Stability Analysis of Nanoclay Assisted Water Based EOR Methods

In recent years, nanoparticles have attracted great attention in the oil and gas industry, while one of the most applicable nanoparticles is nanoclay, especially in drilling, which enhances the rheology of the drilling fluids. However, the experimental analysis of nanoclay in EOR processes was rarely investigated. One of the main parameters that play an important role in the success of the EOR process is nanoclay stability. This research focuses on the comprehensive stabilization analysis of montmorillonite nanoclay in the presence of surfactants (SDS, CTAB) and KCl. Sets of experiments such as nanofluid preparation, nanofluid stability via imaging analysis, DLS and Zeta potential, XRD and SEM analysis, and clay swelling tests were performed in this research. All of the experiments were done at ambient pressure and temperature. Four different nanoclay concentrations (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 weight percentages) and surfactant concentrations of 0.5 are applied. Ultimately, the experiments’ results confirm the nanoclay’s stability in the presence of the surfactant employed in the study that lasted 24 hours. It is found that the optimum nanoclay concentration during the stability experiments is 0.1.