Synergistic Efficiency of Zinc Oxide/Montmorillonite Nanocomposites and a New Derived Saponin in Liquid/Liquid/Solid Interface-Included Systems: Application in Nanotechnology-Assisted Enhanced Oil Recovery

Abstract

Oil production faces challenges such as limited oil production from carbonate reservoirs, high oil production costs, and environmental issues. Chemical flooding as an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method (CEOR) can increase oil production by the use of chemical additives such as surfactants into the reservoirs. Surfactants can increase oil recovery by interfacial tension (IFT) reduction and alteration of the rock wettability from oil-wet to water-wet. The synthesis of chemicals such as synthetic surfactants is usually costly and harmful to the environment. To solve these problems, many researchers have oriented on the use of natural surfactants instead of synthetic ones within the CEOR process. A new approach to increase the efficiency of CEOR is the synergizing of the chemical additives with nanoparticles as a hybrid fluid, which is known as the nanotechnology-assisted EOR method. In this research, a natural surfactant derived from Cyclamen persicum (CP) plant was extracted, and its performance was optimized with the zinc oxide/montmorillonite (ZnO/MMT) nanocomposite in a synergistic usage. At the optimum concentration of the surfactant, the measurements of the IFT and the contact angle show 57.78 and 61.58% optimizations, respectively. Also, in the presence of NaCl, the performance of CP is improved. IFT and contact angle measurements were also conducted for ZnO/MMT nanofluids and CP-ZnO/MMT as hybrid nanofluids. Results indicate that ZnO/MMT nanocomposites can alter the wettability of the carbonate rock to the water-wet state. Also, the CP-ZnO/MMT hybrid nanofluid shows a good potential in both IFT reduction and altering wettability from oil-wet to water-wet. Finally, to investigate the effects of solutions on increasing oil recovery factor (RF), the optimum concentrations of the surfactant, nanocomposite, and hybrid solutions were selected for dynamic core flooding experiments, and improvements showed oil RF increases of 8.2, 6, and 13%, respectively.

Experimental Investigation of the Synergistic Effect of Two Nonionic Surfactants on Interfacial Properties and Their Application in Enhanced Oil Recovery

“…This can be accomplished by lowering the IFT between the water and oil phases and increasing the displacing fluid’s viscosity. Various techniques, such as surfactant flooding, miscible CO 2 flooding, use of nanoparticles as biosynthesized nanocomposites as dispersing agents, , ionic liquids, and so forth mobilizes residual primarily by lowering the IFT of the crude oil system. Studies have been conducted to blend surfactant with other chemicals to design hybrid injection fluids, like low salinity surfactant nanofluids, where the surfactant is used to disperse the nanoparticles in an aqueous medium uniformly .…”

Review on Potential Application of Saponin-Based Natural Surfactants for Green Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery: Perspectives and Progresses

“… Rock wettability can be determined qualitatively and quantitatively using methods such as the Amott–Harvey index, flotation tests, and contact angle. The relative permeability curves generated from SBNS flooding experiments indicate that Gundelia tournefortii and Acanthophyllum extracts alter rock wettability from oil-wet to water-wet. ,,,, …”

“…Recent advances have appraised the integrated effect of SBNS-hybrid solutions in improving wettability alteration. ,,,,, Nanoparticles remain the popular additives utilized in enhancing the wettability alteration potential of SBNSs. Hydrodynamic and colloidal forces cause nanoparticles to adsorb to the rock surface, thereby promoting the desorption of crude oil droplets on rock surfaces and optimizing the contact angle to lower values, which indicates a more water-wetting state (Figure ).…”

“…The relative permeability curves generated from SBNS flooding experiments indicate that Gundelia tournefortii and Acanthophyllum extracts alter rock wettability from oil-wet to waterwet. 29,107,110,163,164 5.2.1. Analysis of the Effects of SBNSs on Contact Angle Optimization.…”

Evaluating the Potential of Zwitterionic Surfactants for Enhanced Oil Recovery: Effect of Headgroups and Unsaturation

“…Surfactant flooding, a chemical EOR method, is one of the most widely used methods for recovering additional oil from reservoirs. − Surfactants are amphiphilic and surface-active compounds with a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail. − They are used for reducing interfacial tension (IFT) of the fluid–liquid interface and altering the wettability of the rock–fluid interface to a wetting condition suitable for oil recovery. − Altering the wettability of the porous media to the aqueous-wetting condition causes an increase in the relative permeability of oil. − Meanwhile, by reducing the IFT, the capillary number N c is increased as depicted in eq , which consequently lowers the residual oil saturation and enhances the displacement efficiency. − N normalc = μ × v σcosθ where N c is the capillary number, μ represents the viscosity, v represents the velocity, σ represents the interfacial tension, and θ is the contact angle.…”