APPLICATION OF ACRYLAMIDE POLYMER GRAFTED WITH SiO2 NANOPARTICLES IN ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY- DESIGN PROJECT.

The recovery of oil passes through several stages, which are primary, secondary and tertiary recoveries. At initial conditions, the production of hydrocarbons is carried out from the natural forces of the reservoir. However, after a specific period of time of production, the natural pressures available become insufficient in applying the required reinforcements in pushing the oil into the surface. Accordingly, there are multiple methods that help in pushing the oil into the surface facilities including the polymer injection. This is until the field of nanotechnology stepped foot in the industrial field, especially the petroleum industry. Nanotechnology, in general, helped in making the production process easier by enhancing properties of the fluids and rocks, such as wettability, interfacial tension, and viscosity. The objective of this research project is to have a deeper understanding of how the recovery of oil can be enhanced by using nanotechnology. Moreover, the polymer that is used is the polyacrylamide, and the nanoparticles that are used are the silica nanoparticles. The experimental work has 2 stages, which are the rheology stage and the flooding stage. The rheology stage involves the process of measuring how the viscosity of the acrylamide polymer increases when it is grafted with the silica nanoparticles, which is an advantage since an increase in the viscosity of the polymer means that the sweeping efficiency is going to improve. The viscosity was measured by using the 800 model 8-speed viscometer, and 4 concentrations of 250 ppm, 500 ppm, 1000 ppm, and 2000 ppm were used. The core flooding stage was carried out using the core flood system that was constructed in the core analysis lab for the research work and for the future work of future students in the petroleum engineering department. The experimental work indicates that 200 ppm of polyacrylamide and silica nanoparticles is the optimum concentration for the best recovery of oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]