Quantifying mineral surface energy by scanning force microscopy

Area of Science:

• Geochemistry
• Materials Science
• Petroleum Engineering

Background:

• Understanding carbonate reservoir wettability is crucial for optimizing oil recovery.
• Conventional methods for surface energy determination have limitations in scale and accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel method for quantifying the surface energy of carbonate rocks.
• To establish a reliable protocol for predicting reservoir wettability using surface energy measurements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized scanning force microscopy (SFM) for direct, quantitative force measurements at the sub-micron scale.
• Performed local adhesion force measurements on calcite and dolomite samples in various fluid environments (air, polar, nonpolar).

Main Results:

• Successfully determined the surface energy, including polar and nonpolar components, of carbonate minerals.
• Demonstrated the feasibility of quantifying surface energy through SFM-based adhesion measurements, with results aligning with existing literature.
• Established a proof-of-principle protocol for surface energy quantification.

Conclusions:

• The SFM-based adhesion measurement technique offers a novel and accurate approach to characterize reservoir rock wettability.
• This methodology complements traditional contact angle measurements by providing sub-micron scale insights.
• The developed protocol has the potential to become a new standard for fast and accurate surface energy determination in reservoir characterization.