Mitigation of Mineral Deposition in Carbonate and Sandstone Rocks Using Green Scale Inhibitors

Abstract

Waterflooding is potentially a viable approach to enhance oil recovery, though its efficacy can profoundly be compromised due to formation damage as a result of inorganic scale deposition. In this study, a series of high-temperature core flooding experiments were conducted to evaluate two green scale inhibitors (SIs) of folic acid and inulin as alternative inhibitors to mitigate mineral deposition. The co-injection of two incompatible brines (with and without SIs) for two flow rates of 0.5 and 3 mL/min into two core samples of dolomite and sandstone was experimentally investigated. The results showed that folic acid would inhibit scale formation as much as 45–49%, at the lower flow rate, compared to inulin with an efficiency of 29–39%, at the higher flow rate. Moreover, computed tomography imaging technique showed that scale formation and fine migration would be dominant mechanisms for formation damage in dolomite and sandstone rocks, respectively. The theoretical study based on surface energy also confirmed the experimental results in terms of the work of adhesion which showed that folic acid would mitigate the calcite deposition on rock surfaces approximately 55%. Finally, a phosphonate-based commercial SI was compared with the green SIs which reaffirmed their potencies.

A Review on Chemical Sand Production Control Techniques in Oil Reservoirs

“…The former are mainly mechanical methods applied to collect and control the produced sand. However, the latter are recently developed methods that prevent the production and movement of sand by injecting chemicals that change the properties of the sand and formation or preclude sand production by reducing the oil production rate and, in turn, its velocity in the reservoir. , Another view classifies sand control methods into two categories, based on the location of the equipment or chemical injections: sandface and surface. This classification is further illustrated in Figure …”

Surface Energy and Wetting Behavior of Dolomite in the Presence of Carboxylic Acid-Based Deep Eutectic Solvents

“…According to their study, the deposition rate of gypsum on reservoir rock surfaces was associated with brine flow rate and brine salinity, where sandstones were more susceptible to deposition than carbonates. Mahmoodi et al 36 utilized the concept of work of adhesion to demonstrate the potential application of a green scale inhibitor to minimize the formation damage induced by water flooding in carbonate and sandstone samples. Sanati et al 20 implemented the extended Derjaguin−Landau−Verwey− Overbeek (XDLVO) theory to investigate the wettability alteration potential of an acidic DES, ChCl/citric acid (1:1).…”