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Volume 324, Part B, 15 September 2022, 124669
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Experimental and field applications of nanotechnology for enhanced oil recovery purposes: A review

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Highlights

  • Types of nanoparticles (NP) and their enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications.

  • Janus nanoparticles’ (JNP) potential advantages over standard NP for EOR.

  • Environmental and economic issues associated with NP use in EOR applications.

  • Viscosity, IFT, wettability and oil recovery influences of NP and JNP.

  • Mechanisms effecting the stability of NPs and their impacts in reservoir conditions.

  • Research gaps associated with nano-EOR stabilization techniques, NP and JNP.

Abstract

Oil reservoir formation damage is a challenging issue associated with water and/or gas reservoir flooding in secondary and tertiary oil recovery operations. Some enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques offer the potential to overcome the multiple problems associated with formation damage and improve production rates and resource recovery. Regrettably, EOR techniques have their own problems to overcome, such as degradation of chemicals (polymers and surfactants) used under reservoir conditions, the large amount of chemicals required, and their high cost. Thus, the applications of nanotechnologies for oil-recovery enhancement offers huge potential benefits. Nanotechnologies can have positive impacts on the properties of subsurface porous media and the pore fluids present. They can assist in the separation of fluid phases, particularly oil and water, and introduce influential coatings to reservoir components. Moreover, nanomaterials can improve the performance of various sensors and control devices used as part of the production system. This study reviews NT laboratory- and field-scale tests to EOR and the ways in which NT can be applied to EOR to cause a reduction in capillary forces thereby enhancing oil displacement by reducing the wettability of the rock matrix and its interfacial tension. It considers the potential of Janus nanoparticles (JNP) for certain EOR applications, contrasting the characteristics of JNP with nanoparticles (NP), and establishing that JNP tend to display higher stability. NP-enhanced carbon dioxide (CO2) reservoir flooding is of particular interest because of its capacity for carbon capture and storage (CCS). NPs act a stabilizer in nano-emulsions, CO2 nanofoams, and liquids containing surfactants and/or polymers. NP are also able to improve the quality of hydraulic fracturing, alter reservoir wettability, reduce interfacial tension, avoid formation damage and inhibit the precipitation of asphaltenes. This review describes the economic hurdles and potential environmental impacts confronting nano-EOR, and makes recommendations regarding future required research and likely EOR-related NP developments. The review’s findings indicate substantial technical and commercial scope for expanded use of nanotechnology for EOR, in particular to enhance reservoir wettability and interfacial tension conditions.

Introduction

Underpinning the energy-drive mechanisms of oil reservoirs progressively moving oil towards the perforations of production boreholes, there are three recovery phases that influence oil-field development: primary, secondary and tertiary recovery (Fig. 1) [1]. Primary production is related to oil recovery using a reservoir’s inherent energy potential or applying artificial lift in the form of various pumping and fluid lifting techniques, e.g., gas lift. Secondary production involves the injection of water and/or gas into the reservoir to maintain reservoir pressure and fluid flow. Waterflooding oil reservoirs is the most common secondary recovery methods particularly to improve oil recovery from reservoirs that require pressure maintenance. Injection of natural gas and other gases (e.g., nitrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) into oil reservoirs is also used for pressure maintenance [2]. Tertiary recovery involves a range of techniques specifically focused on increasing the fraction of oil ultimately recovered from a reservoir. Tertiary methods are based on the extraction of oil using the potential of available in-situ reservoir energy (primary and/or secondary) through the injection of various agents into the reservoir. Those injected agents differ from those used in secondary recovery and typically involve either thermal, gas, chemical, low-salinity water and microbiological materials. Tertiary methods go beyond pressure maintenance aiming to change in some way the properties of the fluids in the reservoir, either enhancing the mobility of oil or inhibiting the flow of water, thereby enhancing oil recovery over time [[1], [2], [3]].

The quality of oil, in terms of density and sulfur content in developed conventional oil fields is deteriorating, and the oil recovery factors from heavier sourer oil fields tends to be low [4].

Moreover, many older fields are on the verge of being abandoned, and yet only about half of the in-place hydrocarbons have been unrecoverable from them. Cost-effective hydrocarbon recovery from mature oil fields tends to be difficult [[5], [6]]. Nevertheless, EOR methods encounter with many challenging factors with respect to their economic viability and technological efficiency. For instance, increasing oil recovery through chemical processes has been possible for decades, but periods of low oil prices since the 1980 s have made operators wary of applying relatively expensive technology [7]. However, nanotechnology has introduced a new dimension to EOR.

