Role of interfacial tension on wettability-controlled fluid displacement in porous rock: A capillary-dominated flow and how to control it
Abstract view|180|times PDF download|48|times Supplements download|25|times
Abstract
Oil displacement by spontaneous imbibition is a capillary-governed process, in which wettability controls fluid displacement direction. Capillarity is a driving force to enhance oil displacement in water-wet system, while in oil-wet system capillarity is a resisting one. To promote oil displacement, the former requires high capillarity, but the latter opposes. Such requisites are hypothesized to be alternatively achieved by manipulating an oilwater interfacial tension, without altering wetting character. In this study, spontaneous imbibition was conducted with a set of specifically designed imbibing fluids. Brines at different valencies were meticulously selected to attain desired wettabilities: monovalent brine establishes a water-wetting while divalent brine provides an oil-wet characteristics. A non-ionic surfactant, Triton X-100, was intentionally chosen to solely reduce interfacial tension, with negligible change in wettability. By mixing each brine with the surfactant, high-interfacial tension and low-interfacial tension imbibing fluids at the same wettability for the two wetting regions were obtained, and hence the hypothesis can be examined. For water-wet system, reduced interfacial tension attributed to a weakened driving capillary force to oil displacement, and hence lower oil displaced. On the contrary in oil-wet system, reduction in resisting capillary force as contributed from a reduced interfacial tension displaced greater oil. The results demonstrate how the capillary-driven fluid displacement can be manipulated by the interfacial tension change only, without a challenge of altering wettability. With results obtained from both wetting regions, a correlation between capillarity and ultimate oil displacement was also observed.
Document Type: Original article
Cited as: Tangparitkul, S., Sukee, A., Jiang, J., Tapanya, C., Fongkham, N., Yang, H. Role of interfacial tension on wettability-controlled fluid displacement in porous rock: A capillary-dominated flow and how to control it. Capillarity, 2023, 9(3): 55-64. https://doi.org/10.46690/capi.2023.12.02
Keywords
References
Ameri, A., Esmaeilzadeh, F., Mowla, D. Effect of low-salinity water on asphaltene precipitation. Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, 2018, 39(7): 1031-1039.
Austad, T., Matre, B., Milter, J., et al. Chemical flooding of oil reservoirs 8. Spontaneous oil expulsion from oil- and water-wet low permeable chalk material by imbibition of aqueous surfactant solutions. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 1998, 137(1-3): 117-129.
Bachu, S. Review of CO2 storage efficiency in deep saline aquifers. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2015, 40: 188-202.
Berg, S., Ott, H. Stability of CO2-brine immiscible displacement. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2012, 11: 188-203.
Blunt, M. J. Multiphase Flow in Permeable Media: A Pore-Scale Perspective. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Burgan, A., Jellah, A. Effect of chemical additives on wettability alteration during chemical EOR: A review. 2021.
Cai, J., Jin, T., Kou, J., et al. Lucas-washburn equation-based modeling of capillary-driven flow in porous systems. Langmuir, 2021, 37(5): 1623-1636.
Chávez-Miyauchi, T. E., Firoozabadi, A., Fuller, G. Nonmonotonic elasticity of the crude oil-brine interface in relation to improved oil recovery. Langmuir, 2016a, 32(9): 2192-2198.
Chávez-Miyauchi, T. E., Firoozabadi, A., Fuller, G. G. Nonmonotonic elasticity of the crude oil-brine interface in relation to improved oil recovery. Langmuir, 2016b, 32(9): 2192-2198.
Chen, P., Mohanty, K. K. Surfactant-enhanced oil recovery from fractured oil-wet carbonates: Effects of low IFT and wettability alteration. Paper SPE 173797 Presented at the SPE International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry, Texas, USA, 13-15 April, 2015.
Cheng, Z., Zhang, W., Ning, Z., et al. Wettability control on imbibition behavior of oil and water in porous media. Physics of Fluids, 2022, 34: 076603.
Deng, X., Kamal, M. S., Patil, S., et al. Investigation of the coupled effect of IFT reduction and wettability alteration for oil recovery: New insights. ACS Omega, 2023a, 8(13): 12069-12078.
Deng, X., Patil, S., Al Shehri, D., et al. IFT reduction negatively impacts oil recovery when wettability alteration happens. Paper SPE 214178 Presented at the Gas & Oil Technology Showcase and Conference, Dubai, UAE, 13-15 March, 2023b.
Deng, X., Tariq, Z., Murtaza, M., et al. Relative contribution of wettability alteration and interfacial tension reduction in EOR: A critical review. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 2021, 325: 115175.
