Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 192 (2020) 107345
Available online 30 April 2020
0920-4105/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Colloidal release in high temperature porous media with oversaturated
fnes during supercritical CO2 transport
B. Kanimozhi
a
, S. Mahalingam
b
, Venkat Pranesh
c, *
, R. Kesavakumar
c
, S. Senthil
d
,
S. Ravikumar
c
, Shanthi Pradeep
c
, Sandhya Senthil
e
, Raji Murugan
e
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sona College of Technology, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
c
Minerals and Chemicals Division (R&D), Dawn Calorifc Exports, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
d
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology, Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India
e
Department of Mathematics, Vels Institute of Science, Technology, and Advanced Studies, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
A R T I C L E INFO
Keywords:
Colloidal fow
Fines migration
Porous media
Pressure drop
Permeability
Temperature
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the impacts of supercritical CO
2
transport in high temperature porous media with over-
saturated fnes. The latter phenomenon (indicates oversaturated fnes) is in which the lift force of the fne particle
over pore surface is greater than the gravitational and electrostatic forces combined, where the fnes are released
from the pore surfaces and transport along with the permeating fuid as colloidal-suspension fow. During
transport, the fnes are captured in the pore-throats and thereby deteriorating the permeability and decreasing
fuid recovery as well. Therefore, three sets of corefood tests have been conducted to examine the fnes mobi-
lization in porous media during supercritical CO
2
transport and the results have been compared with the results
obtained from the subcritical CO
2
fow. Produced suspension-colloids have been sent for microstructural analysis
and its outcomes, supported the experimental results. Statistical modelling and literature data were employed
and compared for model validation, which revealed high agreement.
Credit author statement
B. Kanimozhi: Experimental Setup and Work, Model Prediction,
Calculation, S.Mahalingam: Experimental Setup and Work, and Super-
vision, Venkat Pranesh: Experimental Design and Work, Data Analysis,
Wrote the Manuscript, R. Kesavakumar: Statistical Modelling and Su-
pervision, S. Senthil: Experimental Setup and Work, SEM Interpretation,
S. Ravikumar: Sandstone Rock Core and Clay Minerals Characterization,
Shanthi Pradeep: SEM Interpretation and Sample Physical Properties
Examination, Sandhya Senthil: Data Evaluation, Calculation and Anal-
ysis, Raji Murugan: Data Evaluation, Calculation and Analysis
1. Introduction
The phenomenon of colloidal-suspension fows and fnes migration
in porous materials is a common and frequent event in the petroleum,
chemical, geothermal, agricultural, metallurgical, and water resource
industries. Specifcally, during the process of oil and gas recovery, water
production from aquifers, thermal energy extraction and storage, waste
management, microfltration, crop irrigation, mineral processing etc.,
(Malgaresi et al., 2020, 2019; Zhang et al., 2019; Shahverdi et al., 2018;
You et al., 2014; Ramaswamy and Raghavan, 2011; Sen and Khilar,
2006; Orts et al., 2000). But, this paper emphasizes on the applications
to oil and gas recovery and aquifers during CO
2
injection. Because, for
the past 3 decades the CO
2
the most notorious greenhouse gas has been
employed in the oil and gas felds to mobilize the subsurface reservoir
fuids and recovery as well (Pranesh, 2016). Additionally, solid fne
particles are naturally present in the porous media. Mostly, these fnes
are clay and crystalline minerals, such as kaolinite, illite, montmoril-
lonite, smectite, quartz, etc. Even solid fnes may occur in the porous
rocks due to the erosion of rock matrix and also, there is a bacterial
growth in the reservoir rocks (Kanimozhi et al., 2019a; Wennberg et al.,
1996). Actually, fnes in the porous medium under supercritical CO
2
fow detaches from the pore surface and transport along with the
permeating fuid, which is reported both in laboratory and feld case
studies (Pearce et al., 2019; Xie et al., 2017). Fig. 1 presents the sche-
matic diagram of fnes behaviour and colloidal release during super-
critical CO
2
fow in the porous media. Usually, fnes attached on the rock
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: venkpran359@gmail.com (V. Pranesh).
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Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/petrol
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2020.107345
Received 10 January 2020; Received in revised form 26 April 2020; Accepted 27 April 2020