Chemical EOR in Low Permeability Sandstone Reservoirs: Impact of Clay Content on the Transport of Polymer and Surfactant

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imane Guetni ◽  
Claire Marlière ◽  
David Rousseau

Abstract Application of chemical enhanced oil recovery (C-EOR) processes to low-permeability sandstone reservoirs (in the 10-100 mD range) can be very challenging as strong retention and difficult in-depth propagation of polymer and surfactant can occur. Transport properties of C-EOR chemicals are particularly related to porous media mineralogy (clay content). The present experimental study aimed at identifying base mechanisms and providing general recommendations to design economically viable C-EOR injection strategies in low permeability clayey reservoirs. Polymer and surfactant injection corefloods were conducted using granular packs (quartz and clay mixtures) with similar petrophysical characteristics (permeability 70-130 mD) but having various mineralogical compositions (pure quartz sand, sand with 8 wt-% kaolinite and sand with 8 wt-% smectite). The granular packs were carefully characterized in terms of structure (SEM) and specific surface area (BET). The main observables from the coreflood tests were the resistance and residual resistance factors generated during the chemical injections, the irreversible polymer retention and the surfactant retention in various injection scenarios (polymer alone, surfactant alone, polymer and surfactant). A first, the impact of the clay contents on the retention of polymer and surfactant considered independently was examined. Coreflood results have shown that retention per unit mass of rock strongly increased in presence of both kaolinite and smectite, but not in the same way for both chemicals. For polymer, retention was about twice higher with kaolinite than with smectite, despite the fact that the measured specific surface area of the kaolinite was about 5 times less than that of the smectite. Conversely, for surfactant, retention was much higher with smectite than with kaolinite. Secondly, the impact of the presence of surfactant on the polymer in-depth propagation and retention was investigated in pure quartz and kaolinite-bearing porous media. In both mineralogies, the resistance factor quickly stabilized when polymer was injected alone whereas injection of larger solution volumes was required to reach stabilization when surfactant was present. In pure quartz, polymer retention was shown, surprisingly, to be one order of magnitude higher in presence of surfactant whereas with kaolinite, surfactant did not impact polymer retention. The results can be interpreted by considering adsorption-governed retention. The mechanistic pictures being that (a) large polymer macromolecules are not able to penetrate the porosity of smectite aggregates, whereas surfactant molecules can, and (b) that surfactant and polymer mixed adsorbed layers can be formed on surfaces with limited affinity for polymer. Overall, this study shows that C-EOR can be applied in low permeability reservoirs but that successful injection strategies will strongly depend on mineralogy.

Soil Research ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 455 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Levin ◽  
M Ben-Hur ◽  
M Gal ◽  
GJ Levy

The effect of rain kinetic energy and soil amendments on infiltration and erosion from three Israeli soils was studied using a drip-type simulator. The soil samples were from the top layer (0-250 mm depth) of cultivated fields differing in their texture, specific surface area and lime content. Three kinetic energies of raindrops were obtained by varying heights of fall (h = 0.4, 1-0 and 1.6 m) of 3 mm diameter drops. The soil types studied were Typic Chromoxerert, Typic Rhodoxeralf and Calcic Haploxeralf. Soil amendments were phosphogypsum (PG) and a combined application of an anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) with PG. An increase in the impact energy of the raindrops reduced depth of rain before ponding, final infiltration rate (FIR), cumulative infiltration (i.e. infiltration parameters) and increased soil erosion. The addition of PAM+PG to the soil surface significantly increased the infiltration parameters and reduced erosion compared with the PG and control treatments. The Typic Chromoxerert was the least susceptible of the three soils to sealing, probably because of its high smectitic clay content, high specific surface area and high CaCO3 content which stabilize soil structure. The Typic Rhodoxeralf with the lowest specific surface area was the most susceptible to clay dispersion, and seal formation. Relative to the Typic Chromoxerert and the Typic Rhodoxeralf, the Calcic Haploxeralf was intermediate in its susceptibility to seal formation.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4169
Author(s):  
Marcel Zambrzycki ◽  
Krystian Sokolowski ◽  
Maciej Gubernat ◽  
Aneta Fraczek-Szczypta

