subjecting it to fine alternate sprays of calcium chloride and sodium carbonate. Thirty cycles of coating is observed to have altered the surface's wettability from neutral to oil-wet, resembling a carbonate reservoir.

2024, arXiv (Cornell University)

Under externally applied electric fields, lipid membranes tend to permeate and change their electrical resistance by the combined processes of pore creation and pore evolution (expansion or contraction). This study is focused on the pore creation process, represented by an empirical expression currently used in the electroporation (EP) models, for which an alternative theoretically based expression was provided. The choice of this expression was motivated by the role the DLVO's (disjoining) pressures may play in the process of EP. The electrostatic energy effects on each sides of a lipid membrane were evaluated in terms of the electrostatic component of the disjoining pressure. Thus the pore creation energy considerations in the current EP models, associated with the necessity of an idealized non conducting circular pre-pore were avoided. As a result, a new expression for the onset of the electroporation was proposed. It was found that this new theoretically determined expression is in good agreement with the one estimated from an experiment that specifically targeted the pore nucleation by eliminating the pore evolution process. Furthermore, the proposed expression is dependent on the electrolyte and the lipid properties and should provide better predictability than the currently used pore creation EP model, which is only temperature dependent.

2024, arXiv (Cornell University)

Contrary to existing theoretical models, experimental evidence points out that electroporation (membrane defect formation under external electric fields) starts to occur within the range of transmembrane voltages that cells may routinely experience, curiously, just above the range of transmembrane voltages involved in neural signal transmission. Understanding the underlying principles of electric fields-lipid membrane interactions seems to carry a great biological importance. An argument is presented toward understanding the theoretical aspects of electroporation by using the DLVO theory, which has not been recognized previously in the context of electroporation. Further, the dispersion interactions (with its quantum nature), of the double layer counterions and membrane lipid molecules over the Stern layer are emphasized. The sign of these forces is such that they compress the membrane. A parallel is drawn to the theory of thin films. The argument is that the external electric field breaks the symmetry of the disjoining pressures on both sides of a lipid membrane, resulting in a protrusion of only few lipid molecules. That compromises the membrane stability on a nanoscale and makes it traversable to ions. The presented estimate based on these arguments is consistent to electroporation experiments and existing numerical simulations.

2024

2024, ACS Omega

Nano-composites positively impact subsurface porous media's properties during enhanced oil recovery. In this paper, γ-Al 2 O 3 /ZnO/urea nano-composites were selected to improve simultaneous water alternative associate gas (SWAG) tests based on better results in comparison to pure γ-Al 2 O 3 in the static phase. According to the interfacial tension (lowest), contact angle (lowest), zeta potential (highest absolute value), and viscosity (lowest) tests in the presence of nano-composites, 80 ppm was chosen as the optimum concentration (OP) to perform SWAG experiments. The interfacial tension (mN m −1

2024, DAAAM Proceedings

Dynamic behaviour of liquid droplets has many applications in process engineering, such as spray painting, spray forming, chemical evaporators, coating in wood industry, PVC manufacturing. We will consider glycerine as the representative of the liquids with high viscosity. Unlike water, due to high viscosity, reducing of the diameter is rare and it occurs only with high Weber numbers. Šikalo and Kostić have given an equation for fitting the spreading diameter of a water droplet impacting on flat surfaces, using a rational function. For glycerine, the function for fitting of the data will have two analytical expressionsthe rational function and the constant function. Data for the impact of glycerine droplets, with diameter of 2.45 mm, and the Weber numbers 51, 93, 163, 280, 402, 571, 802, 1056 are fitted to the rational and constant functions. We will apply for the coefficient of the rational function the properties of the glycerine droplets and the experimental maximum. The experimental maximum corresponds to a stationary point of rational functions. The constant functions are the experimental maximum and that is due to the high viscosity of glycerine. Numerical experiments indicate good agreement between the experimental data and proposed function.

2024, Solid State Sciences

The structural, thermal, electrical and mechanical properties and micro-hardness of four different samples of Al-Sn-Pb ternary alloys (Al-[x] wt. % Sn-10 wt. % Pb) (x=40, 30, 20 and 10) with constant lead concentrations were investigated for four different samples. Electrical resistivity and conductivity were measured by using (four-point probe measurement techniques) 4PPT techniques. The variations of thermal conductivity were determined by Wiedemann-Franz law (W-F) and Smith-Palmer (S-P) equation using the data obtained from electrical properties. The mechanical properties of the same alloys were obtained by the tensile test and the Vickers micro-hardness test.

