Adsorption-desorption of n–C7 asphaltenes over micro- and nanoparticles of silica and its impact on wettability alteration

Cortés, Farid B.; Montoya, Tatiana; Acevedo, Sócrates; Nassar, Nashaat N.; Franco, Camilo A.

doi:10.29047/01225383.06

Cited by 32 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…It is important to study the adsorption of asphaltenes and resins over nanoparticles mainly for two reasons: (i) depending on the affinity that they have for the nanoparticle, they can be eliminated from the heavy and extra-heavy crude oils and, therefore, making the remaining fraction feasible for production and transport through reduction of viscosity and increase in API gravity values without a source of external heat in the reservoir [90][91][92][93][94], and (ii) the catalytic properties of the nanoparticles could facilitate catalytic decomposition reactions resulting in lighter components in the crude oil [29].…”

Section: Interaction Between Heavy Crude Oil Fractions and Nanoparticlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanotechnology Applied to Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes: A Review

et al. 2019

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The increasing demand for fossil fuels and the depleting of light crude oil in the next years generates the need to exploit heavy and unconventional crude oils. To face this challenge, the oil and gas industry has chosen the implementation of new technologies capable of improving the efficiency in the enhanced recovery oil (EOR) processes. In this context, the incorporation of nanotechnology through the development of nanoparticles and nanofluids to increase the productivity of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils has taken significant importance, mainly through thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) processes. The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of nanotechnology applied to oil recovery technologies with a focus on thermal methods, elaborating on the upgrading of the heavy and extra-heavy crude oils using nanomaterials from laboratory studies to field trial proposals. In detail, the introduction section contains general information about EOR processes, their weaknesses, and strengths, as well as an overview that promotes the application of nanotechnology. Besides, this review addresses the physicochemical properties of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils in Section 2. The interaction of nanoparticles with heavy fractions such as asphaltenes and resins, as well as the variables that can influence the adsorptive phenomenon are presented in detail in Section 3. This section also includes the effects of nanoparticles on the other relevant mechanisms in TEOR methods, such as viscosity changes, wettability alteration, and interfacial tension reduction. The catalytic effect influenced by the nanoparticles in the different thermal recovery processes is described in Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7. Finally, Sections 8 and 9 involve the description of an implementation plan of nanotechnology for the steam injection process, environmental impacts, and recent trends. Additionally, the review proposes critical stages in order to obtain a successful application of nanoparticles in thermal oil recovery processes.

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Section: Interaction Between Heavy Crude Oil Fractions and Nanoparticlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanotechnology Applied to Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes: A Review

et al. 2019

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“…This last could be explained by the asphaltenes adsorption onto the nanoparticles surface upon nanofluid blending with the crude oil, phenomenon which disrupts the EHO viscoelastic network. This adsorption process has an irreversible nature [69], which avoids the asphaltenes to interact with each other after the xylene evaporation from the nanofluid-EHO system, while in the carrier fluid-EHO system, the xylene evaporation allows the asphaltenes aggregation in the fluid leading to partial EHO internal structure recovery. Hence, during the transporting operation of the crude oil, the energy requirements can be lowered with the nanofluid usage, which impacts the technical and economical availability of EHO projects [33].…”

Section: Evaluation Of Viscosity Reduction Durabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Nanofluids for Perdurability in Viscosity Reduction of Extra-Heavy Oils

