Molecular dynamics simulation of SDS-driven silica nanoparticle stabilization for wettability alteration in carbonate reservoirs

The synergistic use of silica nanoparticles (SNP) and surfactants has shown significant potential for stabilizing nanofluids under harsh reservoir conditions and altering the wettability of carbonate reservoirs to enhance oil recovery. Despite the promising results of experimental findings, the unde...

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Main Authors: Reza Songolzadeh, Hassan Shokrollahzadeh Behbahani, Jamshid Moghadasi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Results in Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025027811
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author Reza Songolzadeh
Hassan Shokrollahzadeh Behbahani
Jamshid Moghadasi
author_facet Reza Songolzadeh
Hassan Shokrollahzadeh Behbahani
Jamshid Moghadasi
author_sort Reza Songolzadeh
collection DOAJ
description The synergistic use of silica nanoparticles (SNP) and surfactants has shown significant potential for stabilizing nanofluids under harsh reservoir conditions and altering the wettability of carbonate reservoirs to enhance oil recovery. Despite the promising results of experimental findings, the underlying molecular-level mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. This study employs molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the behavior of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in the presence o SNPs and its effect on wettability alteration. Based on zeta potential measurements the surface charge of SNPs were assigned realistic, referring a key limitation in prior modeling studies. The results reveal that SDS adsorbs onto similarly charged SNPs, increasing their zeta-potential and improving nanofluid stability. Further simulations explored the wettability alteration of calcite by SDS, SNP, and their combination (SNP+SDS). The results showed the key contributors in wettability alteration by SNP+SDS include SDS adsorption, complex formation with oil polar moieties (octanoate), and SNP interaction at oil-water interface. The synergistic use of SDS and SNPs accelerated the wettability alteration to water-wet so that it reduced the contact angle from 106°±0.8 to 62.5°±0.5 and decreased the number of octanoate at interfacial oil/calcite by 60 % within 50 ns. This study provides molecular-level insight into the dual role of SDS and SNPs under simplified conditions, offering a mechanistic basis for future work that bridges experimental findings and atomistic simulations.
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spelling doaj-art-066feb45c3a846f398415d7daf5509cc2025-08-20T05:07:36ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-09-012710671410.1016/j.rineng.2025.106714Molecular dynamics simulation of SDS-driven silica nanoparticle stabilization for wettability alteration in carbonate reservoirsReza Songolzadeh0Hassan Shokrollahzadeh Behbahani1Jamshid Moghadasi2Corresponding authors.; Faculty of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, IranFaculty of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, IranCorresponding authors.; Faculty of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, IranThe synergistic use of silica nanoparticles (SNP) and surfactants has shown significant potential for stabilizing nanofluids under harsh reservoir conditions and altering the wettability of carbonate reservoirs to enhance oil recovery. Despite the promising results of experimental findings, the underlying molecular-level mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. This study employs molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the behavior of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in the presence o SNPs and its effect on wettability alteration. Based on zeta potential measurements the surface charge of SNPs were assigned realistic, referring a key limitation in prior modeling studies. The results reveal that SDS adsorbs onto similarly charged SNPs, increasing their zeta-potential and improving nanofluid stability. Further simulations explored the wettability alteration of calcite by SDS, SNP, and their combination (SNP+SDS). The results showed the key contributors in wettability alteration by SNP+SDS include SDS adsorption, complex formation with oil polar moieties (octanoate), and SNP interaction at oil-water interface. The synergistic use of SDS and SNPs accelerated the wettability alteration to water-wet so that it reduced the contact angle from 106°±0.8 to 62.5°±0.5 and decreased the number of octanoate at interfacial oil/calcite by 60 % within 50 ns. This study provides molecular-level insight into the dual role of SDS and SNPs under simplified conditions, offering a mechanistic basis for future work that bridges experimental findings and atomistic simulations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025027811Molecular dynamicsWettability alterationSilica nanoparticleSDS adsorptionOil-wet calcite
spellingShingle Reza Songolzadeh
Hassan Shokrollahzadeh Behbahani
Jamshid Moghadasi
Molecular dynamics simulation of SDS-driven silica nanoparticle stabilization for wettability alteration in carbonate reservoirs
Results in Engineering
Molecular dynamics
Wettability alteration
Silica nanoparticle
SDS adsorption
Oil-wet calcite
title Molecular dynamics simulation of SDS-driven silica nanoparticle stabilization for wettability alteration in carbonate reservoirs
title_full Molecular dynamics simulation of SDS-driven silica nanoparticle stabilization for wettability alteration in carbonate reservoirs
title_fullStr Molecular dynamics simulation of SDS-driven silica nanoparticle stabilization for wettability alteration in carbonate reservoirs
title_full_unstemmed Molecular dynamics simulation of SDS-driven silica nanoparticle stabilization for wettability alteration in carbonate reservoirs
title_short Molecular dynamics simulation of SDS-driven silica nanoparticle stabilization for wettability alteration in carbonate reservoirs
title_sort molecular dynamics simulation of sds driven silica nanoparticle stabilization for wettability alteration in carbonate reservoirs
topic Molecular dynamics
Wettability alteration
Silica nanoparticle
SDS adsorption
Oil-wet calcite
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025027811
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AT hassanshokrollahzadehbehbahani moleculardynamicssimulationofsdsdrivensilicananoparticlestabilizationforwettabilityalterationincarbonatereservoirs
AT jamshidmoghadasi moleculardynamicssimulationofsdsdrivensilicananoparticlestabilizationforwettabilityalterationincarbonatereservoirs