Anastasia Alexandrovna Ivanova

Mixtures of nanoparticles and surfactants are attracting researchers’ interest from around the world for the development of chemically enhanced oil recovery. Nanoparticles modified with surfactants are able to adsorb at the oil–water interface reducing the interfacial tension or adsorb at the reservoir rock surface changing its wettability from oil-wet to water-wet. This change leads to an oil recovery increase. Therefore, in this work, we obtained Ti–O Magneli phases and carbon nanoparticles via the plasma dynamic method and in an electric arc, respectively. Subsequently, these nanoparticles were modified with an anionic surfactant and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The stability and properties of dispersions were studied by tensiometry and dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering methods. It was shown that Ti–O Magneli phases (10–180 nm) and carbon (60–80 nm) nanoparticles modified in sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions formed stable dispersions in water. Furthermore, Ti–O nanoparticles and modified carbon nanoparticles effectively reduced the interfacial tension at the n-hexane/water interface.

This review discusses the theoretical basis and examples of implementation of various molecular modeling approaches to the investigation of the properties of surfactants. These surfactant properties include the ability to reduce the interfacial tension and alter the wettability and viscosity of solutions for the purposes of chemical flooding of crude oil reservoirs. A comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the existing molecular dynamics simulation methods is further provided. It is shown that molecular modeling methods can significantly facilitate the choice of surfactants for specific oil field conditions and can serve as a potential alternative to experimental measurements.

Dispersion and aggregation of nanoparticles in aqueous solutions are important factors for safe and effective application of nanoparticles, for instance, in the oil industry. As conventional oil reserves are depleted, it is necessary to advance chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) techniques to develop unconventional oil reservoirs. Nanoparticles modified by surfactants can be a promising reagent in cEOR. These nanomaterials can reduce interfacial tension and change the wettability of reservoir rock, which leads to an increase in oil recovery. However, the application of nanoparticles is limited by their substantial aggregation in aqueous solutions. The purpose of this work is to select nanoparticles for obtaining stable sols in water in the presence of an anionic surfactant and to optimize the conditions (pH) for further modifying the nanoparticles with the anionic surfactant. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is used as an anionic surfactant. The aggregation of oxide and carbon nanoparticles in water and anionic surfactant solutions was studied by laser diffraction, dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering methods. Most of the studied nanoparticles in water form aggregates with bi-, three- and polymodal particle size distributions. TiO2 nanoparticles obtained by plasma dynamic synthesis form the most stable sols in anionic surfactant solutions. The range of 5–7 pH is defined as optimal for their modification with surfactants. The stability of carbon nanoparticles in aqueous solutions increases significantly in the presence of a surfactant. The obtained results form the basis for further research on the modification of marked nanoparticles in surfactant solutions.

This review discusses the theoretical basis and examples of implementation of various molecular modeling approaches to the investigation of the properties of surfactants. These surfactant properties include the ability to reduce the interfacial tension and alter the wettability and viscosity of solutions for the purposes of chemical flooding of crude oil reservoirs. A comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the existing molecular dynamics simulation methods is further provided. It is shown that molecular modeling methods can significantly facilitate the choice of surfactants for specific oil field conditions and can serve as a potential alternative to experimental measurements.

Low-salinity surfactant nanofluids have recently shown promising results in the wettability alteration of reservoir rocks from oil-wet state towards more water-wet state. However, the investigation of pore-level interactions of nanofluids injection in real oil carbonate rocks at reservoir conditions, which determines the overall fluid dynamics, is lacking. Therefore, in this work, we studied the effect of nanoparticles augmented low-salinity surfactant flooding on the wettability alteration of hydrophobic carbonate rocks with harsh reservoir conditions via X-ray micro-tomography. The designed experiment scheme involved core flooding with an X-ray transparent core-holder developed for studying the flow properties of fluids at the micro level (pore scale). The wettability was quantified by measuring the differences in contact angles after the injection of low salinity, low-salinity surfactant, and low-salinity surfactant nanofluid. The findings illustrate that surfactant flooding with silica nanoparticles had a more pronounced influence on the contact angle among other injected fluids. The contact angle of the rock fell from 144° to 49°, corresponding to the water-wet conditions of carbonate rocks. The results show that the addition of a low concentration (0.005 wt.%) of SiO₂ nanoparticles was enough for wettability changes in oil carbonate rocks. This study illustrates that a combination of surfactant, low-salinity, and nanoparticle features has a more pronounced effect on the three-phase contact angle than if applied separately.

