Clarifications on Oil/Heavy Oil Recovery Under Ultrasonic Radiation Through Core and 2D Visualization Experiments

摘要

Our previous research on the effects of ultrasonic waves on oil recovery conducted at the University of Alberta had shown that capillarity and interfacial tension (IFT) might be responsible for the observed improvements in incremental oil recovery. Although the results seem encouraging, questions about the mechanism and effective parameters causing additional recovery still remain. To analyze the influence of parameters other than IFT and capillary forces, we conducted capillary imbibition experiments on cylindrical Berea sandstone core samples under ultrasonic radiation, and the results are presented in this paper. Through this experimental scheme, we focused on: a) the effect of initial water saturation for rocks with different wettability; b) oil viscosity; and c) matrix wettability. The cores were placed into imbibition cells where they were contacted with an aqueous phase. Every experiment was conducted with and without ultrasonic radiation for comparison. Different intensities of ultrasonic waves were tested as well. To investigate the acoustic interaction between rock and fluid, we performed certain visualization experiments. We used 2D glass bead models to clarify the effects of ultrasonic waves on the oil displacement process for different oil viscosities and matrix wettability through comparative analysis. The qualitative and quantitative observations and analyses presented are expected to provide additional understanding regarding investigations in the use of in situ recovery of oil/heavy oil, as well as surface extraction.