Flow of Dilute Oil-In-Water Emulsions in Porous Media
The flow of dilute oil-in-water emulsions is of critical concern in produced water reinjection. Oil droplets and solids suspended in produced water are often hard to remove and are, therefore, reinjected into subsurface formations. A rapid injectivity decline in such water injection wells is commonl...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Thesis |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
The University of Texas at Austin
1999
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/7706 https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/80690 |
id |
ftdatacite:10.26153/tsw/7706 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdatacite:10.26153/tsw/7706 2023-05-15T18:03:39+02:00 Flow of Dilute Oil-In-Water Emulsions in Porous Media Mendez, Zuleyka Del Carmen 1999 electronic https://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/7706 https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/80690 unknown The University of Texas at Austin Restricted Copyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works. Porous media Enhanced oil recovery Text Thesis article-journal ScholarlyArticle 1999 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/7706 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z The flow of dilute oil-in-water emulsions is of critical concern in produced water reinjection. Oil droplets and solids suspended in produced water are often hard to remove and are, therefore, reinjected into subsurface formations. A rapid injectivity decline in such water injection wells is commonly encountered. Eventually, these wells may have to be operated above the fracture gradient. The flow of emulsions in porous media determines the performance and lifetime of such water injection wells. Flow of dilute oil-in-water emulsions in porous media may also be encountered during enhanced oil recovery and stimulation operations. This dissertation is aimed at investigating the mechanisms of permeability impairment caused by the flow of dilute oil-in-water emulsions in cores containing residual oil. The study has both experimental and modeling components. The experimental program consisted of injecting well-characterized oil-in-water emulsions into cores containing a residual oil saturation. The permeability of different sections of the core as well as the droplet concentration and size distribution were measured as a function of time and position. Two crude oils, one from Prudhoe Bay and another from the North Sea (Brent crude oil) were used in core tests. Berea sandstone and Aloxite cores were used as porous media. Experimental results indicated that the presence of residual oil had a profound effect on the measured permeability decline. Droplets were generated from the residual oil present at pore throats after a critical capillary number is exceeded. It was found that high injection rates and low permeabilities enhance droplet formation. The generation of droplets is a primary contributing factor to the permeability reduction observed in different sections in the core. The permeability of the core, the droplet concentrations, the concentration of emulsifier present, the flow rate, and the properties of the crude oil all play important roles in determining the extent and rate of permeability impairment. High pressure gradient, high flow rate, low permeabilities, high oil concentrations and large droplet sizes contribute to a more rapid decline in permeability. It was observed that the permeability decline occurs in two stages, one associated with the injected droplets followed by a second stage during which generation of droplets plays an important role. After the onset of droplet generation, permeability decline is faster and more severe. This stage is evidenced by a high droplet concentration, in excess of the injected droplet concentration. Thesis Prudhoe Bay DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
op_collection_id |
ftdatacite |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Porous media Enhanced oil recovery |
spellingShingle |
Porous media Enhanced oil recovery Mendez, Zuleyka Del Carmen Flow of Dilute Oil-In-Water Emulsions in Porous Media |
topic_facet |
Porous media Enhanced oil recovery |
description |
The flow of dilute oil-in-water emulsions is of critical concern in produced water reinjection. Oil droplets and solids suspended in produced water are often hard to remove and are, therefore, reinjected into subsurface formations. A rapid injectivity decline in such water injection wells is commonly encountered. Eventually, these wells may have to be operated above the fracture gradient. The flow of emulsions in porous media determines the performance and lifetime of such water injection wells. Flow of dilute oil-in-water emulsions in porous media may also be encountered during enhanced oil recovery and stimulation operations. This dissertation is aimed at investigating the mechanisms of permeability impairment caused by the flow of dilute oil-in-water emulsions in cores containing residual oil. The study has both experimental and modeling components. The experimental program consisted of injecting well-characterized oil-in-water emulsions into cores containing a residual oil saturation. The permeability of different sections of the core as well as the droplet concentration and size distribution were measured as a function of time and position. Two crude oils, one from Prudhoe Bay and another from the North Sea (Brent crude oil) were used in core tests. Berea sandstone and Aloxite cores were used as porous media. Experimental results indicated that the presence of residual oil had a profound effect on the measured permeability decline. Droplets were generated from the residual oil present at pore throats after a critical capillary number is exceeded. It was found that high injection rates and low permeabilities enhance droplet formation. The generation of droplets is a primary contributing factor to the permeability reduction observed in different sections in the core. The permeability of the core, the droplet concentrations, the concentration of emulsifier present, the flow rate, and the properties of the crude oil all play important roles in determining the extent and rate of permeability impairment. High pressure gradient, high flow rate, low permeabilities, high oil concentrations and large droplet sizes contribute to a more rapid decline in permeability. It was observed that the permeability decline occurs in two stages, one associated with the injected droplets followed by a second stage during which generation of droplets plays an important role. After the onset of droplet generation, permeability decline is faster and more severe. This stage is evidenced by a high droplet concentration, in excess of the injected droplet concentration. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Mendez, Zuleyka Del Carmen |
author_facet |
Mendez, Zuleyka Del Carmen |
author_sort |
Mendez, Zuleyka Del Carmen |
title |
Flow of Dilute Oil-In-Water Emulsions in Porous Media |
title_short |
Flow of Dilute Oil-In-Water Emulsions in Porous Media |
title_full |
Flow of Dilute Oil-In-Water Emulsions in Porous Media |
title_fullStr |
Flow of Dilute Oil-In-Water Emulsions in Porous Media |
title_full_unstemmed |
Flow of Dilute Oil-In-Water Emulsions in Porous Media |
title_sort |
flow of dilute oil-in-water emulsions in porous media |
publisher |
The University of Texas at Austin |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/7706 https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/80690 |
genre |
Prudhoe Bay |
genre_facet |
Prudhoe Bay |
op_rights |
Restricted Copyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/7706 |
_version_ |
1766174577262592000 |