Effect of Temperature and Particle Exposure on Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles on Wettability Alteration of Oil-Wet Sandstone

Abstract

Nanofluid treatment is being developed to improve oil recovery and reduce residual oil entrapment in sandstone reservoirs. Nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) at ambient conditions have shown good potential in recent research. The efficiency on EOR has been found to be significantly influenced by nanofluid composition, exposure and time. However, there is a serious lack of knowledge regarding the influence of temperature on nanofluid performance. The effects of temperature, exposure, time, and particle size of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HAP) on the wettability alteration of an oil-wet sandstone were thoroughly investigated, and the stability of the nanofluids was equally examined. At higher temperatures, it was discovered that nanofluid treatment is more effective, with nanoparticle size having little or no influence. The sandstone surface mechanically absorbed most nanoparticles in an irreversible manner. The HAP nanofluid was still effective at high temperature reservoir condition and is herein proposed.