Two-Dimensional Physical Simulation of the Seepage Law of Microbial Flooding

Yongheng Zhao (), Jianlong Xiu (), Lixin Huang, Lina Yi and Yuandong Ma
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Yongheng Zhao: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Jianlong Xiu: Institute of Porous Flow and Fluid Mechanics, Langfang 065007, China
Lixin Huang: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Beijing 100083, China
Lina Yi: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Beijing 100083, China
Yuandong Ma: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Beijing 100083, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: The study of seepage laws during microbial enhanced oil recovery helps to elucidate the mechanisms behind microbial flooding, and the use of large-scale physical simulation experimental devices can more objectively and accurately investigate the seepage laws of microbes in porous media, and evaluate the oil displacement efficiency of microbial systems. In this study, physical simulation experiments of microbial flooding were conducted via a slab outcrop core, and the biochemical parameters such as the concentration of Bacillus subtilis , nutrient concentration, surface tension, and displacement pressure data were tracked and evaluated. The analysis revealed that the characteristics of the pressure field change during microbial flooding and elucidates the migration rules of microbes and nutrients, as well as the change rule of surface tension. The results show that after the microbial system is injected, cells and nutrients are preferentially distributed near the injection well and along the main flow paths, with the bacterial adsorption and retention capacity being greater than those of the nutrient agents. Owing to the action of microorganisms and their metabolites, the overall pressure within the model increased, From the injection well to the production well, the pressure in the model decreases stepwise, and the high-pressure gradient zone is mainly concentrated near the injection well. The fermentation mixture of Bacillus subtilis increased the injection pressure by 0.73 MPa, reduced the surface tension by up to 49.8%, and increased the oil recovery rate by 6.5%.

Keywords: microbial field; pressure field; large-scale physical simulation; microbial enhanced oil recovery (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
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