Nanotechnology (NT) is the combination of scientific, engineering and technology factors at the nanoscale. NT involves nanoparticles (NP) sizes ranging from 1 to 100 nm. As well as applications in EOR, NT can also be usefully applied to various oil production and hydrocarbon-fuel production technologies (Table 1) [[5], [6], [7]]. Nanomaterials take a range of forms. They can be configured as solid composites, complex liquids, and/or fluid components [9]. To demonstrate their capabilities in sub-surface reservoir environments, engineered NP need to be rigorously tested in real reservoir conditions [10].

One of the most serious issues for the oil industry is to improve production rates and ultimate recovery factors of heavy oil fields. Nanomaterials (NM) in oil and gas reservoirs, as well as nano-scale process control, are critical for effective improved oil and gas recovery. EOR is a method of restoring reservoir characteristics and increasing oil output. Fluid characteristics such as viscosity, density, specific heat capacity, and thermal conductivity alter dramatically when NM is introduced [6]. NP have the potential to modify reservoir factors and oil characteristics in order to improve oil recovery. Changes in fluid characteristics, such as interfacial tension (IFT) reduction, fines fixation within the reservoir, and wettability modification, may be accomplished in situ utilizing nanosensors, nanofiltration, and nanocatalysts [5]. Moreover, the development of new nanostructured materials and fluids (drilling muds, fluids for perforating works, for hydraulic fracturing and some others) is promising in order to solve urgent problems in the oil and gas industry, aimed, in particular, to increase oil recovery [[5], [11], [12]].

However, at reservoir conditions, NP have a tendency to either agglomerate or dissipate due to exposure to high temperatures, pressures, and/or salinity. Currently tested nano-fluids are therefore limited for extensive EOR deployments due to their long-term instability. It is therefore desirable to develop and rigorously test nano-materials that display more robust characteristics at reservoir conditions, and are non-toxic with benign overall impacts on surface and subsurface environments [13]. Under these conditions, the attention of researchers has been drawn to the creation of NPs to combine the advantages of surfactants and certain types of NPs. These new materials are called Janus nanoparticles (JNPs) [[13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21]].

Based on existing research on JNP and NP applications has demonstrated their ability to potentially improve oil recovery combined with existing EOR techniques [[6], [14], [15], [16], [18], [19], [22]]. This review describes the methods, tested with laboratory experiments, for improving, simplifying oil production and oil recovery using NT in a range of forms. It reveals that nano-EOR represents a potential new era of innovative for oil production and recovery [[11], [12], [23]]. In order to review NT EOR applications, a total of 593 studies (2011–2022) have been reviewed. >200 of the more recent studies were selected for detailed evaluation, taking into account the latest research conducted in the last few years (2018–2022). Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were used to compile a statistic summary of the quantity and type of NT-EOR research. According to these data, between 2015 and 2022, 571 documents were published. Fig. 2 reports the number of scientific publications and document related to NT-EOR research. Types of documents are shown in Fig. 2a and 2b, distinguishing those based on journal articles, reviews, books, and conference papers. The number of published studies originating from specific countries are identified in Fig. 2c.

To date, multiple papers reviewing NT roles in EOR have been published: [[4], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37], [32], [38], [39], [40]], and [41]. The main topic gaps not covered by the aforementioned reviews are identified as:

  • detailed classification based on the structural, chemical, and physical properties of NP and JNP and their functions to use in EOR;

  • history of NP applications in EOR, including field applications; and,

  • state-of-the-art analysis of the difficulties, economics, environmental concerns, and process safety regarding the use of different types of NP/or JNP in EOR;

Thus, this review conducts a systematic evaluation of the performance of nanotechnology, with an emphasis on the formulation and structural aspects of NP and JNP additives. The novelty of this review compared to existing NT reviews is that it combines the following components:

  • Description of EOR methods, definition, mechanisms and challenges;

  • History of NP applications in EOR;

  • Relevant potential NT applications by NP type;

  • Types of NP suitable for EOR applications;

  • JNP features and their potential for EOR applications;

  • Specific NP influences on various EOR methods including:

