Abstract:The injected fluids in secondary processes supplement the natural energy present in the reservoir to displace oil. The recovery efficiency mainly depends on the mechanism of pressure maintenance. However, the injected fluids in tertiary or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes interact with the reservoir rock/oil system. Thus, EOR techniques are receiving substantial attention worldwide as the available oil resources are declining. However, some challenges, such as low sweep efficiency, high costs and potential formation damage, still hinder the further application of these EOR technologies. Current studies on nanoparticles are seen as potential solutions to most of the challenges associated with these traditional EOR techniques. This paper provides an overview of the latest studies about the use of nanoparticles to enhance oil recovery and paves the way for researchers who are interested in the integration of these progresses. The first part of this paper addresses studies about the major EOR mechanisms of nanoparticles used in the forms of nanofluids, nanoemulsions and nanocatalysts, including disjoining pressure, viscosity increase of injection fluids, preventing asphaltene precipitation, wettability alteration and interfacial tension reduction. This part is followed by a review of the most important research regarding various novel nano-assisted EOR methods where nanoparticles are used to target various existing thermal, chemical and gas methods. Finally, this review identifies the challenges and opportunities for future study regarding application of nanoparticles in EOR processes.

Purpose Despite recent advances in multimodal treatments, the prognosis of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains poor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of moderately hypofractionated simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy (SIB-IMRT) combined with temozolomide (TMZ) for the postoperative treatment of GBM. Materials and methods From February 2012 to February 2018, 80 patients with newly diagnosed and histologically confirmed GBM in our institute were reviewed retrospectively. All patients underwent complete resection or partial resection surgery and then received hypofractionated SIB-IMRT with concomitant TMZ followed by adjuvant TMZ. A total dose of 64 Gy over 27 fractions was delivered to the gross tumor volume (GTV), clinical target volume 1 (CTV1) received 60 Gy over 27 fractions, and CTV2 received 54 Gy over 27 fractions. The progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates and the toxicities were evaluated. Prognostic factors were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox models. Results The median follow-up was 16 months (range, 5~72 months). The median PFS was 15 months, and the 1-, 2-, and 3-year PFS rates were 56.0, 27.6, and 19.5%, respectively. The median OS was 21 months, and the 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 77.6, 41.6, 32.8, and 13.4%, respectively. The toxicities were mild and acceptable. Age, KPS scores and the total number of TMZ cycles were significant factors influencing patient survival. Conclusion Moderately hypofractionated SIB-IMRT combined with TMZ is a feasible and safe treatment option with mild toxicity and good PFS and OS.

In this work, we investigated heavy oil/brine systems on oil-wet sandstone surfaces to quantify the performance of hybrid nanofluids (HNFs) for wettability alteration. In the first step, nanofluid stability analysis was conducted to screen effective single nanoparticles for formulating HNFs and ensure that the properties of the formulated HNFs did not change during the experiments. Then, the ability of HNFs to change the wettability of oil-wet sandstone surfaces to a water-wet state was systematically examined and compared with five types of single nanofluids by contact angle measurements. Then, the effects of HNF composition, hybrid nanoparticle concentration, salinity, and exposure time on the wettability change of sandstones were investigated. Finally, the mechanisms for the wettability shift by HNFs were proposed and verified by scanning electron microscopy visualizations. The results showed that the SiO2 + Al2O3, SiO2 + TiO2, and Al2O3 + TiO2 nanofluids could maintain their stability in the harsh reservoir conditions and that they efficiently induced the wettability change of oil-wet sandstone surfaces to a strongly water-wet state under all operational conditions. The SiO2 + Al2O3 nanofluid achieved the highest wettability alteration efficiency (from 156° to 21° at 0.1 wt % HNF). The efficiency was improved by adding a nonionic surfactant and increasing the hybrid nanoparticle concentration, salinity, and exposure time. However, beyond a certain value, the efficiency slightly decreased due to the instability of the HNFs. Two adsorption kinetics models were applied to predict the measured contact angles at different concentrations and exposure times with good agreement. The stronger adsorption of hybrid nanoparticles on sandstone surfaces was considered to be the underlying mechanism for the higher efficiency of HNFs for the wettability shift than that of single nanofluids.