Oil Recovery by Synergistic CO2 Flooding Using Viscoelastic Fluids of Low Interfacial Tension Containing Amphiphilic Nanoparticles
4 affiliations
- 1School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China
- 2National Key Laboratory of Low-Carbon Catalysis and CO₂ Utilization, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China
- 3Hubei Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China
- 4Research Institute of Oil and Gas Technology, Tarim Oilfield Company, Korla 841000, China
Abstract
Tight-oil reservoirs are abundant but characterized by poor physical properties and strong heterogeneity. CO2 flooding is an important technique for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon storage, yet CO2 channeling remains a critical issue due to its high mobility, and existing anti-channeling methods have limitations. In this work, a low-interfacial-tension viscoelastic fluid containing amphiphilic nanoparticles (LFNA) was formulated by combining a small-molecule viscosifier (LFLM) with amphiphilic nanoparticles (LQNA). Its performance and synergistic effect with CO2 flooding were systematically evaluated. The LFNA formulation is simple (0.4 wt% LFLM + 0.01 wt% LQNA-3), exhibiting a viscosity of 5.82 mPa·s, an interfacial tension of 0.0296 mN/m, and predominantly elastic behavior (tan δ = 0.791). It shows good tolerance to temperature, salinity, and pH variation, favorable injectivity in tight cores (Kg = 0.45 − 1.07 mD), and selective plugging capability. Core-flooding experiments in both homogeneous and heterogeneous models demonstrate that CO2–LFNA alternating injection after waterflooding outperforms continuous CO2 flooding in EOR. In heterogeneous models, the LFNA slug preferentially plugs high-permeability channels, expands sweep volume, and effectively mobilizes residual oil in low-permeability zones, with incremental recoveries of 12.49% and 15.74% for low- and high-permeability cores, respectively. Overall, the combined incremental recovery of CO2–LFNA alternating flooding (14.26%) exceeds that of water–LFNA alternating flooding (11.49%) and continuous CO2 flooding (9.85%). These results confirm that LFNA provides a synergistic effect of plugging, oil-washing, and sweep improvement. Using LFNA for CO2 channeling control is feasible and effective, and it also benefits CO2 storage and carbon reduction.
Related
- Synergistic Energetic Realignment and Interfacial Passivation via Perovskite Nanocrystal-Doped Spiro-OMeTAD for Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells
- Boosted H2O2 Photosynthesis via Synergistic Tuning Electronic Structure and Interfacial O2 Transfer on Floatable Carbon Nitride Networks
- Synergistic d-Orbital Interactions and Interfacial Coupling in Metal-Organic Framework-Based Electrocatalysts for Direct Seawater Electrolysis.
- Enhancing ionic conductivity and interfacial stability of perovskite-type LLTO solid electrolytes via synergistic A-site Sr substitution and polymer layer engineering for safer lithium-ion batteries.
- Research on Reversible Wetting Regulation and Interfacial Adaptive Behavior of Multi-Stimulus Responsive Nanoparticles
BibTeX
@article{jiang2026recovery,
title = {{Oil Recovery by Synergistic CO2 Flooding Using Viscoelastic Fluids of Low Interfacial Tension Containing Amphiphilic Nanoparticles}},
author = {Mengsheng Jiang and Jilong Zheng and Chuan He and Shanfa Tang and Yuanwu Dong and Zhe Wang},
journal = {Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/molecules31193493},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666412},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Oil Recovery by Synergistic CO2 Flooding Using Viscoelastic Fluids of Low Interfacial Tension Containing Amphiphilic Nanoparticles
AU - Mengsheng Jiang
AU - Jilong Zheng
AU - Chuan He
AU - Shanfa Tang
AU - Yuanwu Dong
AU - Zhe Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/molecules31193493
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666412
AB - Tight-oil reservoirs are abundant but characterized by poor physical properties and strong heterogeneity. CO2 flooding is an important technique for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon storage, yet CO2 channeling remains a critical issue due to its high mobility, and existing anti-channeling methods have limitations. In this work, a low-interfacial-tension viscoelastic fluid containing amphiphilic nanoparticles (LFNA) was formulated by combining a small-molecule viscosifier (LFLM) with amphiphilic nanoparticles (LQNA). Its performance and synergistic effect with CO2 flooding were systematically evaluated. The LFNA formulation is simple (0.4 wt% LFLM + 0.01 wt% LQNA-3), exhibiting a viscosity of 5.82 mPa·s, an interfacial tension of 0.0296 mN/m, and predominantly elastic behavior (tan δ = 0.791). It shows good tolerance to temperature, salinity, and pH variation, favorable injectivity in tight cores (Kg = 0.45 − 1.07 mD), and selective plugging capability. Core-flooding experiments in both homogeneous and heterogeneous models demonstrate that CO2–LFNA alternating injection after waterflooding outperforms continuous CO2 flooding in EOR. In heterogeneous models, the LFNA slug preferentially plugs high-permeability channels, expands sweep volume, and effectively mobilizes residual oil in low-permeability zones, with incremental recoveries of 12.49% and 15.74% for low- and high-permeability cores, respectively. Overall, the combined incremental recovery of CO2–LFNA alternating flooding (14.26%) exceeds that of water–LFNA alternating flooding (11.49%) and continuous CO2 flooding (9.85%). These results confirm that LFNA provides a synergistic effect of plugging, oil-washing, and sweep improvement. Using LFNA for CO2 channeling control is feasible and effective, and it also benefits CO2 storage and carbon reduction.
SN - 1420-3049
ER -