Nanofluids (dispersion of nanoparticles in a base fluid) have been suggested as promising agents in subsurface industries including enhanced oil recovery. Nanoparticles can easily pass through small pore throats in reservoirs formations; however, physicochemical interactions between nanoparticles and between nanoparticles and rocks can cause a significant retention of nanoparticles. This study investigated the transport, attach, and retention of silica nanoparticles in core plugs. The hydrophilic silica nanoparticles were injected into limestone core as nanofluid of different nanoparticles size (5 nm, and 20 nm), concentration (0.005 – 0.1 wt% SiO2), and base fluid salinity (0 – 3 wt% NaCl) at different temperatures (23, and 50 °C). Deposition and transport of nanoparticles were measured via nanoparticle concentration of effluent fluid, and energy distractive spectroscopy (EDS) measurement on the limestone core. It was found that silica nanoparticles dispersed in brine (NaCl) solutions are increasingly retained in limestone core as the solution ionic strength increases. On the other hand, less significant retention was measured when the nanoparticles were dispersed in DI water. The EDS measurements also reported the same trend of increased nanoparticles retention with salinity due to larger aggregates that result from the screening effect of the electrolyte on repulsive forces between nanoparticles. Thus, the observed change in surface wettability from oil to water-wet and the increase in oil production that reported in many core flooding laboratory studies are mainly related to the high adsorption rate of hydrophilic silica nanoparticles on carbonate surfaces.
Changing oil-wet surfaces toward higher water wettability is of key importance in subsurface engineering applications. This includes petroleum recovery from fractured limestone reservoirs, which are typically mixed or oil-wet, resulting in poor productivity as conventional waterflooding techniques are inefficient. A wettability change toward more water-wet would significantly improve oil displacement efficiency, and thus productivity. Another area where such a wettability shift would be highly beneficial is carbon geo-sequestration, where compressed CO2 is pumped underground for storage. It has recently been identified that more water-wet formations can store more CO2. We thus examined how silica based nanofluids can induce such a wettabil
... Show MoreThe implementation of nanotechnology in all industries is one of most significant research fields. Nanoparticles have shown a promising application in subsurface fields. On the other hand, various surfactants have been used in the oil industry to reduce oil/water interfacial tension and also widely used to stabilize the nano-suspensions. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the improvements of surfactants ability in term of interfacial tension (γ) reduction utilizing addition of silicon dioxide nanoparticles at different temperatures and salinity. The pendant drop technique has been used to measure γ and electrical conductivity has been used to measure the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The synergistic effects of
... Show MoreIn this paper, the effects of subsurface water retention technology (SWRT) on crop coefficient (kc) and crop evapotranspiration (ETc) of eggplant were investigated in sandy loam soil. For this purpose, two treatments plot (with SWRT and without using SWRT) were adopted during 93 days of cultivation. The study was conducted in open field within Al-Fahamah Township, Baghdad, Iraq during summer growing season 2017. The accumulated ETc of eggplant was 403.3 and 515.2 mm for SWRT treatment and control plot, respectively by reduction percentage 21.7 %. The average values of ETc during the growing season were 4.3 and 5.5 mm/day, respectively. The crop coefficients value during the gro
... Show MoreLimestones have considerable commercial importance because they are used as building stones and are widely used for flooring and interior and exterior facings. On the other hand, the reserve calculation reveals the economic effectiveness of the investigation. This study aims to calculate the reserve of the middle Miocene limestone for engineering purposes. The limestone beds of the Nfayil Formation in Central Iraq have been studied over 15 outcrop sections. The Nfayil bed has an average thickness of about 1.64 m, while the overburden has an average of about 0.93 m. The average bulk density of limestone is 2.1 gm/cm3 . Kriging and triangulation method has been adopted and used in the calculation and assessment of reserve. The industrial laye
... Show MoreUsing photo electrochemical etching technique (PEC), porous silicon (PS) layers were produced on n-type silicon (Si) wafers to generate porous silicon for n-type with an orientation of (111) The results of etching time were investigated at: (5,10,15 min). X-ray diffraction experiments revealed differences between the surface of the sample sheet and the synthesized porous silicon. The largest crystal size is (30 nm) and the lowest crystal size is (28.6 nm) The analysis of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) were used to research the morphology of porous silicon layer. As etching time increased, AFM findings showed that root mean square (RMS) of roughness and po
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