Viscosity Reduction Behavior of Carbon Nanotube Viscosity Reducers with Different Molecular Structures at the Oil–Water Interface: Experimental Study and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Zhao Hua, Jian Zhang, Yuejun Zhu, Bo Huang, Qingyuan Chen () and Wanfen Pu
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Zhao Hua: State Key Lab of Offshore Oil & Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Jian Zhang: State Key Lab of Offshore Oil & Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Yuejun Zhu: State Key Lab of Offshore Oil & Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Bo Huang: State Key Lab of Offshore Oil & Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Qingyuan Chen: State Key Lab of Offshore Oil & Gas Exploitation, Beijing 100028, China
Wanfen Pu: State Key Laboratory Oil & Gas Reservoir Geology & Exploration, Chengdu 610500, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: Effectively enhancing oil recovery can be achieved by reducing the viscosity of crude oil. Therefore, this paper investigated the viscosity reduction behavior of carbon nanotube viscosity reducers with different molecular structures at the oil–water interface, aiming to guide the synthesis of efficient viscosity reducers based on molecular structure. This study selected carbon nanotubes with different functional groups (NH 2 -CNT, OH-CNT, and COOH-CNT) for research, and carbon nanotubes with varying carbon chain lengths were synthesized. These were then combined with Tween 80 to form a nanofluid. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed an increased dispersibility of carbon nanotubes after introducing carbon chains. Contact angle experiments demonstrated that -COOH exhibited the best hydrophilic effect. The experiments of zeta potential, conductivity, viscosity reduction, and interfacial tension showed that, under the same carbon chain length, the conductivity and viscosity reduction rate sequence for different functional groups was -NH 2 < -OH < -COOH. The dispersing and stabilizing ability and interfacial tension reduction sequence for different functional groups was -COOH < -OH < -NH 2 . With increasing carbon chain length, conductivity and interfacial tension decreased, and the viscosity reduction rate and the dispersing and stabilizing ability increased. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that, under the same carbon chain length, the diffusion coefficient sequence for different functional groups was -NH 2 < -OH < -COOH. The diffusion coefficient gradually decreased as the carbon chain length increased, resulting in better adsorption at the oil–water interface. This study holds significant importance in guiding viscosity reduction in heavy oil to enhance oil recovery.

Keywords: carbon nanotube; viscosity reducers; heavy oil; molecular dynamics simulation; oil–water interface (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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