5TH International Congress on Technology - Engineering & Science - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia (2018-02-01)

Surface Characterization Of Oil-carbonate Rocks Interaction For Enhanced Oil Recovery

Only one-third of the crude oil stored in underground reservoirs is successfully recovered by conventional recovery methods. An in-depth investigation of the interaction between crude oil and the rock surface of the reservoir is essential to develop innovative methods for optimum oil recovery. In this work, a novel in-situ atomic force microscopy technique (PeakForce QNMTM) is used to map the adhesion force between oil and carbonate rocks rich with natural Calcite and Dolomite content in water solution. The samples are placed in a fluid cell filled with water to compromise for the surrounding environment, while the AFM tip is functionalized with oil. Wettability contact angle measurements are performed both in situ and ex situ using static contact angle technique and environmental electron microscope (ESEM). These measurements are carried out with respect to both water and oil at various roughness induced by sample surface modification. The microstructure of the carbonate rocks is assessed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the content of the phases is determined using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) technique. The obtained force curves combined with wettability contact angle measurements and microstructure analysis of the rock surface are used to develop an empirical model to predict the advancing and receding contact angles. The results demonstrate that the contact angles depend on both surface roughness and mineralogy of the rock samples, the increased roughness at the Calcite-rich regions induces an oleophobic nature where in contrast the contact angle at Dolomite-rich regions remained unchanged with roughness variation. Force curve results show different adhesion behavior of Calcite-rich and Dolomite-rich regions. While no adhesion between oil and Calcite was measured, however some adhesion force was observed for dolomite phase, in water.
Jehad Abed, Cyril Aubry, Nabil El Hadri, Mustapha Jouiad