SPE-175395-MS

A Comparative Investigation of Nano Particle Effects for Improved Oil

Recovery – Experimental Work
Adel M. Salem Ragab, Future University in Egypt (FUE) and Suez University (SU); Ahmed E. Hannora, Suez
University (SU)

Copyright 2015, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Kuwait Oil & Gas Show and Conference held in Mishref, Kuwait, 11–14 October 2015.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
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Abstract
To maintain the production and improve the recovery of hydrocarbons, nano materials are introduced
recently. Improved oil recovery (IOR) is the application of various techniques for increasing the quantity
of the crude oil that can be recovered from a hydrocarbon oil field. Among these techniques are chemical
injection, which has been an expensive method, and field applications have been decreased during the past
two decades. Currently with the advent of nanotechnology, nanofluids have been launched as a cheap,
efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to other chemicals. Nanomaterials has been created and
proposed to be used for IOR. Several nano materials with various sizes and concentrations have been
proposed. Among the various these nanomaterials, nano-silica, nano alumina, nano zinc, and nano iron
with different sizes has been recommended.
In the present work, two different nano materials used to improve the recovery of oil experimentally.
These nano materials are; nano silica, and nano alumina. The size of each nano material is varies from 80
to 87 nm. The size and shape of each particles were examined using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and field
emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) while their microanalysis was performed by Energy
Dispersive System (EDS). Some these materials are prepared mechanically using ball mill such as nano
silica and the others are created chemically such as nano alumina.
Numerous flooding scenarios have been performed to compare between the potentials of each
nanofluids used to improve the hydrocarbon recovery. A control experimental run with water flooding
(WF) was performed first. The ultimate recovery factor by WF was found about 67%. Then a flooding
process using each nano fluid has been conducted for three different concentrations (0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt%).
The ultimate recovery factors have been measured for all of these nano fluids and they are ranging from
62% to 81 %. The reasons for this improving have been addressed and explained by measuring the
viscosity of these nano fluids and interfacial tension.
This research examines and analyzes the new outcomes from implementing these nanomaterials for
improving oil recovery over the traditional methods. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from this work can
be used to interpret and define the nanofluids improvement mechanisms, and projected a roadmap for
ongoing and future work.
2 SPE-175395-MS

Keywords: Nano Silica · Nano fluids · Nanotechnology · EOR/IOR · Nano silica · Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles

Introduction
Nanotechnology is the science of generating, using and employing materials, which have size varies from
1 to 100 nm. Such material having an entirely different than its origin. The main reason that nanotech-
nology has been attracting attentions is the unique properties that objects show when they are formed at
nano-scale. The main difference is that the surface area to volume ratio becomes very high. This properties
may become important in some industry since it can carry more heat to the new system. In June 2012,
Ayatollahi – Zerafat [1] postulated that using a nanoparticles (1- 100 nm) brings specific thermal, optical,
electrical, rheological and interfacial properties which are directly useful to release the trapped oil from
the pore spaces in the order of 5 to 50 microns of tight oil formations.
Recently, nanotechnology has been applied into the upstream sector of oil industry, such nano drilling
fluid (sometimes called smart nanofluids). Moreover, several trials had been perform on the applications
of Nano silica for boosting the recovery from the hydrocarbons reservoirs, approximately all of them in
a lab scale and very few on field scale [2, 34]. Friedheim et al. (2012) [5] in their paper titled
⬙Nanotechnology for oil field applications – Hype or reality?⬙ stated that the utility of nanotechnology in
the oilfield is still a subject of discussion as well as debate.
Kapusta et al. [6] indicated that nanotechnology has had an enormous impact in almost every industry,
from consumer electronics to healthcare and telecommunications, but not yet in oil and gas exploration
and production. Although nano-sized catalysts have been used in refining and petrochemical processes for
many years, the use of nanomaterials and nano-techniques has only recently entered the upstream domain.
The largest impact within the upstream business is expected in subsurface applications, for instance
contrast agents for advanced exploration and surveillance, novel fluids for enhanced oil recovery, and
better analytical techniques for the characterization of oil and rock interactions.
In 2010, Fletcher-Davis [7] mentioned that the Nanotechnology has the potential to transform EOR
mechanisms and processes. Such processes at the nanometer – micrometer scale including wettability,
coalescence, Marangoni phenomena, mass transfer effects and transient phenomena are related to EOR.
They proved that oil phase distribution, oil drop mobilization, oil bank formation and oil bank migration
cab be achieved for EOR processes.
This research is present a comparative investigation of the effects of using silica nano particles and
aluminum oxide nano particles in terms of their behaviour recovery factor, their fluid rheology, their
effects of the wettability and interfacial tension, therefore, the paper addresses and explains the recovery
factor improvement. All of these conducted by using experimental works with several flooding scenarios
with different concentration (0.1 wt%, 0.5 wt%, and 1 wt%).

Nano-Materials for Improved Oil Recovery

In May 2009, Kanj et al. [8] detailed an experimental study on nano-fluid core flood experiments in
the ARAB-D formation of the giant Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia. The study aims to test the feasibility
and future reality for displacing molecular nano agents in the reservoir. Therefore, they performed a
stability test in order to choose the best concentration and the conditions.
Kanj et al. (2011) [9] presented the first lab along with field trial of nano agents application on the giant
oil field at Saudi Arabia, Ghawar field. The formation was Arab-D carbonate rock. Their challenges
involve a high temperature reservoir greater than 100 °C and high connate water salinity about 120,000
ppm (total dissolved solids, TDS). The nano particle used is called A-Dots, they were carbon based
fluorescent nanoparticles. The recovery factor achieved using A-Dots nanoparticles is exceeding 96%
experimentally.
Wang et al. 2010 [10] prepared a polyacrylamide micro-gel nano-spheres. They demonstrated exper-
SPE-175395-MS 3

imentally that the promise future of Nano sphere in EOR. Their results achieved oil recovery over 20%
OOIP after primary recovery on average. The final recovery ranges from 66% to about 78% after using
nano fluid in the displacement.
Onyekonwu-Ogolo in 2010 [11] used three different polysilicon nanoparticles (PSNP) to EOR by
changing the rock wettability. The core rocks obtained from Niger Delta, and three PSNP used; lipophobic
and hydrophilic PSNP (LHPN); hydrophobic and lipophilic PSNP (HLPN); and neutrally wet PSNP
(NWPN). The wettability change and lowering interfacial tension (IFT) are the main recovery mecha-
nisms using NWPN and HLPN in water wet formations. LHPN which make already water wet rocks
strongly water wet yield poor recovery factors indicating that its use for EOR should be restricted to oil
wet formations.
Qiu-Mamora (2010), [12] studied experimentally the performance of nano-particles and surfactant-
stabilized solvent-based emulsion for the heavy oil in Alaska North Slope Area. Berea and Idaho cores
were used. In the Berea core flood experiments, emulsion flooding increased the oil recovery factor by
19.2 points after water flooding (from 76.2% to 95.4% OOIP) and the oil recovery with pure emulsion
flooding was 96.8% OOIP. In the Idaho core flood, oil recovery increased by 26.4 percent points from
56.2% OOIP with water flooding to 82.6% OOIP with injection of emulsion following water flooding.
With pure emulsion flooding, oil recovery is slightly higher at 85.8% OOIP. In conclusion, the nano-
emulsion flooding can be an effective enhancement for an oil recovery method for a heavy oil reservoir
which is technically sensitive to the thermal recovery method.
In 2012, Miranda et al. [13] studied the stability and mobility of functionalized (hydroxylated, PEG and
sulfonic acid) silica nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery applications, particularly at high salt
concentration and high temperature. The results indicated that adsorption properties and salt solutions
greatly influence the interfacial tension. The brine/oil interfacial tension variation due to functionalized
silica nanoparticles was also determined as a function of the terminal group hydrophobicity at 1% salt
concentration (CaCl2 and NaCl), 300K and 0.1 MPa pressure.
In April 2012, Ogolo et al. [14] investigated the performance of eight nano particles namely oxides of
Aluminum, Zinc, Magnesium, Iron, Zirconium, Nickel, Tin and Silicon for enhanced oil recovery. These
nanoparticles were used to conduct EOR experiments under surface conditions. Distilled water, brine,
ethanol and diesel were used as the dispersing media for the nanoparticles. Two sets of experiments were
conducted. The first involved displacing the injected oil with the nanofluids. In the second case, the sands
were soaked in nanofluids for 60 days before oil was injected into the system and displaced with low
salinity brine. Generally, using nanofluids to displace injected oil produced a better result. Results
obtained from the experiments indicate that Aluminum oxide and Silicon oxide are good agents for EOR.
Aluminum oxide nanoparticle is good for oil recovery when used with distilled water and brine as
dispersing agents.
Silica Nano Particles
Silica nanoparticles have been commonly used in EOR projects because of their low-cost fabrication and
cost-effective surface modification. Therefore, in 2012, Metin et al. [15] performed a study for a
comprehensive understanding of the rheological behavior of silica nanoparticles. They concluded that the
viscosity of nanoparticle dispersions depends strongly on the particle concentration. In addition, during
flow in permeable media, the variation of shear associated with complex pore morphology and the
interactions between the nanoparticles and tortuous flow channels can affect the viscosity of nanoparticle
dispersion.
In 2012, Shahrabadi1 et al. [16] investigated a special type of polysilicon nanoparticle (HLP,
Hydrophobic and Lipophilic Polysilicon) as an EOR agent during different water injection scenarios. The
water-wet sandstone core samples are employed. Injection of HLP nanoparticle dispersed in a carrier fluid
can improve oil recovery through two mechanisms: reduction of interfacial tension and wettability
4 SPE-175395-MS