Ducker, W. A., Xu, Z., Clarke, D. R., et al. Forces between alumina surfaces in salt solutions: Non-DLVO eorces and the implications for colloidal processing. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 1994, 77(2): 437-443.
Ekechukwu, G. K., Khishvand, M., Kuang, W., et al. The effect of wettability on waterflood oil recovery in carbonate rock samples: A systematic multi-scale experimental investigation. Transport in Porous Media, 2021, 138(2): 369-400.
Gu, X., Pu, C., Huang, H., et al. Micro-influencing mechanism of permeability on spontaneous imbibition recovery for tight sandstone reservoirs. Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2017, 44(6): 1003-1009.
Guo, H., Kovscek, A. R. Investigation of the effects of ions on short-range non-DLVO forces at the calcite/brine interface and implications for low salinity oil-recovery processes. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2019, 552: 295-311.
Habibi, A., Esparza, Y., Boluk, Y., et al. Enhancing imbibition oil recovery from tight rocks by mixing nonionic surfactants. Energy & Fuels, 2020, 34(10): 12301-12313.
Hamida, T., Babadagli, T. Immiscible displacement of oil by water in consolidated porous media due to capillary imbibition under ultrasonic waves. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2007, 122(3): 1539-1555.
Hosseininoosheri, P., Lashgari, H. R., Sepehrnoori, K. A novel method to model and characterize in-situ bio-surfactant production in microbial enhanced oil recovery. Fuel, 2016, 183: 501-511.
Hou, B., Jia, R., Fu, M., et al. Mechanism of synergistically changing wettability of an oil-wet sandstone surface by a novel nanoactive fluid. Energy & Fuels, 2020, 34(6): 6871-6878.
Jacquin, C., Adler, P. M. The fractal dimension of a gas-liquid interface in a porous medium. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 1985, 107(2): 405-417.
Jarrahian, K., Seiedi, O., Sheykhan, M., et al. Wettability alteration of carbonate rocks by surfactants: A mechanistic study. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2012, 410: 1-10.
Keykhosravi, A., Simjoo, M. Enhancement of capillary imbibition by Gamma-Alumina nanoparticles in carbonate rocks: Underlying mechanisms and scaling analysis. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 187: 106802.
Krevor, S., de Coninck, H., Gasda, S. E., et al. Subsurface carbon dioxide and hydrogen storage for a sustainable energy future. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2023, 4: 102-118.
Li, R., Manica, R., Lu, Y., et al. Role of surfactants in spontaneous displacement of high viscosity oil droplets from solid surfaces in aqueous solutions. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2020, 579: 898-908.
Li, S., Ye, Z., Wang, J., Tang, L., Lai, N. Effects of fracturing fluid composition and other factors on improving the oil imbibition recovery of shale reservoir. Capillarity, 2023, 9(3): 45-54.
Liu, X., Kang, Y., Yan, L., et al. Implication of interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration by surfactant on enhanced oil recovery in tight oil reservoirs. Energy Reports, 2022, 8: 13672-13681.
Liu, X., Kang, Y., Yan, L., et al. Interaction forces in bitumen extraction from oil sands. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2005, 287(2): 507-520.
Massarweh, O., Abushaikha, A. S. The use of surfactants in enhanced oil recovery: A review of recent advances. Energy Reports, 2020, 6: 3150-3178.
Meng, Q., Liu, H., Wang, J., et al. Effect of gravity on spontaneous imbibition from cores with two ends open in the frontal flow period. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2016, 141: 16-23.
Mohapatra, S. S., Jha, J. M., Srinath, K., et al. Enhancement of cooling rate for a hot steel plate using air-atomized spray with surfactant-added water. Experimental Heat Transfer, 2014, 27(1): 72-90.
Mosallanezhad, A., Kalantariasl, A. Performance prediction of ion-engineered water injection (EWI) in chalk reservoirs using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Energy Reports, 2021, 7: 2916-2929.
Pan, B., Yin, X., Ju, Y., et al. Underground hydrogen storage: Influencing parameters and future outlook. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 2021, 294: 102473.
Ringrose, P. S., Furre, A. K., Gilfillan, S. M. V, Krevor, S., et al. Storage of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers: Physicochemical processes, key constraints, and scale-up potential. Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2021, 12: 471-494.
Saeedi Dehaghani, A. H., Ghalamizade Elyaderani, S. M. Application of ion-engineered persian gulf seawater in EOR: Effects of different ions on interfacial tension, contact angle, zeta potential, and oil recovery. Petroleum Science, 2021, 18: 895-908.
