Chemical Engineering Science最新文献

{"title":"Multiphysics comparison and multi-criteria assessment of flow-field architectures for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis","authors":"Jiayao Shang,&nbsp;Kang Xue,&nbsp;Chengxiang Shi,&nbsp;Ruijie Gao,&nbsp;Lun Pan,&nbsp;Zhen-Feng Huang,&nbsp;Ji-Jun Zou","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125535","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125535","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Flow-field architecture governs the coupled fluid, species, heat, and charge transport that determines performance and hydraulic demand in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE). A three-dimensional, non-isothermal multiphysics model was developed to compare parallel (PFF), interdigitated (IFF), serpentine (SFF), and dot-matrix (DMFF) flow-fields under identical geometric and operating conditions. The PFF produced pronounced channel-to-channel flow maldistribution, whereas the IFF strengthened transverse convection at a higher hydraulic resistance. The SFF enhanced water transport but imposed the largest hydraulic burden. The multidirectional staggered DMFF redistributed water and oxygen while maintaining comparatively uniform pressure, temperature, oxygen mole fraction, and current density. At 2.0 V, the DMFF current density was 4.1% and 26.1% higher than those of the SFF and PFF, respectively, and 1.2% lower than that of the IFF. Its current density-pressure ratio exceeded those of the IFF, SFF, and PFF by 70.8%, 682.1%, and 24.1%, respectively. The CRITIC method gave the DMFF the highest composite score (0.88), compared with the IFF (0.60), SFF (0.58), and PFF (0.07). Within the modeled cases and selected criteria, the DMFF therefore offered the most favorable balance between transport, current–density distribution, and the modeled hydraulic-pressure metric. These results provide a quantitative basis for flow-field selection and structural refinement in PEM water electrolyzers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 125535"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149359236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nutrient removal and biodiesel production: An industrial wastewater treatment strategy based on microalgal co-culture","authors":"Han Wang, Xinyi Wang, Boqi Wang, Yimeng Lin, Wenxiang Ping","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2026.125527","url":null,"abstract":"High-ammonium, high-phosphorus wastewater treatment and sustainable biodiesel production are two critical challenges in the environmental and energy fields. Using microalgae to simultaneously achieve wastewater bioremediation and biomass resource recovery is a highly promising strategy. However, most single microalgal species demonstrate limited adaptability to complex environments, particularly those with high-ammonium and high-phosphorus wastewater compositions. This study employed a co-culture of the lipid-producing strain <ce:italic>Monoraphidium</ce:italic> sp. HDMA-20 and the wastewater-adapted strain <ce:italic>Chlorella sorokiniana</ce:italic> HDMA-16 to evaluate their growth, lipid production, and nutrient removal capabilities in simulated industrial wastewater (SIW) containing elevated ammonium and phosphorus concentrations at two defined levels (SIW1 and SIW2). Results revealed that the HDMA-20/HDMA-16 co-culture system cultivated at SIW2 concentration achieved optimal performance parameters, including maximum biomass accumulation (1181 mg/L) and highest lipid productivity (33.1 mg/(L·d)). Furthermore, the co-culture system demonstrated enhanced fatty acid composition balance compared to monocultures of HDMA-20 and HDMA-16, indicating improved potential for biodiesel feedstock applications. Significantly, the co-culture system exhibited robust removal efficiency for major wastewater nutrients under tested high-ammonium-high-phosphorus conditions. At SIW2 concentration, the system achieved substantial reductions in ammonium nitrogen (180 mg/L), total phosphorus (41.55 mg/L), and chemical oxygen demand (1625 mg/L). These findings demonstrate that the HDMA‑20/HDMA‑16 co‑culture effectively integrates biological wastewater treatment with lipid production under harsh high‑ammonium/high‑phosphorus conditions, offering a promising engineering route toward real‑world applications.","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"81 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149359273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recyclable quartz-sand-supported MIL-101(Fe)/Bi2MoO6 S-scheme heterojunction for photo-assisted PMS activation in real wastewater towards antibiotic degradation and ecological safety","authors":"Kaiming Li, Sen Mu, Handan Zeng, Lixing He, Jing Yang, Jingbo Mu","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125537","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2026.125537","url":null,"abstract":"Antibiotic contamination in water bodies and the accompanying spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria present a persistent environmental challenge. We constructed a chitosan-modified quartz-sand-supported MIL-101(Fe)/Bi<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>MoO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">6</ce:inf> S-scheme heterojunction (QCFBM) for visible-light-assisted peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. The quartz sand support, reinforced by a chitosan interlayer that supplies abundant anchoring sites, enables easy catalyst recovery by simple settling and overcomes the difficult separation and agglomeration of powdered catalysts. The S-scheme charge transfer, combined with oxygen vacancies, broadens visible-light response and accelerates charge separation, boosting PMS activation for pollutant oxidation. The