alteration. Three scenarios of HLP nanofluid injections are applied. First, the nanofluid is injected after
water flooding at ultimate oil saturation. Second, 3 PV water injection is applied after the sequence of
water and HLP nanofluid injections. Third, HLP nanofluid is injected from beginning. HLP nanofluid
application lowers the oil-water interfacial tension by a factor of ten as well as changing the contact angle
from 123° to 99°indicating less water wet condition, i.e. HLP nanofluid alters rock wettability from
strongly water-wet to less water-wet state and reduces interfacial tension between oil and water.
In 2012. Roustaei et al. [17] investigated experimentally special type of Nanoparticles named Poly-
silicon ones which are very promising materials to be used in near future for enhanced oil recovery. There
are three types of Polysilicon Nanoparticles which can be used according the reservoir wettability
conditions. They used hydrophobic and lipophilic polysilicon (HLP) and naturally wet polysilicon (NWP)
as EOR agents in water-wet sandstone rocks. Both HLP and NWP Nano fluids improve oil recovery
through two major mechanisms of interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration to less water-wet
condition. Then concluded also that, NWP Nanoparticles have stronger impact on rock wettability while,
HLP Nanoparticles have higher influence on reduction of oil-water interfacial tension.
In 2012, Nguyen et al. [18] introduced the synthetic process and the evaluation results for surfactant/
polymer inorganic nano- composite specially designed for the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process in the
high temperature and high brine-hardness offshore reservoirs. The results show that the nano composites
produced IFT reduction and viscosity enhancement at critical concentration, high thermo-stability and
salt-tolerance. These improved properties of core/shell NPs were suitable for producing high sweep
volume and increasing crude oil displacement efficiency. The core flooding experiment was performed at
92o C on the fractured-granite core model and brine blend of 800 ppm of surfactants and 200 ppm of
core-shell NPs was injected in 0.25 PV. After water flooding, the oil saturation was reduced into 30% and
by the core-shell NPs injection, the oil was displaced in 6.2% additionally.
Experimental Setup
Materials and Experimental Methods
Core Samples: sand stone core samples from an Egyptian oil field were used in this study. Each core
was cleaned and then dried in the Soxhlet extractor using Toluene. Helium porosity and air permeability
were measured before and after each run to be sure that no change made while doing each run, the details
of the core samples are listed in Table 1. The permeabilities and porosities of the sample were measured
using gas and liquid permeameter at core lab of the American University in Cairo (AUC). For core plug
preparation, the core was saturated with formation water having salinity of 70,000 ppm, then flooding with
a mineral oil (␥o ⫽ 0.85) till reaching to the residual water saturation. Till now, the core is saturated with
oil (So) and connate water saturation (Swc), so it is like an untouched virgin reservoir. By reaching this
point, several schemes will be applied to this core samples. These scenarios as follows:

Table 1—Dimensions and average petrophysical properties at initial condition1

Properties CORE # 1CORE #2

Dry weight, g 67.47 67.97

Length, mm 71.96 72.18
Diameter, mm 25.24 25.41
Pore volume, cc 10.73 11.26
Porosity, % 29.87 30.75
Permeability, md 642.65 575.82

1. Run #1: Water flooding scenario (Base Run)

2. Run #2: Nano Silica 0.1 wt% concentration (SiO2 #1)
SPE-175395-MS 5

3. Run #3: Nano Silica 0.5 wt% concentration (SiO2 #2)

4. Run #4: Nano Silica 1.0 wt% concentration (SiO2 #3)
5. Run #5: Nano Aluminum 0.1 wt% concentration (Al2O3 #1)
6. Run #6: Nano Aluminum 0.5 wt% concentration (Al2O3 #2)
7. Run #7: Nano Aluminum 1.0 wt% concentration (Al2O3 #3)
All of these runs are performed at ambient temperature at the core lab of the Department of Petroleum
and Energy Engineering, American University in Cairo (AUC). A schematic diagram of this core flooding
is presented Figure 1.

Figure 1—Schematic diagram of the flooding apparatus

Nano material preparation: the source of the nano-silica is white sand (Silica powder 99.4%, ⬍100
␮m). The apparatus used for milling and crushing this sand is ball milling at faculty of Petroleum and
Mining Engineering – Suez University. It was engaged into high energy vertical ball milling (700 rpm).
The white silica was treated for the different times with optimum ball to powder ratio equals to 20:1. The
milling process was carried out without any process control agent. The chamber was sealed in order to
prevent contamination from the atmosphere. The vertical ball milling is operated at different time to
minimize the silica sand size to the required size. The size of the nano silica formed is varying from 72
to 102 nm. The average of these nano silica is about 87 nm.
The nano aluminium oxide used in this study is prepared chemically at Central Metallurgical Research
and Development Institute (CMRDI), Egypt. The size of this type of nano material is measured using EDS
and found about 80 nm. These nano particles characterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning
Electron Microscope (SEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS).
The results of SEM and EDS are shown in Figures 2, (3-a) and (3-b) for nano silica and nano alumina
respectively. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD) used in this study is that at Faculty of Petroleum and Mining
Engineering-Suez University, while the SEM and EDS performed at Yousef Jameel Science and
Technology Research Center (YJ-STRC) at American University in Cairo (AUC).
6 SPE-175395-MS

Figure 2—Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for the nano silica and nano alumina used in this study

Figure 3-a—EDS for the Nano silica particle used in this study
SPE-175395-MS 7

Figure 3-b—EDS for the Nano alumina particles used in this study

Nano Fluid Properties

One of the important parameters in case of enhanced oil recovery monitoring is the mobility ratio (M). The
mobility ratio (M) can be calculated by dividing the mobility of the displacing fluid over the displaced fluid.
In our case, the displacing is the nano fluid and the displaced is the oil inside the core plug. Therefore, the
viscosity of the displacing phase is very important in EOR processes. The viscosity value is affected by the
shear rate after injection in the reservoir rocks. The properties of the used solutions are presented in Figure 4.
This figure represents the viscosity values at different temperatures of 25, 40, and 60 °C for the basic fluid
(nano free) and for the nano fluid, the following observation can be stated, as shown in Figure 4: (1) the solution
viscosity decreases as the shear rate increases regardless of the temperature value. (2) The viscosity of nano
fluid solution is always greater than that of the basic fluid without nano fluid. (3) The increasing rate of
viscosity at lower temperature is much higher than that at higher temperature, i.e. at temperature 60 °C/1000
shear rate s⫺1, the viscosity of nano-free solution is 0.016 Pa-s, and the viscosity of nano fluid is 0.26 Pa-s (the
viscosity increased about 0.01 Pa-s); however at 25 °C/1000 shear rate s⫺1, the viscosity of nano-free solution
is 0.068 Pa-s, and the viscosity of nano fluid is 0.126 Pa-s (the viscosity increased 0.058 Pa-s). The shear stress
versus shear rate was measured as plotted in Figure 5. The shear stress –rate curve at 25 hours for nano-free
and nano fluids is the highest among the other temperatures.

Figure 4 —Viscosity versus shear rate at different temperatures for nano silica fluids
8 SPE-175395-MS

Figure 5—Shear stress versus rate at different temperatures of nano silica fluids

The viscosity of nano silica and nano alumina solutions is measured and plotted against the nano
particle concentrations as shown in Figure 6. It is clear that, as the nano particle concentrations increases
as the viscosity increases. This kind of improvement in the fluid viscosity is very beneficial for improving
oil recovery. This rise also may be beneficial for explaining the increase of the recovery factor in all
scenarios of nano silica and nano alumina flooding. At the same concentration, the nano silica viscosity
is higher than that obtained by nano alumina, this also reflect and interpret the increase of recovery factor
of nano silica over nano alumina as will be seen later on.

Figure 6 —Viscosity of nano-silica and nano-alumina for the concentration range under study

The nano silica and nano alumina solution density

Silicon dioxide nanoparticles appear in the form of a white powder. The table below provides the physical
properties of these nanoparticles (Table 2). The particles are monodisperse with narrow size distributions.
SPE-175395-MS 9

The density of the particles depends on the degree of condensation but is approximately 2.65 g/cc3. The
refractive index is 1.43.

Table 2—Properties of nano particles

Material True density, g/cc specific surface area, m2/g Bulk density, g/cc

Silicon Dioxide 2.65 50

Nano Silica 0.10
Aluminum Oxide 3.95 21–40
Nano Alumina 1.5

Interfacial tension of nano fluids

Along with the viscosities of the nano particle solutions, the interfacial tensions (IFT) of nano silica and
nano aluminum solutions are measured and presented here to better understanding their behaviour while
flooding in the core plugs. The interfacial tension between the oil and nano silica and nano alumina
solutions were measured at ambient pressure and temperature using SVT20 spinning drop video tensi-
ometer. The IFT values were measured at the three concentration used in this study and plotted as shown
on Figure. 7. It observed that IFT decreased when nanoparticles were introduced to brine. As it is very
clear from the figure, as the concentration increases, the IFT decreases.

Figure 7—IFT of nano silica and nano alumina /mineral oil vs. nano particle concentration

As mentioned and explained previously, the properties of nano silica and nano alumina explain the
improvement of the recovery factors. The lowering of the interfacial tension increases the recovery as
proved as in case of surfactant flooding. In other hand, the viscosities of the nano silica and nano alumina
solution increased, this lead to improve the mobility of the displacing fluid, and hence increase the
recovery factor.
Brine and Mineral Oil Used
The formation water obtained from the reservoir where the core sample was recovered. The salinity was
measured and the equivalent NaCl salinity was prepared and used to saturate the core plugs. The salinity
10 SPE-175395-MS

of the formation water was 70,000 ppm. Another brine salinity used for secondary recovery as a water
flooding.
The oil used in this study is degassed oil. This oil is light oil and intermediate grade, the API of that
oil is about 35°. The properties of oil are listed in Table 3.

Table 3—Mineral oil properties used in this study

The Property Value

Color yellowish-brown (Amber)

Physical State liquid at ambient temperature
pH N. A.
Vapor Pressure less than 0.5 Pa at 20°C
Initial Boiling Point above 280°C
Solubility in Water Negligible
Density 851 kg/m3 at 15°C
Flash Point 217°C (COC)
Flammable Limits Upper 10% (V/V) (estimated value).
Auto-Ignition Temperature above 320°C
Kinematic Viscosity 75 mm2/s at 40°C
Evaporation Rate Data N. A.
Vapor Density (Air ⴝ 1). Greater than 1
Pour Point ⫺39°C

Results and Discussions

Scenario #1: Water flooding (Base run)

After mounting the core plug (saturated with mineral oil and residual waters saturation, i.e. a reservoir)
in the core flooding apparatus, oil is injected till no water comes out from the sample to be sure that the
reservoir condition is achieved. Water flooding scenario is staring by injecting the brine and measure the
displaced fluid either oil or water from the sample. The parameters normally recorded are inlet pressure,
outlet pressure, volume of oil, volume of water, and time. Then, by knowing the core and fluid properties,
the flow rate is calculated, the pore volume injected is monitored, and the recovery factor is calculated as
well. Plotting pore volume injected vs. recovery factor as presented in Figure 8. As shown in the figure,
as the injected pore volume increases the recovery factor increases. The breakthrough time was reached
at about 0.23 PV injected and 51.72% oil was recovered. The experiment continued till no oil is recovered
and this has been achieved at about 4 PV. The ultimate recovery factor achieved was about 67%. For this
research work, the pure water flooding is considered the base run in which all the next runs will be
compared with.
SPE-175395-MS 11

Figure 8 —Water flooding (WF) results as a base run, recovery factor vs. injected pore volume

Scenario #2: Nano silica flooding: 0.1 wt%

This run is performed like the previous but instead of using water to displace the oil from the core plug,
a nano silica fluid with 0.1 wt% is injected and the inlet and outlet pressure, outline volume, vs time is
measured. The experimental run is executed till no additional volume of oil is drained. The recovery factor
is calculated and plotted versus calculated pore volume injected in the core plug. The result of this plot
is depicted in Figure 9. The ultimate recovery factor obtained is about 78%.

