Study on the Impact of Microscopic Pore Structure Characteristics in Tight Sandstone on Microscopic Remaining Oil after Polymer Flooding.

As a non-renewable resource, oil faces increasing demand, and the remaining oil recovery rates in existing oil fields still require improvement. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the impact of pore structure parameters on the distribution and recovery of residual oil after polymer flooding by constructing a digital pore network model. Using this model, the study visualizes the post-flooding state of the model with 3DMAX-9.0 software and employs a range of simulation methods, including a detailed analysis of the pore size, coordination number, pore-throat ratio, and wettability, to quantitatively assess how these parameters affect the residual oil distribution and recovery. The research shows that the change in the distribution of pore sizes leads to a decrease in cluster-shaped residual oil and an increase in columnar residual oil. An increase in the coordination number increases the core permeability and reduces the residual oil; for example, when the coordination number increases from 4.3 to 6, the polymer flooding recovery rate increases from 24.57% to 30.44%. An increase in the pore-throat ratio reduces the permeability and causes more residual oil to remain in the throat; for example, when the pore-throat ratio increases from 3.2 to 6.3, the total recovery rate decreases from 74.34% to 63.72%. When the wettability changes from oil-wet to water-wet, the type of residual oil gradually changes from the difficult-to-drive-out columnar and film-shaped to the more easily recoverable cluster-shaped; for example, when the proportion of water-wet throats increases from 0.1:0.9 to 0.6:0.4, the water flooding recovery rate increases from 35.63% to 51.35%. Both qualitative and quantitative results suggest that the digital pore network model developed in this study effectively predicts the residual oil distribution under different pore structures and provides a crucial basis for optimizing residual oil recovery strategies.

Study on the Occurrence Characteristics of the Remaining Oil in Sandstone Reservoirs with Different Permeability after Polymer Flooding.

After polymer flooding, the heterogeneity between different layers intensifies, forming intricate seepage channels and fluid diversions, which results in decreased circulation efficiency and lower recovery rates, leaving a significant amount of residual oil trapped within the reservoir. Understanding the characteristics of residual oil occurrence is crucial for enhancing oil recovery post-polymer flooding. This study focused on sandstone reservoirs with varying permeability in the Saertu block of the Daqing oilfield. Using cryosectioning and laser scanning confocal microscopy, the occurrence characteristics of the residual oil in these sandstone reservoirs post-polymer flooding were investigated. Additionally, micro-CT and scanning electron microscopy were employed to analyze the impact of the pore structure on the distribution characteristics of the residual oil. The results indicate that laser scanning confocal images reveal that post-polymer flooding, the residual oil in high- and low-permeability sandstone reservoirs predominantly exists in a bound state (average > 47%), mostly as particle-adsorbed oil. In contrast, the residual oil in medium-permeability reservoirs is primarily in a free state (average > 49%), mostly as intergranular-adsorbed oil. In high-permeability sandstone reservoirs, heavy oil components are mainly in a particle-adsorbed form; in medium-permeability sandstone reservoirs, residual oil predominantly consists of heavy components, with most light components occurring in a clustered form; in low-permeability sandstone reservoirs, clustered residual oil exists in a balanced coexistence of light and heavy components, while the heavy components primarily exist in a particle-adsorbed form. Post-polymer flooding, the large pore-throat structure in high-permeability sandstone reservoirs results in effective displacement and less free residual oil; medium-permeability sandstone reservoirs, with medium-large pores and throats, have preferential channels and fine particles blocking the throats, leading to some unswept pores and more free residual oil; low-permeability sandstone reservoirs, with small pores and throats, exhibit weak displacement forces and poor mobility, resulting in more bound residual oil. The distribution and content of clay particles and clay minerals, along with the complex microscopic pore structure, are the main factors causing the differences in the residual oil occurrence states in sandstones with varying permeability.

Study on Micro Production Mechanism of Corner Residual Oil after Polymer Flooding.

