Contact angle and surface tension are the two most widely used surface analysis approaches for reservoir fluid characterization in petroleum industries. The pendant drop method has among the most widely used techniques for the estimation of surface tension. The present work utilizes a python-based computer program to automatically determine interfacial tension (IFT) and contact angle from the pendant drop image acquired from a typical pendant drop apparatus. The proposed program uses python-based image processing libraries for the analysis of the pendant drop image. Also, the program is tested on images acquired from the standard solutions for the IFT and contact angle calculation showing promising results with a standard deviation of less than 1.7 mN/m.
Oil recovery in modern fields is challenging due to the reservoir complexity and heterogeneity. The need is to improve the efficacy of additives used in oil mobilization under higher pressure, temperature, and salinity conditions. The nanoparticles provide improved and sustainable solutions for improving oil recovery. Silicon carbide nanoparticle exhibits negligible agglomeration and impart higher thermal stability to the displacing fluid for oil mobilization at higher salinity. The SIC nanoparticles are being used in EOR Applications for the first time owing to their adsorption reduction potential and thermal stability at elevated temperatures. The study estimates this nanoparticle's enhanced oil recovery potential using electrical conductivity, surface tension reduction, and crude oil mobilization. The concentration of SDS was varied from zero-4000 ppm and that of SIC from 100 ppm to 300 ppm. The solution's surface tension and critical micelle concentration (CMC) conductivity were measured at elevated temperatures (30°C, 50°C, and 70°C) with and without nanoparticles. The adsorption studies were performed for 72 hours with 10 wt% of sand added to the solution. The loss of surfactant onto the sand was calculated by studying the variation electrical conductivity before and after adsorption. Surface tension reduces from 70.15 to 28.5 mN/m with increasing SDS and nanoparticles concentrations in the solution. The CMC values of the SDS+SIC solution were lower than that of the independent surfactant system, even at higher temperatures of 70°C. SDS adsorption increased from 0.80 to 6.27 mg/g as the surfactant concentration increased up to 4000 ppm. It was reduced by about 10% and 20% for 100 ppm and 200 ppm of the nanoparticles. However, at 300 ppm, the agglomeration of nanoparticles renders them ineffective in controlling adsorption.
A significant quantity of hydrocarbons remains in the reservoir after production using primary and secondary techniques. Traditional recovery techniques produce about 33 % of the original oil in place. However, the utilization of chemicals such as surfactants and polymers facilitate the additional recovery of one‐third of this oil. Researchers are currently aiming at mixing surfactant and nanoparticles for their potential applications in petroleum industry. In this work, authors claimed to be the first to study usage of synthesized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (MSN) with Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) surfactant to understand its applicability in Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery through evaluation of the surface tension & Interfacial tension, surfactant adsorption, contact angle, and core flooding experiments. Surface tension studies revealed a synergistic interaction between MSN and anionic surfactant molecules. With the introduction of 2500 ppm of anionic surfactant, the surface tension of deionized water reduces to 34.5 mN/m from 72.4 mN/m. The surface tension of the mixture was further lowered by ∼9.8 % with the addition of 300 ppm MSN. The Interfacial Tension results also showed the same trend. When 300 ppm of MSN was introduced, then IFT values decreases from 8.13 mN/m to 3.91 mN/m at 2500 ppm of anionic surfactant. Contact angle measurements after MSN injection went from 77.98° for SDS (2500 ppm) to 73.36°, 66.54°, and 41.95° for 100, 200, and 300 ppm of MSN, respectively. This demonstrates that the shift toward water‐wet behavior increased along with the MSN concentration. Additionally, adding 300 ppm of MSN lowered surfactant adsorption by ∼80 % at a surfactant concentration of 2500 ppm. Up to 72.27 % of the OOIP could be recovered using the chemical slug made of SDS surfactant, polymer, and MSN. The research data suggests that the MSN can increase the effectiveness of the chemical injection approach, which can be used to recover more oil.
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