QCFBM/Vis/PMS system achieved 91% tetracycline removal in pure water and, more importantly, 82.6% removal in real municipal secondary effluent, with 78.5% activity retained after five cycles. The treatment also effectively inactivated <ce:italic>Escherichia coli</ce:italic>, while the improved germination and root elongation of mung beans indicated reduced phytotoxicity of the treated effluent. This work provides a low-cost, recoverable catalyst that integrates antibiotic mineralization, bacterial inactivation, and toxicity reduction, demonstrating the feasibility of photo-PMS coupled technology for practical municipal wastewater treatment.","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"287 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149359228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Designing multifunctional magnetic carbon dot-ferrite nanohybrids from Bael leaves for fluorescence detection and photocatalytic annihilation of fluoroquinolones antibiotics","authors":"Jaspreet Kaur, Shubham Pathak, Annu, Anupama Kaushik, Sonal Singhal","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125531","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2026.125531","url":null,"abstract":"The prevalent occurrence of pharmaceutical contaminants in aquatic environments has stimulated the development of multifunctional materials capable of both monitoring and remediation. To address this, Bael leaf derived carbon dots (BCDs) were successfully integrated with magnetic spinel ferrites nanoparticles (MFe<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>O<ce:inf loc=\"post\">4</ce:inf>; M = Co, Ni and Zn) to fabricate multi-functional and magnetically retrievable BCDs-MFe<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>O<ce:inf loc=\"post\">4</ce:inf> (M = Co, Ni and Zn) nanohybrids. The successful integration of BCDs with MFe<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>O<ce:inf loc=\"post\">4</ce:inf> was confirmed through variety of analytical characterization techniques such as Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The multifunctional performance of the fabricated nanohybrids was demonstrated through their dual role as fluorescent probes for selective detection and photocatalytic platforms for annihilation of fluoroquinolones antibiotics. Among the fabricated nanohybrids, BCDs-ZnFe<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>O<ce:inf loc=\"post\">4</ce:inf> nanohybrid exhibited an enhanced fluorescence response towards levofloxacin (LVX) and moxifloxacin (MOX), achieving ultralow detection limit of 0.06 µM and 0.09 µM for LVX and MOX, respectively. The developed fluorescent sensor was further utilized for determination of fluoroquinolones in spiked environmental water samples, achieving satisfactory recoveries ranging from 96 to 103 %, highlighting its practical applicability. Furthermore, excellent photocatalytic properties of nanohybrids enabled their use for photocatalytic degradation of fluoroquinolones. Furthermore, BCDs-MFe<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>O<ce:inf loc=\"post\">4</ce:inf> nanohybrids displayed superior visible light driven degradation of LVX and MOX as compared to pristine BCDs. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of nanohybrids was attributed to improved charge separation and reduced recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs at carbon dot-ferrite interface. Additionally, the magnetic characteristics of the developed nanohybrids facilitated facile separation from reaction medium and preserved catalytic performance over repeated cycles, thus offering a dual approach for monitoring and photocatalytic removal of pharmaceuticals contaminants from the aqueous environments.","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149359296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular dynamics simulation study on microstructure and properties of SiO2–TiO2–CaO–BaO–Al2O3–B2O3 system fluorine-free mold flux","authors":"Zijing Ni,&nbsp;Jiajing Zhang,&nbsp;Zhuo Chen,&nbsp;Weitong Du,&nbsp;Zhiyuan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125542","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125542","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During continuous casting of high-titanium steel, conventional CaO-SiO₂-based mold flux suffer severe compositional and thermophysical degradation due to intensive slag–steel interfacial reactions, limiting process stability. Improving the efficiency and reducing the process cost of high-titanium steel remain critical challenges in continuous casting. In this study, a fluorine-free SiO₂–TiO₂–CaO–BaO–Al₂O₃–B₂O₃ mold flux system was investigated using molecular dynamics simulations combined with Raman spectroscopy to elucidate composition-dependent structural evolution and its influence on viscosity and thermal conductivity. The results reveal that BaO, SiO₂ and TiO₂ regulate the oxygen network through distinct mechanisms. BaO acts as a strong network modifier, preferentially breaking Si–O–Si linkages and promoting non-bridging and free oxygen formation, resulting in pronounced depolymerization. SiO₂ serves as the primary network backbone, increasing bridging oxygen content and shifting Qⁿ distributions toward medium-to-high polymerized species. TiO₂ exhibits a dual structural role: coordinated Ti forms Ti–O–Si linkages that enhance network connectivity and viscosity, while Ti–O bond characteristics intensify phonon scattering, leading to a non-proportional response of thermal conductivity to polymerization degree. Quantitative correlation analysis identifies bridging oxygen and Q³–Q⁴ species as key structural descriptors linking composition to macroscopic properties. These findings establish a composition–structure–property framework specific