Mechanistic understanding of asphaltene precipitation and oil recovery enhancement using SiO2 and CaCO3 nano-inhibitors.
Sci Rep
; 14(1): 15249, 2024 Jul 02.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38956269
ABSTRACT
Asphaltene precipitation in oil reservoirs, well equipment, and pipelines reduces production, causing pore blockage, wettability changes, and decreased efficiency. Asphaltenes, with their unique chemical structure, self-assemble via acid-base interactions and hydrogen bonding. Nano-inhibitors prevent asphaltene aggregation at the nanoscale under reservoir conditions. This study investigates the effect of two surface-modified nanoparticles, silica, and calcium carbonate, as asphaltene inhibitors and oil production agents. The impacts of these nano-inhibitors on asphaltene content, onset point, wettability, surface tension, and oil recovery factor were determined to understand their mechanism on asphaltene precipitation and oil production. Results demonstrate that these nano-inhibitors can significantly postpone the onset point of asphaltene precipitation, with varying performance. Calcium carbonate nano-inhibitor exhibits better efficiency at low concentrations, suspending asphaltene molecules in crude oil. In contrast, silica nano-inhibitor performs better at high concentrations. Wettability alteration and IFT reduction tests reveal that each nano-inhibitor performs optimally at specific concentrations. Silica nano-inhibitors exhibit better colloidal stability and improve oil recovery more than calcium carbonate nano-inhibitors, with maximum oil recovery factors of 33% at 0.1 wt.% for silica and 25% at 0.01 wt.% for calcium carbonate nano-inhibitors.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Rep
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Irán
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido