A New Model for Describing the Rheological Behavior of Heavy and Extra Heavy Crude Oils in the Presence of Nanoparticles

Abstract

Abstract:The present work proposes for the first time a mathematical model for describing the rheological behavior of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils in the presence of nanoparticles. This model results from the combination of two existing mathematical models. The first one applies to the rheology of pseudoplastic substances, i.e., the Herschel-Bulkley model. The second one was previously developed by our research group to model the rheology of suspensions, namely the modified Pal and Rhodes model. The proposed model is applied to heavy and extra heavy crude oils in the presence of nanoparticles, considering the effects of nanoparticles concentration and surface chemical nature, temperature, and crude oil type. All the experimental data evaluated exhibited compelling goodness of fitting, and the physical parameters in the model follow correlate well with variations in viscosity. The new model is dependent of share rate and opens new possibilities for phenomenologically understanding viscosity reduction in heavy crude by adding solid nanoparticles and favoring the scale-up in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and/or improved oil recovery (IOR) process.

Aggregation of Partially Hydrophilic Silica Nanoparticles in Porous Media: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

“…The advancement of nanotechnology attract researchers interest for its application in oil and gas that include the application for enhanced oil recovery, exploration, drilling, completion, well logging, chemical stabilizer, conformance control, heavy oil, stimulation and fines migration control [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. The unique properties of nanoparticles comprises of extremely high surface area compared to their small sizes, thermally stable, high potential to alter the wettability of the reservoir formations, modify rock surface charges and associated impact on the rheological properties of suspensions [14] that showed potentials to enhance extraction of hydrocarbons.…”

Sludge Formation Analysis in Hydraulic Oil of Load Haul Dumper 811MK V Machine Running at Elevated Temperatures for Bioenergy Applications

“…FTIR spectroscopy is also a useful method for identifying molecules of base lubricating oil and additives resulting from degradation. Taborda et al [19] developed a model for studying the effects of nanoparticles on the rheological behaviour of heavy and extra heavy crude oil. ey used two types of mathematical models, that is, Herschel-Bulky and modified Pal and Rhodes for the rheology of pseudoplastic and suspensions substance, respectively.…”