Comparative Study of Using Nanoparticles for Enhanced Oil Recovery: Wettability Alteration of Carbonate Rocks

Nanofluids have been recently proposed as new chemical agents for enhanced oil recovery from oil reservoirs. Various nanofluids have been studied in that regard and reported in the literature, verifying the capability of nanostructured materials in enhancing the oil recovery through alteration of rock wettability. In this study, the impacts of different nanofluids of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), titanium dioxide (TiO2), silicon dioxide (SiO2), magnesium oxide (MgO), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), cerium oxide (CeO2), and carbon nanotube (CNT) on the wettability of carbonate rocks were investigated. A series of preliminary contact angle evaluations were performed to screen the nanoparticles. The performances of the selected nanofluids were evaluated by spontaneous imbibition and core flooding experiments. Results of spontaneous imbibition tests and coreflooding experiments confirm the active roles of CaCO3 and SiO2 nanoparticles for enhancing oil recovery. In addition, the effect of nanofl...

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