2024, GeoScience Engineering

In an attempt to characterize a reservoir in a field, importance is given to living models as it serves critical function in estimating if the reservoir under study is economically viable. Having a good knowledge of electrical response to reservoir rocks is important in characterizing and modeling the behavior of fluids at the subsurface. In this study, core plugs extracted from core barrels in a Niger Delta oil field were analyzed in the laboratory in order to determine the electrical properties of the samples and their relationship with each other and formation fluid. This was achieved by using a brine of a known concentration for simulation of core plugs. Results obtained show that for the unconsolidated sandstone, Formation resistivity factor increases with increase in confining pressure. This characteristic depends on the porosity of the Formation and type of fluid present. Resistivity values in a reservoir will increase with increase in capillary pressure and decrease with water saturation. Decrease in cementation exponent increases the rate of permeability in reservoir sand. However, resistivity values decrease with clay presence in reservoir sand.

2024, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

The objective of Low Salinity Water Flooding (LSWF) is to improve oil recovery. While a significant number of laboratory tests have been carried out to investigate the impact of LSWF, field scale modelling is often reported in the form of sector models with relatively coarse cells. This paper assesses the impact of simulating flow at very fine scales and informs on the properties that should be captured at the coarse scale to avoid numerical errors. We have found that the weighting function that is used to control changes to fluid mobility combines with numerical and physical diffusion to induce a retardation/acceleration effect. This is a physical effect rather than part of a chemical reaction. In this study, numerous simulations of LSWF have been carried out at the reservoir scale to investigate flow behavior for various salt concentration (salinity) weighting functions and dispersion coefficients. We have examined the effective salinity range over which the weighting function is applied as well as considering various shapes. Dispersion was varied to represent physical and numerical effects. These have been compared to analytical solutions from fractional flow theory. We also observed that the fractional flow of the oil bank will be same for both the secondary and tertiary flooding. We point out the relative importance of various parts of the relative permeability curves. An important finding of this work is that by spreading the salinity front through dispersion and setting a low value at which salinity impacts mobility, we saw the injected low salinity front advance more slowly while the high salinity front of formation water moves more quickly. This is an effective retardation effect. We related this to an effect equivalent to adsorption in the fractional flow theory and could measure it in a similar way. We were also able to develop a prediction of the effect using the analytical solution to the advection-diffusion equation. The outcome is that we can estimate a corrective term for the flow behavior in situations where the dispersion is quite strong, particularly in numerical simulations. We consider that this enable corrections to be made for numerical dispersion effects in field scale models.

2024, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

Enhanced oil recovery by low-salinity waterflooding (LSW) has been shown to result from the combined effect of various physical mechanisms. In this study, laboratory experiments were designed in such a way that only fines migration mechanism remains active. Then, experimental observations and detailed characterizations of core plugs and produced fluids (water and oil) were used to analyze the effect of fines migration-induced formation damage on displacement efficiency. In the first set of experiments, core plugs of Berea and Obernkirchener sandstones were subjected to single-phase injections of water at salinities 40, 30, 20, 10, 5, 2.5, 0.5 and 0 g/L NaCl. An order-ofmagnitude decrease in permeability was observed for both core plugs and was associated with an increase in fines concentration in the produced water. SEM-EDS images of the produced fines showed that Kaolinite is mobilized as the salinity is reduced. SEM images of the pores before and after injection also showed fines retention and blockage. In the second set of experiments, two-phase LSW was performed on a pair of core plugs comparable to those in the first set of experiments. Kaolinite migration results were consistent with those of single-phase LSW. The two-phase LSW experiments showed 50% reduction in water relative permeability and 3% increase in oil recovery. Because no wettability alteration mechanism was active, the increase in oil recovery is attributed solely to enhanced displacement due to fines migration.

