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Experimental Optimization of Activated Carbon–Zinc Oxide for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Sandstone Reservoirs

  • Research Article-Petroleum Engineering
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Abstract

Recently, using nanoparticles to change effective mechanisms in reservoirs, such as changes in wettability and reducing interfacial tension in sandstone reservoirs, are common methods for enhanced oil recovery. In this study, activated carbon–ZnO nanocomposites (AC/ZnO) were synthesized, and different wettability alteration (WA), interfacial tension (IFT), and zeta potential (ZP) tests at reservoir pressure and temperature (80 °C and 2500 Psi) were tested for obtaining an optimum concentration of AC/ZnO, and the results compared with pure ZnO nanoparticles. Then, series of spontaneous imbibition tests were designed at same operational tests at obtained optimum concentration. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) tests were used to observe ZnO and AC/ZnO structure. Different nanocomposites concentrations including 30 ppm, 60 ppm, 90 ppm, 120 ppm, 150 ppm, and 180 ppm were analyzed during different IFT, WA, and ZP tests, and based on the maximum decrease in WA and highest ZP, 90 ppm was selected as an optimum concentration for ZnO and AC/ZnO. AC/ZnO gave better results than ZnO during WA, IFT, and ZP tests, especially at optimum concentration of 90 ppm. At 90 ppm, CA was changed from 56.27° to 39.14°, and ZP was changed from −37.79 to −42.06 mV, respectively. For further investigations, both ZnO and AC/ZnO were tested for increased oil recovery tests at optimum concentration of 90 ppm. Oil recovery factor (RF) for base, ZnO, and AC/ZnO was 38.38%, 51.79%, and 66.68%, respectively, after 15 days. The findings of this study can help for better understanding of main porous media mechanisms in the presence of AC/ZnO and pure ZnO.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department, Ilam University, P.O. Box 69315/516, Ilam, Iran

    Yaser Ahmadi & Mohsen Mansouri

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  1. Yaser Ahmadi
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. YA helped in data curation, writing—original draft, visualization, and investigation. MM helped in conceptualization, methodology, and writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Mohsen Mansouri.

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Ahmadi, Y., Mansouri, M. Experimental Optimization of Activated Carbon–Zinc Oxide for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Sandstone Reservoirs. Arab J Sci Eng 48, 17023–17030 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-023-08337-z

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