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The adsorption of nanoparticles on the pore surface could change surface wettability and slip length, which is dominant for EOR during nanofluid flooding. It is of great value to understand the adsorption mechanism of nanoparticles on the pore surface. The interactions between nanoparticles and pore surface include four significant and common forces, such as Van der Waals force, electrostatic...
CO2 hydrates are cage-like solid compounds consisting of CO2 gas molecules and water molecules. The properties of CO2 hydrates, such as high gas storage capacity and moderate formation conditions of pressure-temperature, are desirable for long-term and safe CO2 storage in geological setting. The purpose of work is to probe the feasibility of CO2 storage in hydrate in marine subsurface....
Recently, CO2 microbubbles (MBs) injection has become an important method to increase oil production in fractured reservoirs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to its unique physicochemical properties. The stability and size distribution of MBs as well as their flow behavior at the pore scale are key to improving the displacement efficiency and regulating the performance. In this study, a...
The development processes of oil in heterogeneous reservoirs are challenged by problems such as early water breakthrough, short periods of anhydrous production, and rapid increase in water cut. Gel particle systems as a very promising plugging agent can improve water flow channels, expand sweep efficiency, and improve displacement efficiency. However, current experimental research on the...
The industry-accepted standard to define the necessary conditions for miscible oil displacement by gas is the laboratory slim-tube test, which lasts over one month and requires much fluid to be tested. This research aims to validate the results of experiments on microfluidic slim-tube analogues for the determination of minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) and propose a novel methodology to...
We investigate the impact of multiphase fluid transport on nucleation and crystallization (precipitation) reactions under pore confinement and the influence of that behavior on permeability and accessible pore space in porous media. Experiments at the intersection of geochemistry and microfluidics have the potential to enable a step change in understanding CO2 storage and mineralization...
pH-induced reactive transport among miscible phases in porous environments is pivotal in carbon capture and storage (CCS) applications, especially in the carbon sequestration process, where the mixing process among the miscible phases affects the pH transport. However, separating the mixing from the pH migration is challenging due to the pore-scale heterogeneities and limited understanding of...
The use of CO2 for secondary oil recovery has become a crucial means to achieve emission reduction. However, the microscopic transport mechanisms of water-oil-CO2 during this process, as well as the regulations governing CaCO3 precipitation in porous media leading to pore clogging and reduced permeability, remain unclear.
This experiment conducts a visualized study of CO2-oil-water...
Microfluidic devices with open lattice structures, equivalent to a type of porous media, allow for the manipulation of fluid transport processes while having distinct structural, mechanical, and thermal properties. However, a fundamental understanding of the design principles for the solid structure in order to achieve consistent and desired flow patterns remains a challenge, preventing its...
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It is believed that viscous oil-displacement fluids enhance oil recovery (EOR) by modulating the mobility ratio between displacement fluid and oil. According to classical mobility control theory, a lower viscosity ratio of the defending fluid and the invading fluid would allow for better incremental oil recovery. However, core-scale experiments have shown that the viscosity...
As a novel type of profile control material, polymer microspheres have the characteristics of easy for injection, able to blockage and movable, which make the application in oil production has gradually expanded. This article is based on microfluidic experiment, combined with fluorescence component tracer technology, to clarify the oil displacement mechanism of polymer microspheres from a...
Polymer flooding is one of the important means to improve oil recovery during oilfield development. However, the performance of polymers is limited by temperature and salinity, which affects their oil displacement effect in reservoirs. Recently, studies have found that a mixed solution of polymers and nanoparticles can enhance the rheological properties of polymers and improve their oil...
The snap-off phenomenon occurs when a non-wetting phase flows from a water-wet constriction into a pore filled with water, resulting in the separation of the non-wetting phase into droplets. This phenomenon is commonly observed in various fields such as petroleum development, chemical engineering, and carbon utilization and storage. Numerous studies have investigated the underlying mechanism...
Microfluidic devices allow direct observation of interfacial phenomena and multiphase flow in porous media. However, they have difficulty representing steady multiphase flow without fluctuating occupancy of locations in the network. The ability of two phases to form steady, intertwined flow pathways is an essential property of 3D pore networks (Sahimi, 1994; King and Masihi, 2019); fluctuating...
Micro-nano-bubbles (MNBs) enhanced oxidation presents a sustainable approach for contaminated groundwater remediation. Understanding MNBs transport and deposition in porous media is crucial for application and optimizing this technology. Firstly, the relationship between the number of MNBs and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration was calibrated to provide a basis for the investigation of MNBs’...
Microfluidics provides an excellent technology for studying fluid flow and solute transport in porous media with high temporal-spatial resolution, making it possible to observe fluid movement in the pore network. However, microfluidic chips are typically composed of artificial materials such as polymer, silicon, and glass, with limited research incorporating natural samples. This has hindered...
Tight gas reservoirs are the subject of interest to many researchers because of the large oil and gas deposits concentrated in them. These low porosity and permeability sandstone reservoirs are widespread worldwide. Enhanced oil recovery methods are widely used in the industrial development of such deposits. These methods require numerous preliminary coreflooding experiments on rock samples,...
Fractures commonly compromise rock integrity, emerging as a primary factor in leakage within CO2 geological storage. Injecting CO2 into deep saline formations often induces salt precipitation (Evaporation-induced) and mineral precipitation (Chemically-induced), leading to the obstruction of fractures and impairment of reservoir permeability. To assess these effects, we...
Mineral dissolution in porous media coupled with single- or multi-phase flows is pervasive in natural and engineering systems. In subsurface environments, the solid porous matrix is composed of various types of minerals, through which subsurface water flows. Dissolution of minerals occurs as chemicals in the solid phase are transformed into ions in the aqueous phase, effectively modifying the...
Colloidal particles from industrial and natural sources can alter the environment they flow through. Colloidal retention and accumulation in porous media may cause catastrophic consequences, such as fouling of filtration membranes, formation damage in geological systems and thrombosis in human bodies. It can also be utilized in many aspects, including enhanced hydrocarbon recovery and targeted...
In order to increase the gas production efficiency during methane hydrate exploitation, the research focus should be on the methane hydrate formation and decomposition mechanism nowadays. As methane hydrate reformation and the hydrate heterogeneity in the pore of sediments show great influence on gas production during hydrate decomposition, new insights need to be supplemented to reveal the...
After polymer injection, the end-point relative permeability of porous medium to other fluids often drops significantly and is not the same as that prior to polymer injection. To understand the hydrodynamic mechanism of this change, we conducted microfluidic experiments. We discovered that polymer solutions were mostly found in pores that are aligned with the direction of mean flow. At the...
Multiphase flow coupled with rock dissolution is prevalent in subsurface energy applications and natural phenomena, such as karst formation, acid stimulation, and CO2 sequestration. The interplay between multiphase flow and rock dissolution will profoundly influence the geochemical and geophysical properties of reservoir formation. Despite its importance, we still lack a thorough...
