TITLE:
Importance of Double Layer Force between a Plat and a Nano-Particle in Restricting Fines Migration in Porous Media
AUTHORS:
Saeed Sourani, Mohammad Afkhami, Yousef Kazemzadeh, Houman Fallah
KEYWORDS:
Water Flooding, Reservoir Damage, Fines Migration, EOR, Double Layer Force, Inter-Particle Forces
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Nanoparticles,
Vol.3 No.3,
August
26,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Fines migration is defined
as separation of a Nano-sized particle by fluid flow in porous media and its
migration along some distances and its entrapment in a narrow pore throat or
its settlement on pore wall. Although this phenomenon happens in scales of Nano-meters,
it can lead to sever irretrievable damages. This damage includes permeability
reduction that causes drastic oil recovery reduction. There are several forces
impacting a fine that is placed on a pore wall. Some of most important forces
affecting settlement of a fine in porous media in presence of a fluid are electrical
forces. Electrical forces consist of several long and short range forces.
This study focuses on a long range force called Double Layer Force (DLF) that beside Van der
Waals is one of most powerful electrical forces. DLF is a repulsive force that
can repel a particle from pore wall and result separation of a Nano-sized solid
which subsequently moves along with flowing fluid and clogs a throat. The DLF
depends on the solid material (reservoir rock and fine) and fluid properties (i.e. ionic strength, pH). This study
investigates how each of these parameters affects DLF and introduces proper
conditions for reservoir water flooding for controlling fines migration.