Nanocomposites for enhanced oil recovery

Surface functionalized Fe3O4‐polyacrylamide dispersion for improved oil recovery at harsh conditions

“…The global energy demand is anticipated to increase by 50% in the coming years compared to the current level 1‐5 . Despite the increased share of renewable sources in our energy supply, they are unlikely to meet the demand in the near future.…”

“…The EOR technology to mobilize trapped oil and can be classified as chemical EOR, thermal EOR, gas EOR and others. Chemical EOR processes involve different mechanisms, including surface wettability alteration, 1,6 reduction of oil–water interfacial tension (IFT), 6,9‐11 microbes reactions, 12‐14 and mobility control by polymer/additives, 15‐20 which have been successfully used at the field scale but still suffer many problems such as reliability, scalability and long‐term stability.…”

“…It has been reported that adding metal oxide NPs could drastically reduce IFT properties and alter the fluid's rheological behavior from non‐Newtonian into the Newtonian state 13 . Moreover, structural disjoining pressure has been reported as another EOR mechanism caused by the NP's addition 2 . For instance, both theoretical and experimental analysis showed that the injection of NPs could form two‐dimensional layered structures between the rock and oily soil surfaces, creating a disjoining pressure that facilitated the mobilization of oil droplets 35 .…”

“…13 Moreover, structural disjoining pressure has been reported as another EOR mechanism caused by the NP's addition. 2 For instance, both theoretical and experimental analysis showed that the injection of NPs could form two-dimensional layered structures between the rock and oily soil surfaces, creating a disjoining pressure that facilitated the mobilization of oil droplets. 35 Furthermore, according to Hu et.…”

Influence of Nanoparticle Size Distributions on the (in)Stability and Rheology of Colloidal SiO2 Dispersions and HPAM/SiO2 Nanofluid Hybrids

“…28 Typically, stability is achieved by the formation of an electrical double-layer (zeta potential) that is defined as the potential difference between the dispersion medium and the stationary layer of fluid attached to the nanoparticles. 29 It can also be attributed to a steric hindrance phenomenon that is typically caused by the use of suitable macromolecules in the formulation. The presence of macromolecular polymer species that can cause covalent functionalisation in the nanofluids 30 or ionic salts that can affect charge separation and distribution are other factors.…”