In this work, we present a comparative study of the impact of secondary carbon nanofillers on the electrical and thermal conductivity, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of hybrid conductive polymer composites (CPC) based on high loadings of synthetic graphite and epoxy resin. Two different carbon nanofillers were chosen for the investigation—low-cost multi-layered graphene nanoplatelets (GN) and carbon black (CB), which were aimed at improving the overall performance of composites. The samples were obtained by a simple, inexpensive, and effective compression molding technique, and were investigated by the means of, i.a., scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, electrical conductivity measurements, laser flash analysis, and thermogravimetry. The tests performed revealed that, due to the exceptional electronic transport properties of GN, its relatively low specific surface area, good aspect ratio, and nanometric sizes of particles, a notable improvement in the overall characteristics of the composites (best results for 4 wt % of GN; σ = 266.7 S cm−1; λ = 40.6 W mK−1; fl. strength = 40.1 MPa). In turn, the addition of CB resulted in a limited improvement in mechanical properties, and a deterioration in electrical and thermal properties, mainly due to the too high specific surface area of this nanofiller. The results obtained were compared with US Department of Energy recommendations regarding properties of materials for bipolar plates in fuel cells. As shown, the materials developed significantly exceed the recommended values of the majority of the most important parameters, indicating high potential application of the composites obtained.


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitja Linec ◽  
Branka Mušič

Global design and manufacturing of the materials with superb properties remain one of the greatest challenges on the market. The future progress is orientated towards researches into the material development for the production of composites of better mechanical properties to the existing materials. In the field of advanced composites, epoxy molding compounds (EMCs) have attained dominance among the common materials due to their excellent properties that can be altered by adding different fillers. One of the main fillers is often based on silicon dioxide (SiO2). The concept of this study was to evaluate the effects of the selected silica-based fillers on the thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties of EMCs. Various types of fillers with SiO2, including crystalline silica and fused silica, were experimentally studied to clarify the impact of filler on final product. Fillers with different shape (scanning electron microscope, SEM), along with different specific surface area (specific surface area analyzer, BET method) and different chemical structure, were tested to explore their modifications on the EMCs. The influence of the fillers on the compound materials was determined with the spiral flow length (spiral flow test, EMMI), glass transition temperature (differential scanning calorimetry, DSC), and the viscosity (Torque Rheometer) of the composites.


Soil Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinhuey Lim ◽  
Trung-Ta Nguyen ◽  
Petra Marschner

Addition of clay-rich subsoils to sandy soils can increase yield and may increase organic carbon (OC) retention in soils. The ability of clays to bind OC is likely to be influenced by clay properties, but little is known about the relative importance of properties of clay subsoils for binding of OC. A batch sorption experiment was conducted using seven clay subsoils collected from agricultural lands where claying was carried out. Clay subsoils were shaken for 17 h at 4°C with different concentrations of water-extractable OC (WEOC: 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 9.0 g kg–1 soil) derived from mature wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) straw at a 1 : 10 soil : extract ratio. Sorption of WEOC was positively correlated with clay content, specific surface area and concentration of iron oxides. Further, WEOC sorption was negatively correlated with total OC content, sodium absorption ratio and cation ratio of soil structural stability. However, the relative importance of these properties for WEOC sorption differed among soils. In conclusion, OC retention in clay-amended sandy soils will be positively related to clay soil properties such as clay and Fe oxide content and specific surface area.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 8822
Author(s):  
Andrzej Jarosinski ◽  
Piotr Radomski ◽  
Lukasz Lelek ◽  
Joanna Kulczycka

The paper presents research on a method of obtaining magnesium hydroxide from magnesium sulphate salts and NaOH. In order to acquire the desired and controlled properties, the method of precipitating in aqueous solutions by introducing a NaOH solution into a solution of MgSO4 has been applied. To get as stable a product as possible with graining, the introduction of NaOH takes place at a constant flow rate. In order to identify the environmental impact of the developed process, a life cycle assessment (LCA) has been made. The use of the proposed method for the synthesis of Mg(OH)2 incorporating washing with 25% ammonia solution and acetone enabled a product with a high specific surface area. The Mg(OH)2 obtained was characterised by a higher specific surface area than commercially available magnesium hydroxides that are used as additives for flame retardants in polymeric materials. This allows the material to be used as an anti-pyrogen for a wider group of polymeric materials. For the LCA analysis, two scenarios were assumed, from which the basic one included recovery of ammonia and acetone. The environmental analysis carried out confirmed the validity of this assumption, as it was stated that the main part of the impact was connected with the supply chain for the process examined.


Catalysts ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin Hetier ◽  
Diego Pena ◽  
Alexandre Carvalho ◽  
Laurence Courthéoux ◽  
Valérie Flaud ◽  
...  

A way to improve hydrotreatment processes is to enhance the intrinsic activity of Ni or Co promoted MoS2 catalysts that are commonly used in such reactions. The aim of this work was to investigate the impact of the presence of Pluronic® P123 as a structuring agent during the synthesis of Ni promoted MoS2 catalysts (named NiMoS) in water at room temperature. A series of analyses, i.e., X-ray diffraction (XRD), chemical analysis, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), helped in characterizing the NiMoS-P123 and NiMoS catalysts, the latter being prepared in the absence of polymer. Both compounds contained MoS2 phase (~85 atomic% considering Mo atoms), a similar amount of mixed Ni-Mo-S phase (40–50% considering Ni) and some amount of NiS and Ni-oxidized impurity phases. The main differences between the two catalysts were a much larger specific surface area (126 m2·g−1 instead of 31 m²·g−1) and a better dispersion of the active phase as shown by the lower slab stacking (2.7 instead of 4.8) for NiMoS-P123, and the presence of C in NiMoS-P123 (9.4 wt.% instead of 0.6 wt.%), indicating an incomplete decomposition of the polymer during thermal treatment. Thanks to its larger specific surface area and lower slab stacking and therefore modification of active Mo site properties, the compound prepared in the presence of Pluronic® P123 exhibits a strong increase of the catalytic activity expressed per Mo atom for the transformation of 3-methylthiophene. Such improvement in catalytic activity was not observed for the transformation of benzothiophene likely due to poisonous residual carbon which results from the presence of Pluronic® P123 during the synthesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 186 ◽  
pp. 104261
Author(s):  
B. Sibiryakov ◽  
L.W.B. Leite ◽  
E. Sibiriakov

Author(s):  
M. Troubitsin ◽  
Viet Hung Hoang ◽  
L. Furda

The object of our investigation is a biomimetic calcium-phosphate nanocomposite doped by silicate and carbonate anions (BMHAP) synthesized by chemical deposition from aqueous solutions. The obtained samples are investigated using X-ray phase analysis (XRD), FTIR spectroscopy, and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption (BET method). The influence of the techno chemical synthesis parameters on the products characteristics (including phase composition, crystal lattice parameters, average crystallite size, specific surface area) is evaluated. The study on the effect of the synthesis temperature shows that with increasing in temperature from 22°C to 80°C, reveals a slight increase in the parameters of unit cells a and c, which leads to an increase in its volume. There is also a tendency towards a decrease in the average size of coherent scattering regions of crystallites (from 7,52 to 4,65 nm) and specific surface area (from 192,51 to 74,72 m2/g), but the pore volume and average pore diameter of the synthesized powders increases. The effect of the aging time of the sediment in the mother liquor is studied from 0,5 to 24 hours. It is found that with an increase in the maturation time of the sediment, the percent crystallinity of the powders improves by 1,7 times, an increase in the specific surface area from 163,43 to 192,51 m2/g and a slight decrease in the pore volume and average pore size of the samples are observed. The impact of the stirring rate of the reagents is investigated. An increase in speed from 300 to 1300 rpm has been shown to decrease the average crystallite size from 8,80 to 6,41 nm, and as a result, to increase the specific surface area of the synthesized samples from 178,58 to 192,51 m2/g, respectively.


2009 ◽  
Vol 87-88 ◽  
pp. 405-410
Author(s):  
Yong Li

The impact of fine content of carbon black pellets on rubber mixing process and reasons for carbon black pellet degradation during pneumatic conveying process has been investigated and analyzed. The influential factors of carbon black degradation are introduced. It is identified and concluded that specific surface area of carbon black, size of carbon black pellets, parameters of pressure in conveying, conveying modes, materials of pipelines and conveying distance are major factors in the impact of degradation of carbon black. The conclusion is confirmed by the results of tests. The measures to reduce carbon black pellet fine content are proposed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document