2024, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

Permeability decline during waterflooding by varying water composition, in particular with low salinity or high pH water, has been observed in numerous laboratory studies. This has been explained by the lifting, migration and subsequent plugging of pores by fine particles. Recently, mathematical models have been presented to investigate the concept of using this permeability decline for mobility control during a waterflood. Now, these models need to be tested against observations during a core flood test. This paper presents a systematic laboratory study to investigate the underlying physics mechanisms for improved oil recovery as a consequence of injecting low-salinity water. Three sister plugs of Berea sandstone were used in the experiments. The first plug was subjected to single-phase waterflood for permeability measurements with varying salinities from 4 (high-salinity) to 0 (low-salinity) g/L NaCl. Core permeability decreased from 495 to 60 md, confirming the effect of changing water composition on permeability. The second plug saturated with high-salinity water was subjected first to primary oil flood (using Soltrol) to the connate water saturation and then to a benchmark waterflood using the same water. The oil recovery was noted and the core was restored to the connate water by a secondary oil flood. Finally, low-salinity waterflood was carried out and oil recovery was recorded. Experimental observations were interpreted using a numerical model. In order to check the reproducibility of the observations, the same experimental procedure was applied on the third plug. Results confirmed the reproducibility of the observations. Significant decrease in water relative permeability by approximately 50% and some decrease in residual oil saturation by about 5% were observed during the low-salinity waterflood in comparison with the high-salinity waterflood. Treatment of the low-salinity coreflood data by a numerical model reveals the decrease in water relative permeability with increasing water saturation at high water saturations. This observation is explained by the expansion of rock surface exposed to low-salinity water during the increase of water saturation. The laboratory data matched by the numerical model shows a high surface exponent value (n A ¼30), which is explained by a sharp surface area rise at high water saturations. The abnormal behavior of water relative permeability in response to low-salinity waterflood has resulted from matching water permeability increase at low water saturations and decrease at high saturations.

2024, Petroleum Research

This study was conducted to investigate the phenomenon of oil removal from inside pores using a selfdesigned microfluidic test kit. An artificial micromodel chip as a representation of porous rocks has been created with a uniform pore structure design and made of PMMA (Polymethyl Methacrylate) material. The micromodel chip has a porosity of 27.8% as well as a permeability of 2.7 Darcy. By using the microfluidic test kit, this study has investigated how low salinity water (LSW) injection with MgCl 2 divalent ions and the addition of anionic surfactant, linear alkylbenzene sulfonate mixed with nonionic surfactants, nonylphenol ethoxylate (NP-10) affects to oil recovery. The injection of LSW and surfactant solution was carried out with different injection stages, injection rates and surfactant solutions concentrations. Visual images during the injection process are recorded for analysis, which is the advantage of dynamic testing using this microfluidic test kit over conventional coreflooding. From this study, it is indicated that the selection of ions contained in LSW affects the success of LSW injection. Reducing the surfactant injection rate from 50 mL/min to 20 mL/min can increase the oil recovery from 1.27% to 4.29%. Oil recovery was also higher on surfactant injection which resulted in lower interfacial tension of the system based on the calculation of interfacial tension obtained from the Chun-Huh and Ghosh equations from the Winsor test. From all injection scenarios carried out in this study, the highest increase in oil recovery of 26.87% OOIP was obtained by injecting surfactant solutions directly in the secondary stage without prior LSW injection.

2024

papers dealing with laboratory experiments or field operations confirm that, in some circumstances, low salinity waterflooding improves oil recovery. However, the basic mechanisms explaining the oil recovery improvement are not clearly established. The literature points out several hypotheses, among them is the role of clay particles detachment and migration. Experiments using an intermediate-wet clayey sandstone were first performed showing an oil recovery increment when the salinity of the injected brine was reduced. Following this trail, in a second set of batch experiments we investigated the role of microparticles on the formation and stability of brine/oil emulsions when the salinity is changed. For that, we used calibrated negatively charged polystyrene latex particles and several oils (mineral, crude and a blend of the two). Emulsion samples were observed using an optical microscope to determine their typical droplet size and the water/oil interface structure. The macroscopi...

2024, Bulletin of the American Physical Society

Submitted for the DFD17 Meeting of The American Physical Society Is drop impact the same for both moving and inclined surfaces? SALMAN BUKSH, York University, MARCO MARENGO, Brighton University, ALIDAD AMIRFAZLI, York University,-TEAM-Drop impact is an important phenomenon in a wide variety of applications. Researchers have largely examined drop impact onto a moving surface, and an inclined surface separately. Given that in both systems the impact phenomenon is influenced by tangential and normal velocity components, the question remains, if these two systems are essentially equivalent or gravity and boundary layer effects are such that the outcomes will be different. Experiments have been performed by varying liquid surface tension, viscosity and both normal and tangential velocities (0.3 to 2.9 m/s). The desired velocity components were achieved by changing the height where drop is released, the surface inclination angle for inclined system, and the horizontal velocity for the moving surface. To compare the systems, spreading was analyzed by measuring the width and length of the lamella at various time intervals; for splashing, top view images were compared to see the extent of splashing at initial stage. The data suggests that, for the given velocity, neither the boundary layer differences between the two systems nor the gravity play a role on spreading and splashing of the drop, as such one system can replace the other for future studies.