Figure 9 —Nano silica flooding of 87 nm, and 0.1 wt% concentration Scenario #2

Scenario #3: Nano silica flooding: 0.5 wt%

The previous run is repeated but using 0.5 wt% nano silica fluid. The result is terms of recovery factor
versus pore volume injected and presented in Figure 10. The ultimate recovery factor is found about 81%.
It seems that as the concentration of the nano silica increases as the recovery increases. This is may
attributed to the effect of the nano silica on the rock wettability and the interfacial tension. This will be
examined by measuring the interfacial tension between the oil and the nano silica fluid.
12 SPE-175395-MS

Figure 10 —Nano silica flooding of 87 nm, 0.5 wt% concentration Scenario #3

Scenario #4: Nano silica flooding: 1 wt %

Like the previous run, the flooding is executed but with 1 wt% nano silica solution, and the recovery factor
is calculated and monitored against the pore volume injected and presented in Figure 11.

Figure 11—Nano silica flooding of 87 nm, 1 wt% concentration Scenario #4

As expected, the recovery factor is increased as the pore volume injected increased. The maximum
recovery factor achieved is about 76%. Compared to what we get in the previous scenario, it is less than
that of 0.5 wt%, which means based on these scenarios, the optimum nano silica concentration is 0.5 wt%.
The reason behind that kind of decrease may be as a result of changing the wettability and/or less effect
of the interfacial tension value. Figure 12 reveals the previous scenarios together as recovery factor versus
injected pore volume.
SPE-175395-MS 13

Figure 12—Nano silica flooding for all concentration ranges

Scenario #5, 6 and 7: Nano alumina flooding

To shorten the description, in this part, nano alumina with different concentration (0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt%)
is presented. The recovery factor is plotted against the injected pore volume for all and presented as shown
in Figure 13. It is clear that as the concentration increases as the recovery factor increases. The increasing
value is not the same like that of nano silica of each concentration. The second difference also is that the
ultimate recovery factor achieved by any of these nano aluminum fluid is less than that of nano silica.

Figure 13—Nano Aluminum flooding for all concentration ranges

The ultimate recovery factor obtained by 0.1 wt % is about 59 %, by 0.5 wt % is about 61 %, and by
the 1 wt % is about 62 %. The main conclusion here is that the maximum recovery factor achieved by nano
aluminum oxide is not less than that of nano silica only and less than that of water flooding. The rate of
increasing from concentration to another is the same we get by using nano silica, since the increasing
14 SPE-175395-MS

obtained from moving from 0.1 to 1 wt% concentration is only 3 %. In case of nano silica it is found about
3% as well. The unfavorable results accomplished here may attributed to the bad suspensions of such
material in the brine. Which may be precipitated in the core sample and plugged it somehow. These
combined results are also presented as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14 —Nano particles flooding behaviour for all scenarios

The discrepancy of these results can be attributed to the properties of the fluid used in this study as
shown in the previous section. These properties include the properties of the fluid with each other like
interfacial tension and its viscosity.
In general, the IFT is decreased after nano particle is introduced to the system either in case of nano
silica or nano alumina. This decreasing explains the improvement in the oil recovery, meanwhile the
viscosity increased for both of these nano fluids which improved the mobility of the displacing fluid. All
of these recovery mechanisms, led to increase the recovery factor.
Conclusions
Nanotechnology offers real possibilities of changing the way in which we look at Improved Oil Recovery
(IOR); based on all of these experimental runs, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. The potential of nanotechnology to transform the design and execution of chemical EOR have
been addressed. The study provides valuable research work about nano particle applications for
improving oil recovery.
2. Several oxides can be used in nano scale to improve the recovery such as nano silica (SiO2) and
nano alumina (Al2O3). This study addressed these nano particles at 0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt%
concentrations.
3. Nano silica solutions are used at different concentrations to improve the recovery factor experi-
mentally. The maximum recovery factor achieved is about 81% for 0.5 wt% concentration.
4. Nano alumina is used also for IOR, and the highest recovery obtained is about 60 wt %, which is
not better than that of water.
5. The main mechanisms for improving oil recovery using nano materials are addressed and analyzed
by measuring the reduction of interfacial tension and nano fluid viscosity.
SPE-175395-MS 15

