The effect of silica nanoparticles on gas diffusion rate in CO2 miscible injection method

Importance of modern EOR methods for global energysupply has made the use of nanotechnology andnanoparticles attractive in EOR applications. The usednanoparticles should have controlled size & sizedistribution; otherwise they may cause damage toreservoirs because of pore blockage. In this study, theeffect of silica nanoparticles on CO2 miscible gasinjection was investigated. For this purpose, silicananoparticles with average size & size distribution of27.6 and 13-76 nm, respectively, were synthesized inisooctane/1-hexanol/CTAB/ammonium hydroxidereverse micellar system. In order to investigate theeffects of nanoparticles, diffusion experiments wereconducted using CO2 gas and isooctane/1-hexanol,reverse micellar system with and withoutnanoparticles. Then, diffusion coefficients in each ofthree systems were calculated by modelling thediffusion process using pressure decay data. Resultsshow that presence of nanoparticles has led toreduction in rate of gas diffusion due to higherconcentration of soluble gas.

کلیدواژه ها:

Silica nanoparticles ، Controlled size ، Reverse micelles ، Gas injection ، Diffusion coefficient