Transport Study of Nanoparticles for Oilfield Application

Field: Chemical Engineering (Physical Sciences)

Transport Study of Nanoparticles for Oilfield Application Jie Yu; Jie Yu 1 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Jacob M. Berlin; Jacob M. Berlin 3 Department of Chemistry, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Wei Lu; Wei Lu 3 Department of Chemistry, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Lunliang Zhang; Lunliang Zhang 2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Amy T. Kan; Amy T. Kan 2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Ping Zhang; Ping Zhang 2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Erin E. Walsh; Erin E. Walsh 3 Department of Chemistry, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Sara N. Work; Sara N. Work 2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Wei Chen; Wei Chen 6 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, P.R.China Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar James M. Tour; James M. Tour 3 Department of Chemistry, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Michael S. Wong; Michael S. Wong 1 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mason B. Tomson Mason B. Tomson 2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE International Conference on Oilfield Scale, Aberdeen, UK, May 2010. Paper Number: SPE-131158-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/131158-MS Published: May 26 2010 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Yu, Jie , Berlin, Jacob M., Lu, Wei , Zhang, Lunliang , Kan, Amy T., Zhang, Ping , Walsh, Erin E., Work, Sara N., Chen, Wei , Tour, James M., Wong, Michael S., and Mason B. Tomson. "Transport Study of Nanoparticles for Oilfield Application." Paper presented at the SPE International Conference on Oilfield Scale, Aberdeen, UK, May 2010. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/131158-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE International Oilfield Scale Conference and Exhibition Search Advanced Search Abstract Recently, the revolution of nanotechnology has been noticed for its many potential applications in the oil & gas industry such as enhanced oil recovery process and subsurface mapping. Understanding the transport and retention of nanoparticles (NPs) in an oilfield environment, such as high salinity, high temperature, high pressure, and heterogeneous pore distribution is critical to their application. The objective of this study is to investigate the fundamental transport and retention properties of NPs in the challenging oilfield conditions.In this work, dolomite core material from an oil well in Kuwait and Berea sandstone were used. Carbon NPs were used as model nanomaterials. The core sample was washed with toluene to remove residual oil, ground to 106 – 250 µm grains, and packed into columns. Carbon NP breakthrough curves were collected in synthetic seawater at room temperature. The results showed that the existence of salt ions dramatically delayed NP breakthrough time and increased NP retention. Effects of different types of salts and salt concentrations are discussed. NP transport appears to be highly dependent on the degree of interaction between the NPs, salt ions in solution, and porous medium surface, which affects retardation and retention. NP breakthrough can be significantly improved by avoiding this interaction via NP surface modification. Our preliminary results provided helpful guidelines for NP transport in oil & gas applications. The results are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the experimental results were fitted with a 1-D advective and dispersion equation combined with a first-order removal term to obtain important transport parameters for NPs that did not aggregate. More complicated models are being developed to capture the unusual breakthrough curves associated with NP aggregation. Keywords: nanoparticle, interaction, experiment, np transport, application, suspension, flow in porous media, environmental science, porous medium, tritiated water Subjects: Reservoir Fluid Dynamics, Improved and Enhanced Recovery, Flow in porous media Copyright 2010, Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.