Development of Nanofluids Based on Synergistic Effect of MgO Nanoparticles and a Quaternary Amine (CTAB) for the Inhibition of Formation Damage Caused By Fines Migration

Development
of Nanofluids based on Synergistic Effect of MgO Nanoparticles and a Quaternary Amine (CTAB) for the Inhibition
of Formation Damage Caused by Fines Migration

Rebeka Díez, Farid
B. Cortés* and Camilo A. Franco*

Grupo de Investigación en Fenómenos de Superficie – Michael
Polanyi, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede
Medellín, Kra 80 No. 65–223, Medellín, Colombia.

*Corresponding authors

e–mail: fbcortes@unal.edu.co, caafrancoar@unal.edu.co

Abstract

Fines
migration is a common problem in the oil and gas industry that causes the
decrease of productivity of a well due to the displacement of the mineral
solids that adhere to the porous media plugging the pore throats of the
formation. The primary objective of this work is to evaluate a nanofluid composed by nanoparticles of MgO
and a quaternary amine (Hexadecyltrimethylammonium
bromide - CTAB) to enhance the capacity of the porous media for the retention
of fines nanoparticles.  MgO nanoparticles were synthesized by the sol-gel method
using Mg(NO₃)₂·6H₂O
as a precursor. Nanoparticles were characterized by dynamic light scattering,
point of zero charge, TGA and FTIR. Different sizes 11,39nm, 42,80nm and
86,20nm were obtained. Nanofluids were prepared by
dispersing the nanoparticles in a CTAB-containing aqueous solution. Retention
tests were performed using Ottawa sand 20/40 packed beds and fine particles
suspensions at concentrations of 2 wt% in deionized
water. Individual and combined effects of nanoparticles and CTAB were evaluated
in different treatment dosages. Based on the experimental results, the
synthesized MgO nanoparticles/CTAB nanofluids showed a higher retention of fines in comparison
with the systems treated only with CTAB or with MgO
nanoparticles with efficiencies up to 200% higher. Also, was developed a design
of experiments aimed to find the optimal concentration for the treatment
proposed using the STATGRAPHICS Centurion XVI software (StatPoint
Technologies Inc.).  This work proposes a
new alternative for the injection of nanofluids as a
treatment for the problem of fines migration to optimize the productivity of
oil and gas wells.

Keywords. CTAB, Fines
Migration, Formation Damage, MgO nanoparticles, Nanofluids.