Rheological Properties of Crude Oil and Produced Emulsion from CO 2 Flooding

Mingzheng Qiao, Fan Zhang () and Weiqi Li ()
Additional contact information
Mingzheng Qiao: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Fan Zhang: Energy Strategy and Low-Carbon Development Research Center, Sichuan Energy Internet Research Institute, Tsinghua University, Chengdu 610213, China
Weiqi Li: Energy Strategy and Low-Carbon Development Research Center, Sichuan Energy Internet Research Institute, Tsinghua University, Chengdu 610213, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology is recognized as a pivotal strategy to mitigate global climate change. The CO 2 storage and enhanced oil recovery (CCUS-EOR) technology not only enhances oil recovery rates but also contributes to significant reductions in CO 2 emissions, with significant social and economic benefits. This paper examines the application of CO 2 -EOR technology in both enhancing oil recovery and facilitating geological CO 2 storage, and analyzes its implementation status and differences in the United States and China. Through experimental investigations conducted in a specific oilfield, we analyze the effects of dissolved CO 2 on the viscosity–temperature characteristics, yield value under pressure, stability, and rheological properties of crude oil and produced fluids. Additionally, we assess the demulsification effectiveness of various demulsifiers. Our findings indicate that both dissolved CO 2 in crude oil and emulsions exhibit non-Newtonian fluid behavior characterized by shear thinning, and the viscosity decreases with the increase in temperature and pressure. Furthermore, the presence of dissolved CO 2 exacerbates the oil–water separation phenomenon in produced fluids, thereby diminishing emulsion stability. The increase in emulsion concentration and the increase in emulsification temperature are both conducive to improving the emulsification rate. These research results provide critical insights for pipeline design and pump selection in oilfield production processes.

Keywords: carbon capture; utilization and storage; enhanced oil recovery; CO 2 -EOR; emulsion stability; rheological property (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: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/739/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/739/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:3:p:739-:d:1584655

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().