Articles

Experimental Assessment of Guar Gum and Silicon Oxide Nanoparticle Hybrid for Enhanced Oil Recovery

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This study investigated the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) potential of hybrid formulations comprising guar gum polymer and silicon oxide (SiO₂) nanoparticles. The research aimed to address the limitations of using only polymer (Guar gum) as EOR agent, by exploring the synergistic effects of guar gum and SiO₂ nanoparticles in improving oil recovery efficiency.  The study involved core flooding experiments using Niger-Delta sandstone samples with different concentrations of guar gum and SiO₂ nanoparticles in both low-salinity (30,000 ppm) and relatively high-salinity (60,000 ppm). The results showed that the guar gum-SiO₂ nanocomposite formulations significantly outperformed the individual components in terms of oil recovery. The rheological analysis indicated that the inclusion of SiO₂ nanoparticles improved the viscosity and viscoelastic properties of the hybrid fluids, enhancing their mobility control capabilities.  Core flooding experiments demonstrated that the guar gum-SiO₂ nanocomposite formulations significantly outperformed the individual components, with the cumulative oil recovery rates reaching up to 83% in the low salinity condition of 30,000ppm and due to increase in salinity of 60,000ppm reduced recovery percentage of 79%. The study revealed that hybrid nanocomposites effectively mitigated permeability damage, a prevalent challenge associated with the use of polymers as enhanced oil recovery (EOR) agents. The incorporation of SiO₂ nanoparticles played a crucial role in preserving permeability by preventing the plugging of pore spaces, thereby enabling improved fluid flow and oil displacement.

Investigation of Nanoparticles Assisted Surfactant Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Different Salinity Range

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Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques are important for increasing oil production as to meet global energy demands. Surfactant flooding is a commonly used EOR method, but it has issues with surfactant molecules adhering on the surface of the reservoir rock more especially at higher salinity range. The study compares the effect of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) surfactant and Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticle hybrid at different salinity concentration ratios, stand-alone Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate surfactant and Aluminum oxide nanoparticle on viscosity, salinity ranges of 30,000ppm and 60,000ppm, permeability change and oil recovery. The efficiency of the formulated fluids was tested through flooding experiment using different twelve core samples of Niger – Delta sand formation. The results showed that the surfactant-nanoparticle hybrid solution enhanced the viscosity of fluids, gave better permeability change and higher oil recovery for both 30,000ppm and 60,000ppm salinity change examined. Concentration ratio of 0.1 wt%Al2O3 and 0.3wt% SDS gave the highest cumulative oil recovery of 82.61% using 30,000 ppm and 78.26% for 60,000ppm brine concentration at the same fluid concentration ratio brine followed by 0.2 wt%Al2O3/0.3wt%SDS concentration ratio. The hybrid with 0.1 wt%Al2O3 and 0.3wt% SDS concentration ratio gave lower permeability change of 52.30md than every other concentration investigated. The combination of Aluminum oxide nanoparticle and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate surfactant enhances surfactant properties as to improve displacement efficiency, reduce surfactant adsorption and permeability damage.