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This research discusses issues related to hydrogen production, a promising source of “green” energy. Various methods of hydrogen production are considered, along with a new technology for hydrogen synthesis in natural gas reservoirs that has never been implemented before. At the same time, existing published experimental studies indicate a high probability of hydrogen synthesis when steam is injected into oil reservoirs. However, considering that oil is the primary raw material for hydrogen generation, there is high uncertainty about the success of the process in natural gas fields in the absence of residual oil. The experimental study presented in this work aims to justify the possibility of hydrogen synthesis under conditions of a natural gas reservoir. Specially designed reactors filled with different models of porous media, including the rock of a real gas field, are used for the physical modeling of the process. The process simulates injecting steam into a preheated porous medium mixed with hydrocarbon gas, specifically methane, at a reservoir pressure of 80 atm. The main variable parameters, aside from the type of porous medium, are the temperature and the steam-tomethane ratio in the system. The article presents the results of a series of nine experiments. The gas products were analyzed using a gas chromatograph. At the same time, the properties of rock samples were investigated after each experiment. The results of the experiments reveal patterns of concentration of hydrogen produced depending on the parameters, indicating the high potential of hydrogen synthesis technology under reservoir conditions in natural gas fields.

Dispersion and aggregation of nanoparticles in aqueous solutions are important factors for safe and effective application of nanoparticles, for instance, in the oil industry. As conventional oil reserves are depleted, it is necessary to advance chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) techniques to develop unconventional oil reservoirs. Nanoparticles modified by surfactants can be a promising reagent in cEOR. These nanomaterials can reduce interfacial tension and change the wettability of reservoir rock, which leads to an increase in oil recovery. However, the application of nanoparticles is limited by their substantial aggregation in aqueous solutions. The purpose of this work is to select nanoparticles for obtaining stable sols in water in the presence of an anionic surfactant and to optimize the conditions (pH) for further modifying the nanoparticles with the anionic surfactant. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is used as an anionic surfactant. The aggregation of oxide and carbon nanoparticles in water and anionic surfactant solutions was studied by laser diffraction, dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering methods. Most of the studied nanoparticles in water form aggregates with bi-, three- and polymodal particle size distributions. TiO2 nanoparticles obtained by plasma dynamic synthesis form the most stable sols in anionic surfactant solutions. The range of 5–7 pH is defined as optimal for their modification with surfactants. The stability of carbon nanoparticles in aqueous solutions increases significantly in the presence of a surfactant. The obtained results form the basis for further research on the modification of marked nanoparticles in surfactant solutions.