to Ba- and Ti-bearing fluorine-free mold fluxes and provide guidance for flux design in high-titanium steel casting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 125542"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149367197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bubble breakup in the microchannel with two parallel constrictions","authors":"Xiaoda Wang,&nbsp;Meijuan Guan,&nbsp;Yan Liu,&nbsp;Mengjia Zhang,&nbsp;Shucui Han,&nbsp;Jinbei Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125534","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125534","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent studies have highlighted the importance of bubble breakup in the microchannel with constriction, yet how the parallel constrictions affect the breakup remains poorly understood. This work aimed to investigate the bubble breakup in the microchannel with two parallel constrictions. A high-speed camera was employed the captured the interface evolution of bubble during the breakup, to extract the significant parameter, such as moving velocity, daughter-bubble size, generation time, and so on, for mechanism analysis. Breakup showed high repeatability for the mother bubbles with dimensionless length &lt; 1. The mother bubble distributed asymmetrically in the two parallel constrictions with the ratio ranging from 55:45 to 95: 5. The daughter-bubble size fluctuated significantly from 0.007 to 0.07 μL in the gas-dominated constriction, while slightly around 0.0064 μL in the other constriction. The asymmetry and non-uniformity originated from the small machining error and developed due to the complex breakup mechanism in the constriction. The volume proportion of the daughter bubbles with diameter approximating to the constriction diameter was less than 20 %. These findings revealed that bubble breakup was much more complicated in the parallel constrictions than the single one, requiring further researches in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 125534"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149354065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selective depression of calcite through aluminum-assisted phosphonate interfacial regulation for enhanced cassiterite flotation","authors":"Yongchao Miao,&nbsp;Yanyu Tang,&nbsp;Panjin Hu,&nbsp;Wenping Chen,&nbsp;Qicheng Feng,&nbsp;Qinghuang Bao,&nbsp;Qian Zhang,&nbsp;Ye Wang,&nbsp;Wenhang Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125384","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125384","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Selective flotation separation of cassiterite from calcite remains challenging because both minerals exhibit similar flotation responses toward conventional fatty acid collectors. In this study, a novel Al³⁺/ATMP combined depressant system was developed for the selective flotation separation of cassiterite from calcite using sodium oleate (NaOL) as the collector. Under the selected optimum conditions within the investigated range (pH 9.0, NaOL concentration of 1.75 × 10⁻⁴ mol/L, total Al³⁺/ATMP dosage of 10 mg/L, and Al³⁺:ATMP mass ratio of 1:3), the recovery of calcite decreased to approximately 8%, whereas cassiterite recovery remained around 90%. Surface characterization revealed distinct interfacial responses of calcite and cassiterite to the combined Al³⁺/ATMP treatment. Calcite exhibited a pronounced increase in hydrophilicity, whereas the NaOL-induced hydrophobicity of cassiterite was largely preserved. Residual TOC measurements showed differences in the organic carbon remaining in the supernatants after reagent treatment, providing complementary information on the overall behavior of the reagent systems without distinguishing the individual contributions of NaOL and ATMP. Solution chemistry analysis indicated that the Al³⁺ introduced through aluminum sulfate underwent extensive hydrolysis at pH 9.0, with Al(OH)₃ representing a predominant Al-containing species under the investigated conditions. XPS results revealed the presence of Al- and P-containing species on the treated calcite surface, supporting their involvement in the interfacial modification of calcite and the association of ATMP with the modified surface. Furthermore, under identical simulation conditions, molecular dynamics simulations suggested a greater tendency for the modeled Al(OH)₃ and neutral ATMP species to accumulate near the calcite interface than near cassiterite, accompanied by differences in the relative distribution and mobility of interfacial water molecules. Together with the experimental observations, these qualitative and comparative simulation results support the proposed preferential interfacial association of hydrolyzed Al-containing species and ATMP with calcite, contributing to its selective depression. This work provides an effective strategy for the selective flotation separation of cassiterite from calcite and offers insights into the design of metal ion–organic phosphonate depressant systems for complex oxide mineral flotation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"339 ","pages":"Article 125384"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149201439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synergistic hydrocarbon surfactant system for enhancing CO2-oil miscibility: Insights from vanishing interfacial tension experiments","authors":"Jiawei Zhao,&nbsp;Shaopeng Li,&nbsp;Songyan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125371","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125371","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies advance, CO₂ flooding has gained significant attention due to its dual benefits of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and geological CO₂ sequestration. However, for high-temperature reservoirs and crude