Construction and Mechanism of Janus Nano-Graphite Reinforced Foam Gel System for Plugging Steam in Heavy Oil Reservoirs
High-temperature steam injection is a primary method for viscosity reduction and recovery in heavy oil reservoirs. However, due to the high mobility of steam, channeling often occurs within the reservoir, leading to reduced thermal efficiency and challenges in enhancing oil production. Foam fluids,...
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2024-11-01
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| author | Zhongzheng Xu Yuxin Xie Xiaolong Wang Ning Sun Ziteng Yang Xin Li Jia Chen Yunbo Dong Herui Fan Mingwei Zhao |
| author_facet | Zhongzheng Xu Yuxin Xie Xiaolong Wang Ning Sun Ziteng Yang Xin Li Jia Chen Yunbo Dong Herui Fan Mingwei Zhao |
| author_sort | Zhongzheng Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High-temperature steam injection is a primary method for viscosity reduction and recovery in heavy oil reservoirs. However, due to the high mobility of steam, channeling often occurs within the reservoir, leading to reduced thermal efficiency and challenges in enhancing oil production. Foam fluids, with their dual advantages of selective plugging and efficient oil displacement, are widely used in steam-injection heavy oil recovery. Nonetheless, conventional foams tend to destabilize under high-temperature conditions, resulting in poor stability and suboptimal plugging performance, which hampers the efficient development of heavy oil resources. To address these technical challenges, this study introduces a foam system reinforced with Janus nano-graphite, a high-temperature stabilizer characterized by its small particle size and thermal resistance. The foaming agents used in the system are sodium α-olefin sulfonate (AOS), an anionic surfactant, and octadecyl hydroxylpropyl sulfobetaine (OHSB), a zwitterionic surfactant. Under conditions of 250 °C and 5 MPa, the foam system achieved a half-life of 47.8 min, 3.4 times longer than conventional foams. Janus nano-graphite forms a multidimensional network structure in the liquid phase, increasing internal friction and enhancing shear viscosity by 1.2 to 1.8 times that of conventional foams. Furthermore, the foam gel system demonstrated effective steam-channeling control in heterogeneous heavy oil reservoirs, particularly in reservoirs with permeability differentials ranging from 3 to 9. These findings suggest that the Janus nano-graphite reinforced foam system holds significant potential for steam-channeling mitigation in heavy oil reservoirs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a2228bb0afe047dabeffa9a4b91df019 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2310-2861 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gels |
| spelling | doaj-art-a2228bb0afe047dabeffa9a4b91df0192024-11-26T18:05:29ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612024-11-01101172110.3390/gels10110721Construction and Mechanism of Janus Nano-Graphite Reinforced Foam Gel System for Plugging Steam in Heavy Oil ReservoirsZhongzheng Xu0Yuxin Xie1Xiaolong Wang2Ning Sun3Ziteng Yang4Xin Li5Jia Chen6Yunbo Dong7Herui Fan8Mingwei Zhao9State Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaKey Laboratory of Enhanced Oil & Gas Recovery, Northeast Petroleum University, Ministry of Education, Daqing 163318, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaHigh-temperature steam injection is a primary method for viscosity reduction and recovery in heavy oil reservoirs. However, due to the high mobility of steam, channeling often occurs within the reservoir, leading to reduced thermal efficiency and challenges in enhancing oil production. Foam fluids, with their dual advantages of selective plugging and efficient oil displacement, are widely used in steam-injection heavy oil recovery. Nonetheless, conventional foams tend to destabilize under high-temperature conditions, resulting in poor stability and suboptimal plugging performance, which hampers the efficient development of heavy oil resources. To address these technical challenges, this study introduces a foam system reinforced with Janus nano-graphite, a high-temperature stabilizer characterized by its small particle size and thermal resistance. The foaming agents used in the system are sodium α-olefin sulfonate (AOS), an anionic surfactant, and octadecyl hydroxylpropyl sulfobetaine (OHSB), a zwitterionic surfactant. Under conditions of 250 °C and 5 MPa, the foam system achieved a half-life of 47.8 min, 3.4 times longer than conventional foams. Janus nano-graphite forms a multidimensional network structure in the liquid phase, increasing internal friction and enhancing shear viscosity by 1.2 to 1.8 times that of conventional foams. Furthermore, the foam gel system demonstrated effective steam-channeling control in heterogeneous heavy oil reservoirs, particularly in reservoirs with permeability differentials ranging from 3 to 9. These findings suggest that the Janus nano-graphite reinforced foam system holds significant potential for steam-channeling mitigation in heavy oil reservoirs.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/10/11/721heavy oil recoverysteam-channeling controlfoam stabilityJanus nano-graphite stabilizer |
| spellingShingle | Zhongzheng Xu Yuxin Xie Xiaolong Wang Ning Sun Ziteng Yang Xin Li Jia Chen Yunbo Dong Herui Fan Mingwei Zhao Construction and Mechanism of Janus Nano-Graphite Reinforced Foam Gel System for Plugging Steam in Heavy Oil Reservoirs Gels heavy oil recovery steam-channeling control foam stability Janus nano-graphite stabilizer |
| title | Construction and Mechanism of Janus Nano-Graphite Reinforced Foam Gel System for Plugging Steam in Heavy Oil Reservoirs |
| title_full | Construction and Mechanism of Janus Nano-Graphite Reinforced Foam Gel System for Plugging Steam in Heavy Oil Reservoirs |
| title_fullStr | Construction and Mechanism of Janus Nano-Graphite Reinforced Foam Gel System for Plugging Steam in Heavy Oil Reservoirs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Construction and Mechanism of Janus Nano-Graphite Reinforced Foam Gel System for Plugging Steam in Heavy Oil Reservoirs |
| title_short | Construction and Mechanism of Janus Nano-Graphite Reinforced Foam Gel System for Plugging Steam in Heavy Oil Reservoirs |
| title_sort | construction and mechanism of janus nano graphite reinforced foam gel system for plugging steam in heavy oil reservoirs |
| topic | heavy oil recovery steam-channeling control foam stability Janus nano-graphite stabilizer |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/10/11/721 |
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