The main objective of this work is the catalyst optimization of Fe2O3-, Co3O4-, NiO- and/or PdO- (transition element oxides—TEO) functionalized CeO2 nanoparticles to maximize the conversion of asphaltenes under isothermal conditions at low temperatures (<250 °C) during steam injection processes. Adsorption isotherms and the subsequent steam decomposition process of asphaltenes for evaluating the catalysis were performed through batch adsorption experiments and thermogravimetric analyses coupled to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The adsorption isotherms and the catalytic behavior were described by the solid-liquid equilibrium (SLE) model and isothermal model, respectively. Initially, three pairs of metal oxide combinations at a mass fraction of 1% of loading of CeNi1Pd1, CeCo1Pd1, and CeFe1Pd1 nanoparticles were evaluated based on the adsorption and catalytic activity, showing better results for the CeNi1Pd1 due to the Lewis acidity changes. Posteriorly, a simplex-centroid mixture design of experiments (SCMD) of three components was employed to optimize the metal oxides concentration (Ni and Pd) onto the CeO2 surface by varying the oxides concentration for mass fractions from 0.0% to 2.0% to maximize the asphaltene conversion at low temperatures. Results showed that by incorporating mono-elemental and bi-elemental oxides onto CeO2 nanoparticles, both adsorption and isothermal conversion of asphaltenes decrease in the order CeNi1Pd1 > CePd2 > CeNi0.66Pd0.66 > CeNi2 > CePd1 > CeNi1 > CeO2. It is worth mentioning that bi-elemental nanoparticles reduced the gasification temperature of asphaltenes in a larger degree than mono-elemental nanoparticles at a fixed amount of adsorbed asphaltenes of 0.02 mg·m−2, confirming the synergistic effects between Pd and Fe, Co, and Ni. Further, optimized nanoparticles (CeNi0.89Pd1.1) have the best performance by obtaining 100% asphaltenes conversion in less than 90 min at 220 °C while reducing 80% the activation energy.

This work aims to investigate the effect of active catalytic nanoparticles on the improvement of the efficiency in recovery of a continuous steam injection process. Catalytic nanoparticles were selected through batch-adsorption experiments and the subsequent evaluation of the temperature for catalytic steam gasification in a thermogravimetric analyzer. A nanoparticulated SiO 2 support was functionalized with 1.0 wt % of NiO and PdO nanocrystals, respectively, to improve the catalytic activity of the nanoparticles. Oil recovery was evaluated using a sand pack in steam injection scenarios in the absence and presence of a 500 mg/L SiNi1Pd1 nanoparticles-based nanofluid. The displacement test was carried out by constructing the base curves with water injection followed by steam injection in the absence and presence of the prepared treatment. The oil recovery increased 56% after steam injection with nanoparticles in comparison with the steam injection in the absence of the catalysts. The API gravity increases from 7.2 • to 12.1 •. Changes in the asphaltenes fraction corroborated the catalytic effect of the nanoparticles by reducing the asphaltenes content and the 620 • C+ residue 40% and 47%, respectively. Also, rheological measurements showed that the viscosity decreased by up to 85% (one order of magnitude) after the nanofluid treatment during the steam injection process.

