Potential Application of Fe₂O₃ and Functionalized SiO₂ Nanoparticles for Inhibiting Asphaltene Precipitation in Live Oil at Reservoir Conditions

Abstract

Despite the numerous works devoted to the effect of nanoparticles on asphaltene formation, their potentials for controlling asphaltene precipitation in live oils at realistic pressure–temperature conditions of oil fields have not been studied. In this study, Fe2O3 and functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized to investigate theirs effects on asphaltene precipitation and aggregation in a light live oil with a high asphaltene deposition risk. The high pressure-high temperature (HPHT) experiments including solid detection system, high pressure microscopy and HPHT filtration were designed and conducted. The results show that during depressurization of the oil at 274.9 °F, treating the live oil with 150 ppm of F-SiO2 nanoparticles leads to over 600 psi delay of asphaltene onset pressure; however, in the presence of the same amount of Fe2O3 nanoparticles, the oil remains more stable and no asphaltenes precipitation is detected. Therefore, compared to the F-SiO2, the Fe2O3 nanoparticles better control the asphaltene precipitation and aggregation. This may arise from the higher number and stronger interactions of the acidic/basic functional groups of the asphaltenes with the surface sites of the Fe2O3 nanoparticles. TEM images show that the size of irregular tangled asphaltene structures is decreased from 110 to 150 nm to 40–80 nm due to the addition of the nanoparticles to the live oil. Furthermore, the average interlayer spacing of the aromatic sheets of the asphaltene in aggregates is increased from 0.385 nm in blank live oil to 0.470 and 0.442 nm in the live oil treated with Fe2O3 and F-SiO2, respectively. The consistency of different experimental results in this work provides invaluable insight for oil field applications of nanoparticles as a practical method to control the damages induced by asphaltene precipitation.

Coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as Asphaltene Inhibitors for Pore Plugging Control during Miscible Displacement in Microfluidic Glass Porous Media: A Pore-Level Study

“…It may be inferred that the chemisorption on the nanoparticles results in a change in the charge distribution in the oleate groups, leading to charge transfer interactions of the coated nanoparticles with asphaltene. The addition of 150 ppm of SiO 2 nanoparticles results in a shift of 608 psi to lower pressures in the asphaltene onset pressure of a live oil sample detected by a solid detection system (SDS), as reported in our previous work . This is ascribed to the interactions of the nanoparticle surface sites with the functional groups of mostly heavier and unstable fractions of the asphaltene.…”

“…The addition of 150 ppm of SiO 2 nanoparticles results in a shift of 608 psi to lower pressures in the asphaltene onset pressure of a live oil sample detected by a solid detection system (SDS), as reported in our previous work. 57 This is ascribed to the interactions of the nanoparticle surface sites with the functional groups of mostly heavier and unstable fractions of the asphaltene. The schematic representation of the asphaltene aggregation control by the coated nanoparticles is shown in Figure 7.…”

Improvement of the Rheological Behavior of Viscoelastic Surfactant Fracturing Fluids by Metallic-Type Nanoparticles

“…After calculating the optimal concentrations of the surfactant and VES for the initial preparation of the solution, three types of nanoparticles (Fe 2 O 3 , MgO, and ZnO) were synthesized and used in designed tests to improve the rheological performance of the solutions. The studied nanoparticles were synthesized by the chemical precipitation method. − As the synthesis of the nanoparticles is out of scope of this work, detailed descriptions about the methods of preparation of nanoparticles can be found in the mentioned references. Essentially, this article intends to focus on the application and effects of the nanoparticles in rheological properties of VES solutions.…”

Application of Nanoparticles in Stimulation: A Review

“…The use of NPs to mitigate these challenges is currently gaining attention. NPs have found several applications in the nonpetroleum and petroleum industries. − Different categories have been identified based on the physical and chemical properties . These include the carbon-based fullerenes and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), the metal NPs made of the metals precursors, NPs of the alkali and noble metals (Cu, Ag, and Au), the ceramics NPs, which are inorganic nonmetallic solids, , semiconductor NPs, which possess properties between metals and nonmetals, and the polymeric organic-based NPs.…”