Experimental investigation of CO2 foam stability enhancement by partitioning particles

Even though the interest in CO2 foam flooding for enhanced oil recovery applications is increasing, having a successful operation in field scale is challenging. The efficiency of the conventionally surfactant stabilized foam is jeopardized under reservoir conditions. In this study, we experimentally investigate the performance of a foam system consisting of a surfactant with the addition of CNC particles for operation at up to 2.7 MPa pressure and 90 degrees C temperature. Experiments are conducted in static and dynamic conditions. The effect of addition of CNC nanoparticles to the surfactant solution in order to stabilize the foam structure is studied. In this paper, we demonstrate stabilization of foam through incorporating fully water wet nanoparticles, which generate a 3D network within the liquid film. These particles are not interfacially adsorbent. Investigation of these partition-favorable particle stabilized foams suggests that the non-adsorbed particles increase the stability of the foam via accumulation of CNC particles in a continuous phase between dispersed gas bubbles. The target of this study is CO2 flooding in conventional, hot conventional and viscous oil reservoirs.