An important factor during the life of a heavy crude reservoir is the oil mobility. It depends on two factors, oil viscosity and oil relative permeability. Two characteristics of nanoparticles that make them attractive for assisting IOR and EOR processes are their size (1 to 100 nm) and ability to manipulate their behavior. Due to their nano-sized structure, nanomaterials have large tunable specific surface areas that lead to an increase in the proportion of atoms on the surface of the particle, indicating an increasing in surface energy. Nanoparticles are also able to flow through typical reservoir pore spaces with sizes at or below 1 micron without the risk to block the pore space. Nanofluids or "smart fluids" can be designed by tuning nanoparticle properties, and are prepared by adding small concentrations of nanoparticles to a liquid phase in order to enhance or improve some of the fluid properties. However the use of nanoparticles and nanofluids for oil mobility has been poorly studied. Hence, the scope of this work is to present the field evaluation of nanofluids for improving oil mobility and mitigate alteration of wettability in two Colombian heavy oil fields; Castilla and Chichimene. Asphaltenes sorption tests with two different types of nanomaterials were performed for selecting the best nanoparticle for each type of oil. An oil based nanofluid (OBN) containing these nanoparticles was evaluated as viscosity reducer under static conditions. Displacement tests through a porous media in core plugs from Castilla and Chichimene at reservoir conditions were also performed. OBN was evaluated to reduce oil viscosity varying oil temperature and water content. Maximum change in oil viscosity is achieved at 122°F and 2% of nanofluid dosage. The use of the nanofluid increased oil recovery in the core flooding tests, caused by the removal of asphaltenes from the aggregation system, reduction of oil viscosity, and the effective restoration of original core wettability. Two field trials were performed in Castilla (CNA and CNB wells), by forcing 200 bbl and 150 bbl of nanofluid respectively as main treatment within a radius of penetration of ~3 ft. Instantaneous oil rate increases of 270 bopd in CNA and 280 bopd in CNB and BSW reductions of ~11% were observed. In Chichimene also two trials were performed (CHA and CHB), by forcing 86 bbl of and 107 bbl of nanofluid as main treatment within a radius of penetration of ~3 ft. Instantaneous oil rate increases of 310 bopd in CHA and 87 bopd in CHB were achieved not BSW reduction has been observed yet. Interventions were performed few months ago and long term effects are still under evaluation. Results look promising making possible to think extending application of nanofluid in other wells in these fields.

Autor a quien debe ser dirigida la correspondencia: ResumenSe evalúo el contenido de compuestos polifenólicos tales como fenoles totales, flavonoides totales, taninos condensados y ácidos fenólicos, del fruto de la guayaba agria (Psidium araca). Estos compuestos determinan la capacidad antioxidante, propiedad que expresa la facilidad para atrapar especies reactivas de oxigeno como valor nutracéutico de la especie. La actividad antioxidante se determinó por diferentes metodologías tales como DPPH, ABTS, FRAP y ORAC. Los resultados son comparables con los de la guayaba común (Psidium guajava) y superiores a los reportados para frutas comunes como piña, sandía, maracuyá y melón. En conclusión, la guayaba agria es una fruta con un potencial antioxidante que puede ser manejado por diversas metodologías tecnológicas y obtener productos con alto valor agregado. Palabras clave: guayaba agria, actividad antioxidante, fenoles, poder nutracéutico AbstractThe content of polyphenol compounds such as total phenols, total flavonoids, condensed tannins and phenolic acids of the sour guava fruits (Psidium araca) was determined. These compounds determine the antioxidant capacity, property that expresses the facility for scavenging reactive oxygen species as nutraceutical value of the specie. The antioxidant activity of sour guava was determined by different methods such as DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and ORAC. The results are comparable with those found for common guava (Psidium guajava) and higher than those reported for common fruits such as pineapple, watermelon, passion fruit and melon. In conclusion, sour guava is a fruit with antioxidant potential, which can be handled by various technological methods to get high added-value products.

Here, the concept of suppression of phase separation is proposed to account for the solubility behavior of asphaltenes at high dilution in toluene under ambient conditions. Nuclei formation at concentrations near 90 mg L–1 is the consequence of reaching A1 fraction solubility, and phase separation is suppressed by the intercalation of sufficient A2 in these nuclei or nanoaggregates. Presumably, such intercalation leads to media penetration of the nuclei periphery, hindering the growth and allowing for nuclei dispersion as a kinetic unit. Trapped compounds (TCs) or compounds trapped by asphaltene clusters were isolated, and their elemental analysis showed that they were neither resins nor asphaltenes. The information available regarding the A1 and A2 asphaltene subfractions is revised and complemented with new thermogravimetric analysis, simulation distillation (SimDis) curves, microcarbon Conradson, softening points, and nanoparticle results involving size-exclusion microchromatography. In general, physical results, such as solubility, SimDis, aggregation, and the softening point, differ substantially, whereas structural results, such as elemental analysis, DBE, and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, are similar. These results suggest that minor structural differences strongly affect the solubility, softening point, and other physical characteristics.