6. Nano silica is the appropriate solution for IOR at 0.5 wt% concentration than nano alumina fluid.

Acknowledgements
Dr. Said M. El-Sheikh (Head of Nano-Structured Materials and Nanotechnology Division at Central
Metallurgical Research and Development Institute (CMRDI)) is gratefully acknowledged for the prepa-
ration of nano alumina and nano silica particles. Helpful discussions and valuable input by Dr. Ismail
Mahgoub are gratefully acknowledged.

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Manama, Bahrain, 25–28 September 2011.
10. Wang, L., Zhang, G. C., Ge, J. J., Li, G. H., Zhang, J. Q., and Ding, B. D.: ⬙Preparation of
Microgel Nanospheres and Their Application in EOR,⬙ SPE 130357, presented at the CPS/SPE
International Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition in China held in Beijing, China, 8 –10 June
2010.
11. Onyekonwu, M. O., and Ogolo, N. A.: ⬙Investigating the Use of Nanoparticles in Enhancing Oil
Recovery,⬙ SPE 140744, presented at the 34th Annual SPE International Conference and Exhi-
bition held in Tinapa – Calabar, Nigeria, 31 July–7 August 2010.
12. Qiu, F., and Mamora, D. : ⬙Experimental Study of Solvent-Based Emulsion Injection to Enhance
Heavy Oil Recovery in Alaska North Slope Area,⬙ CSUG/SPE 136758, presented at the Canadian
Unconventional Resources & International Petroleum Conference held in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada, 19 –21 October 2010.
16 SPE-175395-MS

13. Miranda, C. R., de Lara, L. S., and Tonetto, B. C.: ⬙Stability and Mobility of Functionalized Silica
Nanoparticles for Enhanced Oil Recovery Applications,⬙ SPE 157033, presented at the SPE
International Oilfield Nanotechnology Conference held in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 12–14
June 2012.
14. Ogolo, N. A., Olafuyi, O. A., and Onyekonwu, M. O.: ⬙Enhanced Oil Recovery using Nanopar-
ticles,⬙ SPE 160847, presented at the SPE Saudi Arabia Section Technical Symposium and
Exhibition held in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, 8 –11 April 2012.
15. Metin, C. O., Bonnecaze, R. T., and Nguyen, Q. P. : ⬙The Viscosity of Silica Nanoparticle
Dispersions in Permeable Media,⬙ SPE 157056, presented at the SPE International Oilfield
Nanotechnology Conference held in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 12–14 June 2012.
16. Shahrabadi, A., Bagherzadeh, H., Roustaei, A., and Golghanddashti, H.: ⬙Experimental Investi-
gation of HLP Nanofluid Potential to Enhance Oil Recovery: A Mechanistic Approach,⬙ APE
156642, presented at the SPE International Oilfield Nanotechnology Conference held in Noord-
wijk, The Netherlands, 12–14 June 2012.
17. Roustaei, A., Moghadasi,J., Bagherzadeh, H., Shahrabadi, A.: ⬙An Experimental Investigation of
Polysilicon Nanoparticles’ Recovery Efficiencies through Changes in Interfacial Tension and
Wettability Alteration,⬙ SPE 156976, presented at the SPE International Oilfield Nanotechnology
Conference held in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 12–14 June 2012.
18. Nguyen, P., Do, B. H., Pham, D., Nguyen, H., Dao, D. P., and Nguyen, B. : ⬙Evaluation on the
EOR Potential Capacity of the Synthesized Composite Silica-Core/ Polymer-Shell Nanoparticles
Blended with Surfactant Systems for the HPHT Offshore Reservoir Conditions,⬙ SPE 157127,
presented at the SPE International Oilfield Nanotechnology Conference held in Noordwijk, The
Netherlands, 12–14 June 2012