Microfluidic Study of the Effect of Nanosuspensions on Enhanced Oil Recovery

The essential advantages of microfluidic studies are the excellent visualization of the processes of oil displacement from the porous medium model, simple cleaning, and the possibility of the repeated use of the microfluidic chip. The present article deals with the process of oil displacement by suspension flooding using a microfluidic chip, simulating a porous medium, and the suspensions of silicon dioxide nanoparticles (22 nm). The mass concentration of nanoparticles in suspensions ranged from 0.1 to 2 wt%. Five mass concentrations (0.125 wt%, 0.25 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 1 wt% and 2 wt%) were considered. The article presents the experimental photographs of the oil displacement process by water and SiO₂ suspension. It is shown that, with the increasing concentration of nanoparticles, the oil recovery factor increases. A significant effect is observed at 0.5 wt% concentration of nanoparticles. It is shown that the increase in oil recovery during flooding by SiO₂ suspension with the maximum concentration was 16%.