Study of the Effect of Different Factors on Nanoparticle-Stablized CO2 Foam for Mobility Control

Abstract

This paper describes a s eries of nanoparticle-stabilized CO2-foam flow experiments performed at reservoir conditions of 20°C and 1200 psig. The generation of CO2 foam was observed in an online sapphire tube. Pressure drop across the core was measured to estimate the fluid mobility and foam resistance factor. Results from the experiments show that stable CO2 foam was generated when CO2 and nanosilica dispersion flowed through a core sample. CO2 foam can be generated with the nanosilica concentration as low as 100 ppm. With the increase of nanosilica concentration, foam mobility decreased and the foam resistance factor increased. It was also observed that the foam mobility decreased with increasing foam quality from 20% to 60% and then increased as the foam quality increased from 60% to 80%. The effects of flow rate on foam mobility indicated that CO2 foam mobility decreased with the flow rate increasing from 60ml/h to 160ml/h.