Saira, Y, H., Le-Hussain, F. Effect of alcohol-treated CO2 on interfacial tension between CO2 and oil, and oil swelling. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2021, 5(4): 407-421.
Sheng, J. Comparison of the effects of wettability alteration and IFT reduction on oil recovery in carbonate reservoirs. Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2013, 8(1): 154-161.
Standnes, D. C., Austad, T. Wettability alteration in chalk: 2. Mechanism for wettability alteration from oil-wet to water-wet using surfactants. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2000, 28(3): 123-143.
Sukee, A., Nunta, T., Fongkham, N., et al. Effects of brine valency and concentration on oil displacement by spontaneous imbibition: An interplay between wettability alteration and reduction in the oil-brine interfacial tension. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 2022a, 365: 120089.
Sukee, A., Nunta, T., Haruna, M. A., et al. Influence of sequential changes in the crude oil-water interfacial tension on spontaneous imbibition in oil-wet sandstone. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2022b, 210: 110032.
Tangirala, S., Sheng, J. J. Roles of surfactants during soaking and post leak-off production stages of hydraulic fracturing operation in tight oil-wet rocks. Energy & Fuels, 2019, 33(9): 8363-8373.
Tangparitkul, S., Charpentier, T. V. J., Pradilla, D., et al. Interfacial and colloidal forces governing oil droplet displacement: Implications for enhanced oil recovery. Colloids and Interfaces, 2018, 2(3): 30.
Tangparitkul, S., Hodges, C. S., Ballard, D. A., et al. Dewetting dynamics of heavy crude oil droplet in low-salinity fluids at elevated pressures and temperatures. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2021, 596: 420-430.
Tangparitkul, S, M., Watchanan Chantapakul, N. P. A real-time autonomous adjusting process for fluid-fluid dis placement in CO2 geological sequestration. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2023, 7(2): 71-74.
Taylor, S. E., Chu, H. Metal ion interactions with crude oil components: Specificity of Ca2+ binding to naphthenic acid at an oil/water interface. Colloids and Interfaces, 2018, 2(3): 40.
Thomas, Y. An essay on the cohesion of fluids. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1805, 95: 65-87.
Tu, J., Sheng, J. Experimental and numerical study of surfactant solution spontaneous imbibition in shale oil reservoirs. Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2020, 106: 169-182.
Wang, H., Cai, J., Su, Y., Jin, Z., Wang, W., Li, G. Imbibition behaviors in shale nanoporous media from pore-scale perspectives. Capillarity, 2023, 9(2): 32-44.
Wang, J., Li, Y., Zhou, F., et al. Study on the effect of wettability on the oil recovery of tight carbonate reservoirs. Paper ARMA-2020-1051 Presented at the 54th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium, physical event cancelled, 28 June-1 July, 2020.
Wu, J., Liu, F., Chen, G., et al. Effect of ionic strength on the interfacial forces between oil/brine/rock interfaces: A chemical force microscopy study. Energy & Fuels, 2016, 30(1): 273-280.
Xu, D., Bai, B., Wu, H., et al. Mechanisms of imbibition enhanced oil recovery in low permeability reservoirs: Effect of IFT reduction and wettability alteration. Fuel, 2019, 244: 110-119.
Yusuf, M., Wathon, M. H., Thanasaksukthawee, V., et al. Adsorption of saponin natural surfactant on carbonate rock and comparison to synthetic surfactants: An enhanced oil recovery prospective. Energy & Fuels, 2021, 35(14): 11193-11202.
Zhang, H., Nikolov, A., Wasan, D. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using nanoparticle dispersions: Underlying mechanism and imbibition experiments. Energy & Fuels, 2014, 28(5): 3002-3009.
Zhang, J., Fanghui, L., Yang, H., et al. Effect of ion type on the interaction between polar model oil and mica substrate: A chemical force microscopy study. Energy & Fuels, 2018, 32(10): 10486-10492.
Zhao, H., Long, J., Masliyah, J. H., et al. Effect of divalent cations and surfactants on silica-bitumen interactions. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2006, 45(22): 7482-7490.
Zhu, D., Li, B., Li, H., et al. Effects of low-salinity water on the interface characteristics and imbibition process. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2022, 208: 109564.
Zivar, D., Kumar, S., Foroozesh, J. Underground hydrogen storage: A comprehensive review. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2021, 46(45): 23436-23462.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2023 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.