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Structural Design and Performance Evaluation of a Janus Silica-Based Nanosheet Composite Viscosity Reducer
Jingchun Wu1, Bo Li1, Fang Shi1
1Key Laboratory for EOR Technology (Ministry of Education), Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 26, 2026
Summary
A novel Janus silica-based nanosheet composite effectively reduces heavy oil viscosity by 94.5% and improves flow. This viscosity reducer disperses wax crystals and stabilizes emulsions, offering a cost-effective solution for heavy oil exploitation.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Petroleum Engineering
- Colloid and Surface Chemistry
Background:
- High waxy heavy oil exhibits high viscosity and poor fluidity, hindering efficient exploitation.
- Conventional viscosity reducers often face limitations in performance and cost-effectiveness for such challenging crude oils.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and prepare a Janus silica-based nanosheet composite viscosity reducer for high waxy heavy oil.
- To evaluate the performance of this novel reducer in terms of viscosity reduction, emulsion stability, interfacial tension, and flow characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Asymmetric Gemini viscosity reducer and silica nanosheets were assembled via dehydration condensation.
- Structural characterization using FT-IR, 1HNMR, XPS, and DLS.
- Systematic evaluation of viscosity reduction, emulsion stability, interfacial tension, and core flow experiments on heavy oil (35.7% wax, 237 mPa·s viscosity at 30 °C).
Main Results:
- Achieved a maximum viscosity reduction rate of 94.5% at 0.3% concentration (3:7 oil-to-reducer ratio).
- Demonstrated significant reduction in oil-water interfacial tension and good emulsion stability (7.3% 24h bleeding ratio).
- Core flow experiments showed a reduced resistance coefficient and improved seepage capacity, with a decrease in C23-C30 wax components by 4.79 percentage points.
Conclusions:
- The Janus silica-based nanosheet composite acts synergistically to disperse wax crystals, reduce interfacial tension, and stabilize emulsions.
- This provides a low-cost, high-performance technical approach for the efficient exploitation of high waxy ordinary heavy oil.