oils enriched in heavy components, the MMP of the CO₂-crude oil system is often high, which makes miscible flooding difficult to achieve under reservoir conditions. In this study, tri-isobutyl citrate (TIBC) was synthesized via acid-catalyzed esterification and characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR to confirm its structure. TIBC was then blended with Span 80 to construct a miscibility-enhancing system dominated by hydrocarbon chains and oxygen-containing functional groups, referred to as the system (TS), aimed at reducing the MMP of the CO₂-crude oil system. The results indicate that when the mass ratio of TIBC to Span 80 is 3:7 and the total concentration is 1.0 wt%, the system exhibits the optimal performance, reducing the MMP by 18.91%. Analysis of oil droplet interfacial behavior reveals synergistically improved CO₂ dissolution and extraction in crude oil, leading to continuous IFT reduction. The system ultimately reaches near-miscible or miscible conditions. The findings provide important guidance for EOR through CO₂ miscible flooding and for promoting CO₂ utilization and geological sequestration</div></div>","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"339 ","pages":"Article 125371"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149201494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analytical and numerical study of mean porosity variations in annular packed beds of spherical pellets","authors":"Pablo Díaz-Ulloa,&nbsp;Rodrigo Unzueta,&nbsp;Iván Cornejo","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125334","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.125334","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Annular packed beds are used in pebble-bed nuclear reactors, annular membrane reactors for hydrogen production and annular chromatography columns, yet, unlike the cylindrical geometry, no validated model predicts their mean porosity across a wide range of confinement ratios, and the only available correlation was calibrated from a single experimental point. This study uses rigid-body simulation (RBS) to generate annular packed beds of spherical pellets at 52 confinement ratios between 2.25 and 15, with three independent realizations each and a fixed inner radius-to-particle diameter ratio of 2. The generation procedure is validated against annular experimental data comprising an unadjusted radial porosity profile and an independent mean porosity measurement. The mean porosity oscillates non-monotonically with a decaying amplitude, and the first extremum interval is markedly shorter than the subsequent ones. A layer-stacking analytical framework, previously developed for cylindrical beds, is extended to the annular geometry through circular monolayer, zig-zag monolayer and two-coupled-rows regimes, with the first transition located analytically at a confinement ratio of approximately 2.74. The model reproduces the simulated mean porosity within its domain and explains its largest deviation through a nesting threshold at <span><math><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>+</mo><msqrt><mn>3</mn></msqrt><mo>≈</mo><mn>3.73</mn></mrow></math></span>, the annular counterpart of the cylindrical threshold. Beyond this domain, an empirical correlation combining a damped oscillation with a quadratic decay envelope describes the full range with a coefficient of determination of 0.970, against 0.690 for the existing annular correlation. These models provide the mean porosity required by pressure drop and transport models for annular reactors and columns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"339 ","pages":"Article 125334"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149201441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Silica-based amphiphilic nanofluid for enhanced heavy oil recovery: performance and mechanistic insights","authors":"Yu He, Wanfen Pu, Rui Liu, Qingyuan Chen, Hongli Liu, Shitong Jiang, Jingjing Zhong","doi":"10.1016/j.ces.2026.124549","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2026.124549","url":null,"abstract":"In the process of chemical viscosity reduction for EOR in heavy oil reservoirs, nanoparticles have demonstrated significant potential due to their unique physicochemical properties. In this study, an amphiphilic nanofluid was synthesized, and its performance was systematically evaluated through interfacial tension (IFT), wettability alteration, emulsification, oil-film detachment, and core flooding experiments. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to elucidate the microscopic mechanisms responsible for viscosity reduction. The results demonstrated that the nanofluid exhibited outstanding interfacial activity, reducing the IFT from approximately 30 mN/m to 0.5 mN/m and effectively transforming oil-wet rock surfaces to a water-wet state. A stable O/W emulsion was formed, resulting in a viscosity reduction of up to 98% at 80% water cut. Oil-film detachment tests confirmed that the nanofluid completely removed adhered oil films from rock surfaces within 12 h. Core flooding experiments demonstrated that the nanofluid enhanced recovery by 24.75%, representing an additional recovery of 10.83% compared with the surfactant alone. MD simulations revealed strong interactions between the nanofluid and asphaltene molecules, which disrupted asphaltene aggregation and inhibited the formation of large aggregates. Furthermore, the strong confinement effect of the nanofluid on asphaltenes facilitated the formation of stable O/W emulsions, elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying viscosity reduction.","PeriodicalId":271,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Science","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148356311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}