To study the microscopic production mechanism of corner residual oil after polymer flooding, microscopic visualization oil displacement technology and COMSOL finite element numerical simulation methods were used. The influence of the viscosity and interfacial tension of the oil displacement system after polymer flooding on the movement mechanism of the corner residual oil was studied. The results show that by increasing the viscosity of the polymer, a portion of the microscopic remaining oil in the corner of the oil-wet property can be moved whereas that in the corner of the water-wet property cannot be moved at all. To move the microscopic remaining oil in the corners with water-wet properties after polymer flooding, the viscosity of the displacement fluid or the displacement speed must be increased by 100-1000 times. Decreasing the interfacial tension of the oil displacement system changed the wettability of the corner residual oil, thus increasing the wetting angle. When the interfacial tension level reached 10-2 mN/m, the degree of movement of the remaining oil in the corner reached a maximum. If the interfacial tension is reduced, the degree of production of the residual oil in the corner does not change significantly. The microscopic production mechanism of the corner residual oil after polymer flooding expands the scope of the displacement streamlines in the corner.

A Sodium-Ion-Conducting Direct Formate Fuel Cell: Generating Electricity and Producing Base.

A barrier that limits the development of the conventional cation-exchange membrane direct liquid fuel cells (CEM-DLFCs) is that the CEM-DLFCs need additional base to offer both alkaline environment and charge carriers. Herein, we propose a Na+ -conducting direct formate fuel cell (Na-DFFC) that is operated in the absence of added base. A proof-of-concept Na-DFFC yields a peak power density of 33 mW cm-2 at 60 °C, mainly because the hydrolysis of sodium formate provides enough OH- and Na+ ions, proving the conceptual feasibility. Moreover, contrary to the conventional chlor-alkali process, this Na-DFFC enables to generate electricity and produce NaOH simultaneously without polluting the environment. The Na-DFFC runs stably during 13 hours of continuous operation at a constant current of 10 mA, along with a theoretical production of 195 mg NaOH. This work presents a new type of electrochemical conversion device that possesses a wide range of potential applications.

Hydroxide Self-Feeding High-Temperature Alkaline Direct Formate Fuel Cells.

Conventionally, both the thermal degradation of the anion-exchange membrane and the requirement of additional hydroxide for fuel oxidation reaction hinder the development of the high-temperature alkaline direct liquid fuel cells. The present work addresses these two issues by reporting a polybenzimidazole-membrane-based direct formate fuel cell (DFFC). Theoretically, the cell voltage of the high-temperature alkaline DFFC can be as high as 1.45 V at 90 °C. It has been demonstrated that a proof-of-concept alkaline DFFC without adding additional hydroxide yields a peak power density of 20.9 mW cm-2 , an order of magnitude higher than both alkaline direct ethanol fuel cells and alkaline direct methanol fuel cells, mainly because the hydrolysis of formate provides enough OH- ions for formate oxidation reaction. It was also found that this hydroxide self-feeding high-temperature alkaline DFFC shows a stable 100 min constant-current discharge at 90 °C, proving the conceptual feasibility.

[Research of performances for the organic membrane modified by inorganic material].

Nano-sized alumina particles as inorganic additive were dispersed in the poly (vinylidene fluoride) uniformly to prepare organic-inorganic composite membranes. Contact angle between water and the membrane surface were measured by contact angle measurement in order to characterize the hydrophilicity changing of the membrane surface. The membrane surface structures, porous distribution on the membrane surface, the cross-sectional structures and nanometer particles distribution were examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) respectively. Membrane properties were characterized by ultrafiltration (UF) experiments in terms of water flux and antifouling properties. Membranes mechanical performances were measured by omnipotence electronic intensity measuring instrument (W-56). Experiments indicate that Al2 O3 -PVDF composite membranes exhibit significant differences in surface hydrophilicity properties, flux, and intensity and antifouling performances due to nano-sized particles addition.