Microscopic characterization and multi-scale modeling of nanoparticles transport behaviors for enhancing fluid injection in subsurface reservoir

IF 5.2 2区化学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL

Journal of Molecular Liquids Pub Date : 2025-10-05 DOI:10.1016/j.molliq.2025.128626

Bin Yuan , Jidong Gao , Xupeng Liu , Wei Zhang , Caili Dai

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Active Nanoparticle (ANP) flooding has emerged as an effective enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology in low-permeability reservoirs for its ability to regulate rock wettability and reduce water injection resistance. However, few studies linked the microscopic EOR mechanisms with the macroscopic flow models for ANP flooding, which restricts the design and optimization of nanoparticle synthesis. This study developed a macroscopic flow model for ANPs flooding coupling the microscopic EOR mechanisms obtained from molecular simulations and experiments, and apply ANPs to field-scale simulations to analyze their effects on pressure drop and recovery efficiency.

The experimental results indicate that the injection pressure would stabilize at a pressure that is lower than the pre-flush injection pressure due to the enhanced water transport. The molecular dynamics simulation results further confirmed the non-zero slip velocity along the pore wall following ANP adsorption, which contributes to the improved water movability in the experiment. Additionally, the molecular simulation manifests an exponential relationship between wall slip length, the ANP adsorption proportion, and the contact angle. The observed exponential slip length relationship is then integrated into the macroscopic model for nanofluid flooding considering the force equilibrium of nanoparticles, and the macroscopic model is solved analytically using the method of characteristics (MOC). By reflecting the microscopic slippage effect on the change of effective permeability, the developed macroscopic model can well predict the observed reduction of injection pressure in the experiment. Analysis of the model indicates that the injection of nanofluid can be categorized into four scenarios, and the concentrations of ANP evolve differently in these scenarios due to different dominating physics (suspension, adsorption, straining) of the ANPs. Field-scale simulation results show that compared with water flooding, ANP-water alternating (AWA) flooding exhibits a clear decrease in injection well pressure and a doubling of peak daily oil production.

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增强地下储层流体注入的纳米颗粒运移行为微观表征及多尺度模拟

活性纳米颗粒（ANP）驱已成为低渗透油藏中一种有效的提高采收率（EOR）技术，因为它具有调节岩石润湿性和降低注水阻力的能力。然而，很少有研究将ANP驱油的微观提高采收率机理与宏观流动模型联系起来，这限制了纳米颗粒合成的设计和优化。结合分子模拟和实验得到的微观提高采收率机理，建立了ANPs驱的宏观流动模型，并将ANPs应用于现场模拟，分析了其对压降和采收率的影响。实验结果表明，由于水输运的增强，注入压力稳定在一个低于前置注入压力的压力。分子动力学模拟结果进一步证实了ANP吸附后沿孔壁的非零滑移速度，这有助于提高实验中水的可动性。此外，分子模拟还显示了壁面滑移长度、ANP吸附比例和接触角之间的指数关系。将观察到的指数滑移长度关系整合到考虑纳米颗粒力平衡的纳米流体驱油宏观模型中，并利用特征量法（MOC）对宏观模型进行解析求解。建立的宏观模型通过反映微观滑动效应对有效渗透率变化的影响，可以很好地预测实验中观察到的注入压力降低。模型分析表明，纳米流体的注入可分为四种场景，并且由于ANP的主要物理性质（悬浮、吸附、应变）不同，在这些场景中ANP的浓度演变不同。现场规模模拟结果表明，与水驱相比，anp -水交替（AWA）驱明显降低了注入井压力，日产量峰值提高了一倍。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Molecular Liquids 化学-物理：原子、分子和化学物理

CiteScore

10.30

自引率

16.70%

发文量

2597

审稿时长

78 days

期刊介绍： The journal includes papers in the following areas: – Simple organic liquids and mixtures – Ionic liquids – Surfactant solutions (including micelles and vesicles) and liquid interfaces – Colloidal solutions and nanoparticles – Thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals – Ferrofluids – Water, aqueous solutions and other hydrogen-bonded liquids – Lubricants, polymer solutions and melts – Molten metals and salts – Phase transitions and critical phenomena in liquids and confined fluids – Self assembly in complex liquids.– Biomolecules in solution The emphasis is on the molecular (or microscopic) understanding of particular liquids or liquid systems, especially concerning structure, dynamics and intermolecular forces. The experimental techniques used may include: – Conventional spectroscopy (mid-IR and far-IR, Raman, NMR, etc.) – Non-linear optics and time resolved spectroscopy (psec, fsec, asec, ISRS, etc.) – Light scattering (Rayleigh, Brillouin, PCS, etc.) – Dielectric relaxation – X-ray and neutron scattering and diffraction. Experimental studies, computer simulations (MD or MC) and analytical theory will be considered for publication; papers just reporting experimental results that do not contribute to the understanding of the fundamentals of molecular and ionic liquids will not be accepted. Only papers of a non-routine nature and advancing the field will be considered for publication.