Title: Innovative Design of Nanoparticles: Challenges and Opportunities for Oilfield Applications

Abstract:

The increased demand of hydrocarbon enforces reduction in oil reserves globally which became one of the major challenge for the world. Thusly, improving oil production from current reservoirs holds the key to meet the current and near future challenges of global energy demands. The development of new technologies such as nanotechnologies showed potential benefits to address energy challenges for several industrial applications including oilfield. Silica Nanofluid, a colloidal solution of solid charged silica (SiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) suspended in a base fluid (oil/water/glycol/polymeric solutions); possibly beneficial to improve the oil production by governing the matter of facts at nano scale level [1]. However, uniform distribution of NPs within the nanofluid (stable nanofluid) significantly improves the oil recovery due to large exposed surfaces [2]; remarkably able to modify reservoir rock/fluid properties such as wettability of reservoir rock/interfacial tension (IFT) between oil and nanofluid [3]. Therefore, the first requisite for nano-assisted oil recovery (N-EOR) is attributed to the stability of nanofluid and secondly, the impact of stable nanofluids on reservoir properties since flowing through porous media. However, stability of any nanofluid can be influenced by reservoir conditions such as high temperature, high salinity which may reduce oil production in N-EOR process [1,4].

In this regard, silica nanofluids were prepared using deionized (DI) water and found unsuccessful due to rapid agglomeration of NPs in results showed severe sedimentation. Thusly, a typical oilfield polymer polyacrylamide (PAM) were utilized as base fluid (1000 ppm PAM solution) to render the effect of NPs agglomerations [5]. PAM also provides suitable viscosity contrast to displace the oil in porous media through providing stable rheological properties [5]. However, harsh reservoir conditions such as temperature and salinity limits the applicability of nanofluid and makes them a conventional fluid. Thusly, another similar charged and thermally stable NPs (TiO₂) were included in the silica nanofluid to curtail the effect of temperature for harsh reservoirs [5,6]. In the other hand, anionic surfactant were included to the silica nanofluid to render the effect of silica nanofluid in high saline reservoirs [4]. Additionally, the surfactant forms micelles at critical micelles concentration (CMC) which is capable to reduce the IFT between oil/nanofluid and great impact to enhance the oil production [1,3]. Moreover, stability of the formulated nanofluids were characterized for stability using macroscopic study, dynamic light scattering (DLS) study, ultraviolet–visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with elemental analysis and mapping techniques followed by rheological study; and investigated for oil recovery in harsh reservoirs (high temperature and high salinity). Before, oil recovery experiments, the reservoir properties such as wettability alteration and IFT reduction were investigated. Generally, the NPs get absorbed on the reservoir rock surfaces and help to alter the wettability form oil wet to water wet favorable for high oil recovery. The obtained results showed that the surface coated NPs by surfactant and super molecular structure of SiO₂óTiO₂ nanocomposites provides a stable nanofluid of superior capability by maintaining uniform distribution is interesting to avoid early particle aggregation thusly showed incremental oil recovery of more than 70%. This article discusses the novel fabrication methodology of a stable nanofluid using colloidal aspects for subsurface oilfield applications where formations conditions becomes a major challenge during flow through porous and permeable media; would be fortune made for N-EOR in harsh reservoirs. Therefore, this study devoted to the fundamental aspects of stabilizing silica nanofluid and their

Biography:

Ravi Shankar Kumar is a PhD Scholar at Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Laboratory (Department of Petroleum engineering and Geological Sciences) at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, India (Institute of National Importance) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt. of India. He is working under Dr. Tushar Sharma on Chemical based EOR techniques, Nanofluid Design, CO₂ stabilized foam flooding, Carbon Capturing (Trapping), Rheology of polymer-based nano-fluids, CO₂ trapping, Nano- assisted EOR, etc

Vision: His vision is to explore new areas of science and technology in the field of Oil and Gas recovery process to further diversify global energy basket to meet the current and future challenges of Oil and Gas development.