By trapping CO₂ and storing it in matured and depleted geological formations, atmospheric CO₂ release can be reduced. Carbon capture and storage on a large scale can help to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions. This can be achieved by using anthropogenic CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which encourages advances in secure CO₂ storage while enhancing the oil production process. This interaction is expected to hasten the development of CO₂ storage technology and lower emissions from oil producing operations. Reducing CO₂ mobility in the reservoir is crucial to achieving this goal as effectively as possible, and in situ foam generation offers a viable solution. It has been shown that implementing a blend of CO₂ and foaming solution considerably reduces CO₂ mobility and front propagation. Although there have been a few reviews of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), none of these have concentrated on the role of foam EOR in achieving carbon neutrality. Therefore, in this brief review, methods for achieving carbon neutrality with foam EOR are comprehensively reviewed. In order to store CO₂, the utilisation of atmospheric CO₂ to generate foam is the main topic of this review. This approach can boost financial incentives for the energy sector, help to lower carbon emissions, and make it possible to produce oil from depleted reservoirs in a more sustainable way. Thus, identifying and examining the governing mechanisms that affect CO₂ storage during foam flooding as well as reviewing the various techniques for estimating CO₂ storage under actual reservoir circumstances are among the goals of this work.

Foam-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is poised to become one of the most promising tertiary recovery techniques to keep up with the continuously increasing global energy demands. Due to their low sensitivity to gravity and permeability heterogeneities that improve sweep efficiency, foams are the preferred injection fluids over water or gas. Although foam injection has been used in the field to improve oil recovery and control gas mobility, its success is still hindered by several conceptual and operational challenges with regard to its stability and foamability under reservoir conditions. This can be attributed to the insufficient attention given to the mechanisms underlying foam generation and stability at the microscopic level in many studies. For a deeper understanding, this study reviews the most pertinent published works on foam-EOR. The major objective is to provide a broad basis for subsequent laboratory and field applications of foam-EOR. In this work, we highlighted foam classification and characterization, as well as the crucial factors impacting foam formation, stability, and oil recovery. Additionally, the principal mechanisms of foam generation are thoroughly explained. Finally, the most recent developments in foam generation and stability improvement are discussed. Foam-EOR is comprehensively reviewed in this work, with an emphasis on both theoretical and practical applications.

In this chapter, the recent advances in chemical flooding, including the application of nanoparticles, novel surfactants, and the combination thereof will be discussed and described. The main rock and reservoir fluids properties that influence the effectiveness of chemical flooding will be addressed. The emphasis will be given on wetting properties and recent advances in methods for measuring wettability. The technological and economic challenges associated with chemical injection will be posed, and reсent solutions will be given. Especially, the challenge of applying chemical EOR methods to carbonate reservoirs will be covered, and suggestions to overcome it will be given. Moreover, the current worldwide applications of chemical EOR will be discussed and future plans will be outlined.

Drug-eluting films made of bioresorbable polymers are a widely used tool of modern personalized medicine. However, most currently existing methods of producing coatings do not go beyond the laboratory, as they have low encapsulation efficiency and/or difficulties in scaling up. The PLACE (Printed Layered Adjustable Cargo Encapsulation) technology proposed in this article uses an additive approach for film manufacturing. PLACE technology is accessible, scalable, and reproducible in any laboratory. As a demonstration of the technology capabilities, we fabricated layered drug-eluting polyglycolic acid films containing different concentrations of Cefazolin antibiotic. The influence of the amount of loaded drug component on the film production process and the release kinetics was studied. The specific loading of drugs was significantly increased to 200–400 µg/cm² while maintaining the uniform release of Cefazolin antibiotic in a dosage sufficient for local antimicrobial therapy for 14 days. The fact that the further increase in the drug amount results in the crystallization of a substance, which can lead to specific defects in the cover film formation and accelerated one-week cargo release, was also shown, and options for further technology development were proposed.