Nano-Sized Particle as Foam Stabiliser Designed for Application at High Temperature and Light Crude Oil Condition for Enhanced Oil Recovery - A Fluid-Fluid Case Study

Abstract

Foam Assisted Water-Alternating-Gas (FAWAG) flooding is one of the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique that had been explored and studied worldwide. The ability of foam to lower the gravity override and create a macroscopic sweeping of oil in the reservoir shows its potential to be a successful technique. However, the rapid degradation of foam at high temperature condition in the presence of light crude oil limits its application. Therefore, introduction of an additive to the surfactant is crucial to maintain foam stability. Nano-scale particle is a well-known material that has attracted a lot of attention due to its unique physiochemical properties. This high surface energy particle has shown to exhibit a catalytic behaviour in various application including EOR chemical flooding. In this study, the effect of four different types of nanoparticles, SiO2 (hydrophilic), SiO2 (hydrophobic), ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles on foam stability under high temperature condition, and in the presence of light crude oil were investigated. Results from this study has shown that SiO2 nanoparticles of the hydrophilic type at concentration three times lower than the surfactant concentration have significantly improved the foam half-life by 2 times longer than the surfactant alone at temperature of 110°C, in the presence of light crude oil (45° API). No improvement of foam half-life was shown by ZnO nanoparticle used in the surfactant formulation. The presence of SiO2 (hydrophilic) nanoparticles have significantly reduced the detrimental effects of light crude oil and strengthen the foam by increasing the viscosity of surfactant from 4.38 cP to 10.01 cP in the presence of 0.15 wt% SiO2 (philic) nanoparticle. The significant increment in viscosity has maintained the wetness of foam, thus reducing the rate of liquid drainage at the temperature above boiling point of water. The SiO2 (hydrophilic) nanoparticle-surfactant formulation was observed to have produced uniform sized bubbles compared to surfactant formulation alone. This indicates that nanoparticles are able to restrict shrinkage or expansion of bubble by creating a steric layer at the lamella structure which consequently restores the foam stability. The foam stability tests, determined as foam-half-life, were performed using inert nitrogen gas as the gas phase to eliminate other factors that may affect foam stability.

Physio-Chemical Analysis of Amide and Amine Poly(dimethylsiloxane)-Modified Defoamer for Efficient Oil–Water Separation

“…The foam collapse profile was measured via a CCD camera placed near the chamber, and the foam stability was determined based on the half-life time. 14 In this test, a mixture of 64.8 mL of the surfactant polymer and 7.2 mL of brine solution were prepared in a beaker, followed by the addition of 40 μL of the modified defoamer was first prepared. The crude oil (8.0 mL) was injected into the chamber, followed by the addition of the first mixture.…”

“…The gas stopped purging when the foam reaches the maximum pre-set volume of 200 mL. The foam collapse profile was measured via a CCD camera placed near the chamber, and the foam stability was determined based on the half-life time . In this test, a mixture of 64.8 mL of the surfactant polymer and 7.2 mL of brine solution were prepared in a beaker, followed by the addition of 40 μL of the modified defoamer was first prepared.…”

Foam Stability Enhanced Technology For Mobility Control Of CO2 EOR

“…Nanoparticles have been investigated to stabilize foam by many researchers Ibrahim et al 2017;San et al 2017;Nazari et al 2018;Razali et al 2018;Rognmo et al 2018).…”

“…Four types of nanoparticles such as hydrophilic/hydrophobic types of SiO 2 (7-12nm), ZnO (less than 100nm), and TiO 2 (less than 25nm) were evaluated by Razali et al (2018) for comparing nitrogen foam half-life time at 110°C. As a result, three types of nanoparticles (two types of SiO 2 and TiO 2 ) revealed enhancing foam half-life time compared with that of surfactant foam alone.…”