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the regenerative effect of functionalized CeO2±δ nanoparticles with a mass fraction of 0.89% of NiO and 1.1% of PdO in adsorption and subsequent decomposition of n-C7 asphaltenes in steam gasification processes. During each regeneration cycle, the adsorption capacity and the catalytic activity of the nanoparticles were evaluated. To estimate the adsorption capacity of the nanoparticles, adsorption kinetics were studied at a fixed concentration of n-C7 asphaltenes of 10 mg·L−1 as well as adsorption isotherms at three different temperatures at 25 °C, 55 °C, and 75 °C. To evaluate the catalytic activity, the loss of mass of the nanoparticles was evaluated by isothermal conversions with a thermogravimetric analyzer at 230 °C, 240 °C, and 250 °C, and at non-isothermal conditions involving a heating from 100 °C to 600 °C at a 20 °C·min−1 heating rate. The asphaltenes showed a high affinity for being adsorbed over the nanoparticles surface, due to the nanoparticles-asphaltene interactions are stronger than those that occur between asphaltene-asphaltene, and this was maintained during nine evaluated regeneration cycles as observed in the Henry’s constant that increased slightly, with changes of 21%, 26% and 31% for 25 °C, 55 °C and 75 °C. Polanyi’s adsorption potential decreases by 2.6% for the same amount adsorbed from the first cycle to the ninth. In addition, the catalytic activity of the nanoparticles did not change significantly, showing that they decompose 100% of the n-C7 asphaltenes in all cycles. However, the small decrease in the adsorption capacity and catalytic activity of the nanoparticles is mainly due to the presence and change in concentration and ratio of certain elements such as oxygen, iron or others at the surface of the nanoparticle as shown by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. Thermodynamic parameters of adsorption such as Δ H a d s o , Δ S a d s o , and Δ G a d s o and the effective activation energy (Ea) were calculated to compare adsorptive and catalytic performance during each cycle. There is an increase of 9.3% and 2.6% in the case of entropy and enthalpy, respectively, and a decrease of 0.5%, 3.1% and 6.5% for 25 °C, 55 °C and 75 °C respectively for the Gibss free energy from cycle 1 to cycle 9. It was found that these parameters are correlated with the Ce concentration and oxidation state ratios (Ce3+/Ce4+ couple) at the surface.

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Foams in the oil and gas industry have been used as divergent fluids to attenuate the fluid channeling in high-permeability zones. Commonly, foams are generated using a surfactant solution in high-permeability reservoirs, which exhibit stability problems. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to stabilize the foams by the addition of modified silica nanoparticles, varying the surface acidity and polarity for natural gas flooding in tight gas-condensated reservoirs. Four types of modified silica-based nanoparticles with varying surface acidity and polarity (coated with vacuum residue) were synthesized and evaluated using surfactant adsorption. The basic nanoparticles exhibited a greater adsorption capacity of the surfactant, reaching an adsorbed amount of approximately 200 mg of surfactant per gram of nanoparticles, and Type I adsorption behavior. Foams were generated and evaluated based on their stability using two routes, namely, (1) with mechanical agitation and (2) methane flooding, to determine the optimal concentration of nanoparticles to be used. In both scenarios, foam height was monitored against time, and the half-life of the foam was established. The nanofluid prepared using a surfactant solution and 500 mg/L of basic nanoparticles reached a half-life 41% greater than that of the fluid that does not contain nanoparticles. In addition, a core flooding test was performed to evaluate the generation and perdurability of the foam (with and without nanoparticles) by methane flooding and the mobility reduction at typical reservoir conditions (confinement and pore pressure of 5200 and 1200 psi, respectively, and temperature of 100 °C). The porous medium was obtained from a tight gas-condensate reservoir, and it has an absolute permeability of 65.1 mD and a porosity of 7%. The oil recovery with methane injection was about 52%; with foam injection, an additional 10% was obtained, and an 18% additional recovery was reached with the injection of foam and nanoparticles.