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" Multiscale Study of Impact of Wettability, Mineralogy, and Pore Topology on Fluid Displacement by Surfactants, Microemulsions, and Nanofluids in Heterogeneous Rocks "
Qin, Tianzhu
Goual, Lamia
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Latin Dissertation
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English
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| Record Number
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1053184
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TL52301
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| Main Entry
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Qin, Tianzhu
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| Title & Author
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Multiscale Study of Impact of Wettability, Mineralogy, and Pore Topology on Fluid Displacement by Surfactants, Microemulsions, and Nanofluids in Heterogeneous Rocks\ Qin, TianzhuGoual, Lamia
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| College
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University of Wyoming
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| Date
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2019
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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2019
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| Note
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225 p.
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| Abstract
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Chemical additives such as surfactants, microemulsions (MEs), and nanofluids are often added to brine to enhance oil recovery or remediate aquifers contaminated by non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). The goal of this fundamental study was to examine the effect of these additives on multiscale oil displacements in six aged sandstones and carbonates (Berea, Bentheimer, Tensleep, Arkose, Edwards, and Fond Du Lac) and identify the test conditions in which chemicals exhibit superior performance. Several mechanisms such as reduction in NAPL/brine interfacial tension (IFT), oil emulsification, reduced NAPL layer thickness, and wettability alteration were responsible for the recovery enhancement. Macroscale tests indicated that the solubilization capacity of MEs was superior in Tensleep compared to Berea and Edwards due to MEs’ unique ability to penetrate microporous dolomites and alter their wettability. This solubilization ability was confirmed by x-ray microtomography experiments with Arkose where MEs were able to restore the wettability of pore surfaces by penetrating rough carbonate cements and desorbing asphaltenes in the form of small emulsified NAPL droplets. The surfactant formulation was further optimized to improve MEs’ ability to enhance NAPL recovery. Four different nonionic surfactants (alkyl glucosides, linear/branched alcohol ethoxylates) were selected to establish structure-function relationships in some of these rocks. The synergistic mixing of alkyl glucosides with alkylphenol ethoxylates exhibited a compact geometrical packing at NAPL/brine interfaces and a complementary effect on IFT reduction and wettability alteration, recovering the largest amounts of NAPL in carbonate-bearing rocks compared to other surfactants. This mixture was then used to prepare a nanofluid composed of microemulsions with in-situ synthesized silica nanoparticles. The microscale NAPL displacements by the nanofluid in Arkose sandstone was examined using a micro-CT scanner integrated with a miniature core flooding system. The incremental NAPL removal with the nanofluid (34.3%) was higher than that of ME (20%) due to the emulsification of NAPL into smaller droplets. The latter could penetrate small capillary elements of the rock that were inaccessible to ME, causing stronger wettability alteration especially in microporous carbonate cements. The microscale dynamics of NAPL displacement was examined by injecting various amounts of nanofluid into Fond Du Lac carbonate. Tomography data revealed that NAPL droplets were emulsified within the first injected pore volume, mobilizing almost 50% of NAPL. The size of these droplets decreased from 9 to 3 µm with increasing amount of nanofluid delivered into the pores through advection and diffusion. Subsequent nanofluid injection further removed NAPL from the smaller pores by changing their wettability, leading to a reduced thickness of adsorbed NAPL layers, a narrower in-situ contact angle distribution, and an additional 16% of NAPL removal.
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Petroleum engineering
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Goual, Lamia
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University of Wyoming
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