  • o

    NP-enhanced CO2 flooding

  • o

    Improving hydraulic fracture performance

  • o

    Wettability alteration

  • o

    Interfacial tension (IFT) reduction

  • o

    Inhibition of asphaltene precipitation

  • o

    Deploying NP to reduce reservoir formation damage

The review also considers issues, advantages and disadvantages associated with EOR mechanisms and the ways in which NP can achieve solutions for such issues. The economic hurdles and potential environmental impacts confronting nano-EOR are described for certain applications. The review concludes with recommendations regarding future required research, likely EOR-related NP developments and challenges pertaining to nano-EOR applications. Moreover, the most important advantages of this review are that it gives the researcher an opportunity to understand the following:

  • overview of the use of nanotechnology in oil and gas industry;

  • detailed explanation of all types of NP and JNP used in EOR with their mechanism;

  • geographic locations of nano-applications (fields and countries);

  • impact of this nanotechnology on the environment; and,

  • cost and economic factors associated with NP use in EOR.

Fig. 3 displays a workflow diagram describing the sequence of topics addressed in the review. General nanotechnology applications in the oil and gas industry are initially identified, prior to focusing on their specific uses, and the history of those uses in EOR. The properties of NPs and JNPs are compared and contrasted, highlighting their suitability for EOR applications. Special attention is given to field-scale NP applications and their geographic locations. Environmental and economic considerations are addressed in detail and specific recommendations are made regarding future research requirements.

Section snippets

History of NP in EOR applications

The foundations of NT, according to science historians, were laid by Nobel Prize winner Feynman in 1959 in his famous lecture at a meeting of the American Physical Society. However, the term “nanotechnology” was introduced by the University of Tokyo professor Norio Taniguchi in 1974 in the context of processing materials by adding or removing an atom or molecule. In 1981, the term was popularized by Drexler, an employee of the Sandia National Laboratory, who used the concept of NT to generalize

Contributions NPs can make to EOR processes

NP applications in EOR can be distinguished into five different groups:

  • Synthetic/natural-NP polymers [73];

  • Ceramic-class NPs fabricated from inorganic compounds such as phosphates, carbonates, carbides, and metal oxides [48];

  • Metal NPs fabricated with photochemical, electrochemical, and chemical processes [74];

  • Carbon-based NPs including fullerenes and carbon nanotubes [75]; and,

  • Janus nanoparticles (JNP) with surfaces displaying more than one distinctive physical properties. Silica and graphene

Examples of field applications of NP

Pilot evaluation and field trial of nanotechnology in producing oil fields and drilling operations are taking place in several countries around the world, including Canada, China, Colombia, Norway, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, with promising results [[23], [193]]. Fig. 30 shows a map identifying the countries applying nanotechnology at the field scale and the purpose of the NP deployments.

Following primary and secondary recovery procedures, typically more than fifty percent of

Environmental impacts of nanotechnology related to EOR applications

Several NP characteristics potentially pose health risks. Specifically, NP’s high surface-area-to-volume ratio, certain morphologies, and certain metal contents can be detrimental to human health if inhaled. More complex reactions between NP and air pollutants (e.g., ozone and oxides of nitrogen) are not well understood. However, such reactions also pose potential risks to animal health, ecosystems and the environment on a larger scale if they lead to the formation of more stable derivative air

Economic aspects of nanotechnology to EOR

The global nano-materials sector was valued at about US$7.3 billion in 2016 [208], with EOR applications accounting for just a small portion of that economic worth. Nano-materials are estimated to generate about US$16.8 billion in sales in 2022. According to some analysts, the global nano-materials market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 13.1 % from 2020 to 2027 [209]. Others estimate that the global nano-materials market will reach about $23 billion by 2028 [[210], [211]]. Fig.

Advantages and disadvantages of NPs deployed for EOR purposes

The advantages and disadvantages of deploying different types of NP for EOR applications are described in Table 6.

Recommendations for future research and testing

Field-scale EOR applications of NP remain at an early stage of development with much uncertainty surrounding their technical and commercial viability. This situation itself acts to slow down NP uptake for large-scale EOR applications. There is therefore an urgent requirement to verify the many promising results from the multiple laboratory-based NP studies described in this review using long-term field-scale tests. Furthermore, uncertainties surrounding the health and environmental impacts of

Summary and conclusions

The operational potential of nanotechnologies (NT) has only recently been appreciated by the oil and gas industry. This realization has led to an expansion of research and development focused on innovative nano-based “smart fluids” for reservoir stimulation, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and safe drilling in recent years. NT offers the potential to positively impact some macroscopic dispersion systems, such as formation-water-in-oil emulsions. The morphology/phase diagram of water-in-oil

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Tomsk Polytechnic University development program.

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