A Novel Nano-Surfactant NiFe2O4-Chitosan Nanoparticles Composed and Used in Enhanced Oil Recovery

Abstract

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, magnetic nanoparticles are currently widely studied 1. Superpara-magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have attracted researchers in various fields such as physics 2 , medicine 3 , biology 4 and materials science 5 due to their multifunctional properties such as small size, superparamagnetism and low toxicity 6. However, the nanoparticles tend to aggregate due to strong magnetic dipoledipole attractions between particles 7. At the same time, the capacity for anti-acid 8 , anti-alkali 9 and anti-salt 10 of magnetic nanoparticles is in the low level. Recently, the combination of organic and inorganic components at nano-sized level has attracted considerable attention because of the potential applications in many field 11. Surface-active agents or surfactants are an important class of chemical compounds used in different sectors of modern industry, such as food 12 , pharmaceutical 13 , cosmetics 14 and petroleum industries 15. These compounds are able to reduce surface and interfacial tensions, as well as to form and stabilize oil in water (o/w) or water in oil (w/o) emulsions especially in adsorption of oil for enhanced oil recovery 16-18. Currently, the alkyl benzene sulfonate is widely used in enhanced oil recovery which has serious pollution, difficult to recycling and nondirectional movement ability 19,20. Due to environmental issues and artificial surfactant, the demand for biodegradable