Nanoparticle as part of nanotechnology has already drawn attention to its great potential of enhancing oil recovery. In the last few years, some publications have already addressed this topic, but the basic enhanced oil recovery (EOR) mechanisms have not been released very clearly. A visualization flooding method (glass micromodel) will be used to investigate the EOR mechanisms of nanoparticle fluid in our lab in the future [1].
The developed microfluidic application is a powerful mimetic model for the real-time visualization of the chemical-based heavy oil recovery process in the micro/nanoscale. Considering the time-consuming and expensive nature of core flood experiments, this method provides an attractive alternative for rapid and low-cost chemical-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) screening studies [2].
A customized transparent glass micromodel will be utilized as porous media, and synthetic brine will be used to disperse nanoparticles. The effects of different kinds of nanoparticles and different nanoparticle concentrations on EOR will be investigated, and some properties between oil and water will be measured to uncover EOR mechanisms [1]
The Chemyx Fusion 6000 high-pressure syringe pump will be used in this equipment setup as the driving apparatus for injecting brine, nanofluid and crude oil into the micro-glass model. The reason for choosing Chemyx Fusion 6000 pump is the ultra-low flow rates it can
provide. The pore volume of a glass micromodel is extremely small in order to mimic the actual pore channels in rock e.g. sandstone or shale. Normally the flooding volume of a core-flooding experiment will be several pore volumes, so the flow rates required for this kind of experiment are strictly low and accurate. The injecting process will be recorded by a camera integrated into a microscope. We are building up the whole system and the Chemyx Fusion 6000 pump will be one of the most important parts.
Bibliography
[1] Shidong Li and Ole Torsæter. Norwegian University of Science and Technology. An Experimental Investigation of EOR Mechanisms for Nanoparticles Fluid in Glass Micromodel. International Symposium of the Society of Core Analysts held in Avignon, France, 8-11 September, 2014
[2] P. Bazazi, I. D. Gates, A. S. Nezhad, S. H. Hejazi. University of Calgary. Silica- Based Nanofluid Heavy Oil Recovery A Microfluidic Approach. SPE Canada HeavyOil Technical Conference, Alberta, Canada, 15-16 February, 2017.
Article By: Virginia Tech Lab