2024, Energy & Fuels

The preferential attraction of fluid on the rock surfaces, known as wettability, has serious implication because of their impact on multi phase flow in the rock hence the recovery efficiency of petroleum reservoirs. However, the prediction of wetting and the mechanisms of wettability changes during the production are difficult because of the complex chemical composition of the crude oil and the formation brine as well as the interaction with the minerals very close to the rock surface. To understand these mechanisms one needs to investigate the interactions that take place between crude oil, brine and rock surfaces. The objective of this work is to present the results of developed model based on the rock/fluids interactions for the prediction of the wettability state in a solid/brine/crude oil system. In this model, a three-dimensional (3D) adhesion map and surface wettability are related to the film stability through disjoining pressure isotherm of the wetting phase film separating the solid and nonwetting phase. Besides, the mechanism of wetting changes and predominant surface forces is diagnosed through disjoining pressure. This model is especially designed to predict the wettability and its alteration for the tight rocks, which is seldom to be done through the laboratory measurements.

2024, URTeC Latam

The LA URTeC Technical Program Committee accepted this presentation on the basis of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). The contents of this paper have not been reviewed by LA URTeC and LA URTeC does not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information herein. All information is the responsibility of, and, is subject to corrections by the author(s). Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this paper does so at their own risk. The information herein does not necessarily reflect any position of LA URTeC. Any reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper by anyone other than the author without the written consent of LA URTeC is prohibited.

2024, Journal of physics

The waste of pulp and paper industry in the form of Black Liquor still contained a large amount of lignin (12-46%). The high lignin content had the potential to make Sodium Ligno Sulfonate (SLS) Surfactants by reacting Lignin with Sodium Bisulfite. Isolation of Lignin From Black Liquor was carried out at room temperature of 30 o C, using sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and 1N NaOH. The purpose of this study was to characterize SLS formed both physically and chemically. Characteristics of SLS were formed compared to commercial SLS. The SLS purification results were carried out by comparing the SLS results of the experiments with commercial SLS using Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) equipment, and the purity was tested by UV-Vis. For Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), SLS was tested based on its characteristics using screening tests.

2024, MATEC web of conferences

Lignin from biomass waste (Black Liquor) was isolated by using sulfuric acid 25% and sodium hydroxide solutions 2N. The obtained lignin was reacted with Sodium Bisulfite to Sodium Ligno Sulfonate (SLS). The best result was achieved at 80 ° C, pH 9, ratio of lignin and bisulfite 4: 1, for 2 hours, and 290 rpm stirring rate. The result of lignin formed was sulfonated using Sodium Bisulfite (NaHSO3) to Sodium Ligno Sulfonate (SLS) whose results were tested by the role of groups in peak formation by FTIR and compared to the spectrum of Sodium Ligno Sulfonate made from pure Lignin (commercial) reacted with the commercial Sodium Bisulfite. The result can be seen by the typical functional groups present in the SLS.

2024, All Days

Alkali in surfactant flooding can sequester divalent ions and reduce surfactant adsorption. When the alkali is sodium carbonate and anhydrite (or gypsum) is present, the anhydrite will dissolve and precipitate as calcium carbonate. An anhydrite level of only 0.1% in the rock is enough to retard the breakthrough of a 1% sodium carbonate solution by approximately 0.7 pore volume, which would greatly reduce effectiveness of a process having surfactants sensitive to divalent ions. Different alkalis will also react with anhydrite. A methodology is presented to estimate the amount, if any, of anhydrite present in the reservoir. The method is based on brine software analysis of produced water compositions and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis of core samples. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) can detect anhydrite when it is abundant, but will not be able to detect the low amounts that can still be harmful to chemical EOR. Produced water and core samples were analyzed from a high-temperature, high-salinity carbonate reservoir, which is a candidate for surfactant EOR. Ten water analyses were obtained from ten wells in five formations. The formation brines ranged from 3-to-20% of TDS. The reservoir rock was mostly dolomite, and reservoir temperature was about 120°C. The saturation index calculated for all formation waters at high salinity (higher than sea water) was positive, indicating over saturation with anhydrite. The saturation index was calculated with ScaleChem for high salinity and PHREEQC, which is limited to lower salinity. The elemental composition of rock samples dissolved in acid was determined by ICP. The mass percent of anhydrite was computed from the elemental analysis. When these methods were applied to the dolomite reservoir of interest, they strongly indicated that anhydrite was present in sufficient amounts to preclude use of sodium carbonate in a surfactant recovery process.

2024, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

Effect of salinity, Mg 2+ and SO 4 2-on "smart water"-induced carbonate wettability alteration in a model oil system,