Experimental investigation of the effect of green TiO2/Quartz nanocomposite on interfacial tension reduction, wettability alteration, and oil recovery improvement

AbstractThe ultra-low permeability reservoir is regarded as an important energy source for oil and gas resource development and is attracting more and more attention. In this work, the active silica nanofluids were prepared by modified active silica nanoparticles and surfactant BSSB-12. The dispersion stability tests showed that the hydraulic radius of nanofluids was 58.59 nm and the zeta potential was − 48.39 mV. The active nanofluids can simultaneously regulate liquid–liquid interface and solid–liquid interface. The nanofluids can reduce the oil/water interfacial tension (IFT) from 23.5 to 6.7 mN/m, and the oil/water/solid contact angle was altered from 42° to 145°. The spontaneous imbibition tests showed that the oil recovery of 0.1 wt% active nanofluids was 20.5% and 8.5% higher than that of 3 wt% NaCl solution and 0.1 wt% BSSB-12 solution. Finally, the effects of nanofluids on dynamic contact angle, dynamic interfacial tension and moduli were studied from the adsorption behavior of nanofluids at solid–liquid and liquid–liquid interface. The oil detaching and transporting are completed by synergistic effect of wettability alteration and interfacial tension reduction. The findings of this study can help in better understanding of active nanofluids for EOR in ultra-low permeability reservoirs.

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Effect of 2D Alpha-Zirconium Phosphate Nanosheets in Interfacial Tension Reduction and Wettability Alteration: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery

SPE Journal ◽

10.2118/208607-pa ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Song Qing ◽

Hong Chen ◽

Li-juan Han ◽

Zhongbin Ye ◽

Yihao Liao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Interfacial Tension ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Zirconium Phosphate ◽

Contact Angle Measurement ◽

Angle Measurement ◽

Wettability Alteration ◽

Tetrabutylammonium Hydroxide ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

2D Nanosheets

Summary α-Zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) nanocrystals were synthesized by refluxing method and subsequently exfoliated into extremely thin 2D nanosheets by tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAOH) solution. Dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the size distribution and morphology of α-ZrP nanosheets. Interfacial tension (IFT) and contact angle measurement were conducted by different concentrations of α-ZrP nanosheets solutions. The results displayed that the wettability of porous media surface was altered from oleophilic to hydrophilic and the IFT decreased with the increasing of α-ZrP nanosheets concentrations. A new method was proposed to calculate the Hamaker constant for 2D α-ZrP nanosheets. The calculated results displayed that α-ZrP nanosheets were not easy to agglomerate under experimental environment and when the interaction energy barrier increased, the transport amount of α-ZrP nanosheets also increased. Coreflooding tests were also performed with various concentrations and the oil recovery efficiency increased from 33.59 to 51.26% when α-ZrP nanosheets concentrations increased from 50 to 1,000 ppm.

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