Surface charge change in carbonates during low-salinity imbibition
Abstract Optimizing the injection water salinity could present a cost-effective strategy for improving oil recovery. Although the literature generally acknowledges that low-salinity improves oil recovery in laboratory-scale experiments, the physical mechanisms behind it are controversial. While most...
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Nature Portfolio
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63317-z |
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| author | Felix Feldmann Emad W. Al-Shalabi Aksel Hiorth |
| author_facet | Felix Feldmann Emad W. Al-Shalabi Aksel Hiorth |
| author_sort | Felix Feldmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Optimizing the injection water salinity could present a cost-effective strategy for improving oil recovery. Although the literature generally acknowledges that low-salinity improves oil recovery in laboratory-scale experiments, the physical mechanisms behind it are controversial. While most experimental low-salinity studies focus on brine composition, this study investigated the influence of carbonate rock material on surface charge change, wettability alteration, and spontaneous imbibition behavior. Zeta potential measurements showed that each tested carbonate rock material exhibits characteristic surface charge responses when exposed to Formation-water, Seawater, and Diluted-seawater. Moreover, the surface charge change sensitivity to calcium, magnesium, and sulfate ions varied for the tested carbonate materials. Spontaneous imbibition tests led to high oil recovery and, thus, wettability alteration towards water-wet conditions if the carbonate-imbibing brine system’s surface charge decreased compared to the initial zeta potential of the carbonate Formation-water system. In the numerical part of the presented study, we find that it is essential to account for the location of the shear plane and thus distinguish between the numerically computed surface charge and experimentally determined zeta potential. The resulting model numerically reproduced the experimentally measured calcium, magnesium, and sulfate ion impacts on zeta potential. The spontaneous imbibition tests were history-matched by linking surface charge change to capillary pressure alteration. As the numerical simulation of the laboratory-scale spontaneous imbibition tests is governed by molecular diffusion (with a time scale of weeks), we conclude that molecular diffusion-driven field scale wettability alteration requires several hundred years. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ab7b36770a0b4098b03d2a0271690c55 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| spelling | doaj-art-ab7b36770a0b4098b03d2a0271690c552025-01-12T12:25:02ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-06-0114111410.1038/s41598-024-63317-zSurface charge change in carbonates during low-salinity imbibitionFelix Feldmann0Emad W. Al-Shalabi1Aksel Hiorth2NORCE Norwegian Research CentreResearch and Innovation Center on CO2 and Hydrogen (RICH), Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Khalifa University of Science & Technology (KU)Department of Energy Resources, University of StavangerAbstract Optimizing the injection water salinity could present a cost-effective strategy for improving oil recovery. Although the literature generally acknowledges that low-salinity improves oil recovery in laboratory-scale experiments, the physical mechanisms behind it are controversial. While most experimental low-salinity studies focus on brine composition, this study investigated the influence of carbonate rock material on surface charge change, wettability alteration, and spontaneous imbibition behavior. Zeta potential measurements showed that each tested carbonate rock material exhibits characteristic surface charge responses when exposed to Formation-water, Seawater, and Diluted-seawater. Moreover, the surface charge change sensitivity to calcium, magnesium, and sulfate ions varied for the tested carbonate materials. Spontaneous imbibition tests led to high oil recovery and, thus, wettability alteration towards water-wet conditions if the carbonate-imbibing brine system’s surface charge decreased compared to the initial zeta potential of the carbonate Formation-water system. In the numerical part of the presented study, we find that it is essential to account for the location of the shear plane and thus distinguish between the numerically computed surface charge and experimentally determined zeta potential. The resulting model numerically reproduced the experimentally measured calcium, magnesium, and sulfate ion impacts on zeta potential. The spontaneous imbibition tests were history-matched by linking surface charge change to capillary pressure alteration. As the numerical simulation of the laboratory-scale spontaneous imbibition tests is governed by molecular diffusion (with a time scale of weeks), we conclude that molecular diffusion-driven field scale wettability alteration requires several hundred years.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63317-z |
| spellingShingle | Felix Feldmann Emad W. Al-Shalabi Aksel Hiorth Surface charge change in carbonates during low-salinity imbibition Scientific Reports |
| title | Surface charge change in carbonates during low-salinity imbibition |
| title_full | Surface charge change in carbonates during low-salinity imbibition |
| title_fullStr | Surface charge change in carbonates during low-salinity imbibition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Surface charge change in carbonates during low-salinity imbibition |
| title_short | Surface charge change in carbonates during low-salinity imbibition |
| title_sort | surface charge change in carbonates during low salinity imbibition |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63317-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT felixfeldmann surfacechargechangeincarbonatesduringlowsalinityimbibition AT emadwalshalabi surfacechargechangeincarbonatesduringlowsalinityimbibition AT akselhiorth surfacechargechangeincarbonatesduringlowsalinityimbibition |