Steven L. Bryant (steven_bryant@mail.utexas.edu) is the Program Manager of the Nanoparticle Engineering for Subsurface Processes research program.
Nanotechnology continues to develop rapidly, driven by several different industries. The main objectives of this program are (i) to introduce recent and emerging developments into the oil industry; (ii) to identify applications that could bring significant benefits to the upstream oil operations and oil recovery; and (iii) to carry out research that would enable the practical implementation of these technologies within the oil industry. Our current focus is on the use of various nano-scale materials ("nanoparticles") for certain processes that increase oil recovery and for more accurate determination of changes in fluid saturations and reservoir properties during oil and gas production.
Research Projects
Characterization of Functionalized Nanoparticle Transport in Flow Through Permeable Media - Quoc P. Nguyen, Larry W. Lake, and Caetano R. Miranda (Kyoto University)
Funding source: Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC)
Funding amount: $500,000 for the period of Jan. 2009 - Jan. 2011
Nanoparticles offer a way of controlling oil recovery processes that is unmatched by any current or previous technology. They also offer a means of interrogating small-scale physics that is also unparalleled by prior work. In the recovery of hydrocarbon, the success of nanoparticles depends on the ability to put them in the right place in a reservoir and to be sure that they transport effectively. Emplacement and transport of nanoparticles through permeable media are the subject of this work. The hypothesis is that nanoparticles can be made to flow through permeable media and that these flows can improve oil recovery. The testing step involves making fundamental measurements on the stability of nanoparticle dispersions, many treated to alter the wetting state of phases, the effect of these dispersions have on conventional measurements of the wetting state of fluids with polished surfaces, and finally the transport of dispersions through permeable media. The testing part lies in a concurrent theoretical program that ranges in scale from first principles and molecular dynamic simulation, to modeling of surface potentials, to larger-scale modeling of flow through permeable cores. Determination of Oil Saturation in Reservoir Rock Using Paramagnetic Nanoparticles and Magnetic Field - Chun Huh, Steven L. Bryant, Keith P. Johnston (ChE), Thomas E. Milner (BME)
Funding source: Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC)
Funding amount: $200k per year
Accurate, non-invasive determination of oil saturation distribution in laboratory cores, near-wellbore zones, and deep in the reservoir, will greatly improve understanding of oil displacement mechanisms for various EOR processes, and also help identify the location of bypassed oils so that they can be subsequently recovered. We attempt to utilize the concept of enhancing MRI imaging with use of paramagnetic nanoparticles, for accurate determination of oil saturation. The key to our proposed method is that the detection of the oil/water menisci in reservoir rock means presence of oil. By injecting paramagnetic nanoparticles that adsorb preferentially on the oil/water interface (meniscus), and by detecting the acoustic wave generated by their oscillation, their presence in the reservoir rock is deduced. 
The first step for the implementation of the idea is the application of a surface coating to nanoparticles such that once they contact oil in the reservoir rock, they are adsorbed at the oil/water interface. We then apply magnetic field oscillation so that the oil/water menisci at the rock pores oscillate, and thereby generate an acoustic response (a pressure wave), which can be measured with a sensitive geophone. Different components of the project are being carried out by researchers in Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. Controls on Transport of Nanostructures in Sedimentary Rocks - Steven L. Bryant, Keith P. Johnston (ChE)
Funding source: Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC)
Funding amount: $175K per year
This project seeks to establish the characteristics of nanoparticles that allow them to be transported arbitrarily far into a sedimentary rock containing two (or more) immiscible fluids. The goal is to support a primary objective of the AEC, namely, to develop sensors to illuminate hydrocarbon reservoirs. Nanostructures that migrate with injected fluids into the formation might be able to play this role -- but only if they can propagate tens to hundreds of meters through carbonate and sandstone rocks that contain aqueous and hydrocarbon phases.
To accomplish this objective we propose a two-scale study: experiments on transport in mesoporous thin films (pores 10 to 1000 nm), and core scale experiments on transport through sandpacks and samples of sedimentary rocks (pores 1 to 10 microns). The former will elucidate fundamental mechanisms of particle attachment as a function of particle surface characteristics and pore geometry. The latter will include injection of single-phase suspensions of nanoparticles and injection of nanoparticles in two-phase emulsions, the particles being held at droplet interfaces or as a suspension within droplets. By varying the surface characteristics of the particles and of the porous materials, we will determine the controls on retention. The results will be useful in preparing specifications of desirable properties for particles and structures intended for use within a hydrocarbon reservoir.
White paper on Nano-materials Needs for Oil Industry - Rod Ewing (U. Michigan), Chun Huh
Funding source: Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC)
Funding amount: $60K
The objective of this small project is to carry out a literature survey on nanotechnology to identify potential applications that will benefit upstream oil operations and oil recovery. Published papers and patents on nanotechnology areas such as nano-composites, nano-fluids, nanoparticle-stabilized emulsions/foams, smart coatings, nano-filtration, nano-sensors, and nano-catalysts are being reviewed.
White paper on Nano Dispersion Transport in Reservoir Rock - Howard Schmidt (Rice), Andrew Barron (Rice), Chun Huh, Steven L. Bryant
Funding source: Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC)
Funding amount: $30K
The invention and deployment of engineered nano objects and devices could significantly improve recovery of oil from reservoirs. A crucial prerequisite for most applications, particularly those associated with advanced sensing or "illuminating the reservoir," is that the nanoparticles be able to migrate arbitrarily far through the pores of sedimentary rock. The objective of this small project is to carry out a literature survey on the transport of nanoparticles in porous media, to identify requirements for their effective transport in reservoir rocks.
Evaluation of Nanoparticle-Stabilized Emulsions For Improved Oil Recovery - Steven L. Bryant
Funding source: Amercian Chemical Society/Petroleum Research Fund (ACS/PRF)
Funding amount: $100K
The rationale for this project is the possibility of overcoming a long-standing limitation on improved oil recovery. The viscosity of a fluid injected to displace oil, such as water, CO2 or surfactant solution, is often smaller than the viscosity of the oil. In this situation, increasing the viscosity of the injected fluid significantly increases the recovery efficiency. Emulsification is one way to increase viscosity, but many current methods to stabilize emulsions are expensive or poorly suited to large-scale application. Stabilization with surface-modified nanoparticles could overcome these problems.
The scientific objectives of this project are to establish the thermal stability of a class of nanoparticle-stabilized emulsions; to characterize the rheology of such emulsions; and to determine how such emulsions propagate through sedimentary rocks, with and without oil in the pore space.
Nanoparticles for Viscous Oil Recovery - Kishore Mohanty
Funding source: Department of Energy (NETL)
Funding amount: $100K
The North Slope of Alaska has large deposits of viscous oil in Ugnu, West Sak and Shraeder Bluff reservoirs. The proximity to the permafrost is an issue for thermal methods; thus nonthermal methods must be considered. The objective of this proposal is to identify chemical methods for viscous oil recovery. In some rocks, oil gets trapped in larger pores. Nanoparticles can be injected to plug smaller pores and redirect fluid into larger pores, possibly recovering oil without significant drop in permeability. This hypothesis would be tested in this research.