The Kinetics, growth, and deposition of silica particles

Abstract

Water flooding is a common procedure used to enhance the secondary and tertiary oil recovery. The porous rock matrix of a petroleum reservoir is never completely homogeneous. In fact, there are numerous zones of high permeability that act as conduits for almost direct transfer of water from the injection well to the production well resulting in an unfavorable ratio of the water and oil. The main objective of this work was to reduce the permeability of porous media by the in-situ formation of silica particles. Batch experiments were carried out to synthesize silica particles by the hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) via the aqueous ammonia based catalyst in nonionic surfactant w/o microemulsion system. The effects of the type and concentration of co-surfactant as well as the ammonia concentration on the kinetics and growth rate of silica particles formation in microemulsion were also investigated. The applicability of these batch data to the formation of particles within the coreflood experiment was elucidated. The results of coreflood experiment indicated a clearly promising prospect of the usage of the in-situ silica particles to reduce the permeability of porous media.