Montes

Orozco²,

Taborda

et al. 2019

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The primary objective of this study is the development of nanofluids based on different diluent/dispersant ratios (DDR) for extra-heavy oil (EHO) viscosity reduction and its perdurability over time. Different diluents such as xylene, diesel, n-pentane, and n-heptane were evaluated for the formulation of the carrier fluid. Instability of asphaltenes was assessed for all diluents through colloidal instability index (CII) and Oliensis tests. Rheology measurements and hysteresis loop tests were performed using a rotational rheometer at 30 °C. The CII values for the alkanes type diluents were around 0.57, results that were corroborated with the Oliensis tests as asphaltenes precipitation was observed with the use of these diluents. This data was related to the viscosity reduction degree (VRD) reported for the different diluents. With the use of the alkanes, the VRD does not surpass the 60%, while with the use of xylene a VRD of approximately 85% was achieved. Dimethylformamide was used as a dispersant of the nanoparticles and had a similar VRD than that for xylene (87%). Subsequent experiments were performed varying the DDR (xylene/dimethylformamide) for different dosages up to 7 vol % determining that a DDR = 0.2 and a dosage of 5 vol % was appropriated for enhancing EHO VRD, obtaining a final value of 89%. Different SiO2 nanoparticles were evaluated in the viscosity reduction tests reporting the best results using 9 nm nanoparticles that were then included at 1000 mg·L−1 in the carrier fluid, increasing the VRD up to 4% and enhancing the perdurability based on the rheological hysteresis and the viscosity measurements for 30 days. Results showed a viscosity increase of 20 and 80% for the crude oil with the nanofluid and the carrier fluid after 30 days, respectively. The nanoparticles have a synergistic effect in the viscosity reduction and the inhibition of the viscoelastic network re-organization (perdurability) after treatment application which was also observed in the rheological modeling carried out with Cross and Carreau models as the reported characteristic relaxation time was increased almost a 20%. Moreover, the Vipulanandan rheological model denotes a higher maximum stress value reached by the EHO with the addition of nanofluids which is derived from the EHO internal structure rearrangement caused by the asphaltenes adsorption phenomenon.

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“…The adsorption isotherms were constructed at 25 • C using 100 mg of functionalized and non-functionalized nanoparticles per 10 mL of solution. The mixtures were left under magnetic stirring at 300 rpm for 24 h until the system reached the adsorption equilibrium [33]. The nanoparticles with resin II and/or n-C 7 asphaltene molecules adsorbed were separated by centrifugation at 4500 rpm for 45 min and the precipitate was analyzed using a Q50 thermogravimetric analyzer (TA Instruments Inc., New Castel, DE, USA) and corroborated through UV-vis measurements [34,35].…”

Section: Adsorption Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upgrading of Extra-Heavy Crude Oils by Dispersed Injection of NiO–PdO/CeO2±δ Nanocatalyst-Based Nanofluids in the Steam

et al. 2019

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The main objective of this study is to evaluate the injection of a dispersed nanocatalyst-based nanofluid in a steam stream for in situ upgrading and oil recovery during a steam injection process. The nanocatalyst was selected through adsorption and thermogravimetric experiments. Two nanoparticles were proposed, ceria nanoparticles (CeO2±δ), with and without functionalization with nickel, and palladium oxides (CeNi0.89Pd1.1). Each one was employed for static tests of adsorption and subsequent decomposition using a model solution composed of n-C7 asphaltenes (A) and resins II (R) separately and for different R:A ratios of 2:8, 1:1, and 8:2. Then, a displacement test consisting of three main stages was successfully developed. At the beginning, steam was injected into the porous media at a temperature of 210 °C, the pore and overburden pressure were fixed at 150 and 800 psi, respectively, and the steam quality was 70%. This was followed by CeNi0.89Pd1.1 dispersed injection in the steam stream. Finally, the treatment was allowed to soak for 12 h, and the steam flooding was carried out again until no more oil production was observed. Among the most relevant results, functionalized nanoparticles achieved higher adsorption of both fractions as well as a lower decomposition temperature. The presence of resins did not affect the amount of asphaltene adsorption over the evaluated materials. The catalytic activity suggests that the increase in resin content promotes a higher conversion in a shorter period of time. Also, for the different steps of the dynamic test, increases of 25% and 42% in oil recovery were obtained for the dispersed injection of the nanofluid in the steam stream and after a soaking time of 12 h, compared with the base curve with only steam injection, respectively. The upgraded crude oil reached an API gravity level of 15.9°, i.e., an increase in 9.0° units in comparison with the untreated extra-heavy crude oil, which represents an increase of 130%. Also, reductions of up to 71% and 85% in the asphaltene content and viscosity were observed.

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Adsorption-desorption of n–C7 asphaltenes over micro- and nanoparticles of silica and its impact on wettability alteration

Cited by 32 publications

References 64 publications

Nanotechnology Applied to Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes: A Review

Nanotechnology Applied to Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes: A Review

Development of Nanofluids for Perdurability in Viscosity Reduction of Extra-Heavy Oils

Upgrading of Extra-Heavy Crude Oils by Dispersed Injection of NiO–PdO/CeO2±δ Nanocatalyst-Based Nanofluids in the Steam

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