Petroleum Reservoir Evaluation and Development >
Study on microscopic mechanism of deep heavy oil emulsification under synergistic CO2-thermal agent conditions
Received date: 2025-01-17
Online published: 2025-12-25
Heavy oil accounts for about 70% of the world’s remaining proven crude oil reserves, yet its efficient development remains a significant challenge worldwide. Based on the carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) framework, this study constructed silica nanochannels with fully hydroxylated surfaces to simulate real reservoir conditions. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to explore the microscopic mechanisms of deep heavy oil emulsification under synergistic CO2-thermal agent conditions. The study focused on three aspects. First, the influence of surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the emulsification performance of deep heavy oil in silica nanopores was studied, and emulsification behaviors and oil droplet stability with and without surfactants were compared. Second, steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations were used to analyze the forces and motion of oil droplets in silica channels, which revealed the key factors affecting droplet stretching and rupture. Finally, the emulsification mechanism under synergistic “thermal + chemical agent + CO2” conditions at 150 ℃ was investigated, and the emulsification performance of the CO2-thermal agent synergy was explored. The results showed that: (1) The addition of surfactants significantly enhanced emulsification stability, increasing the solvent accessible surface area (SASA) of oil droplets by 7.4% on average while optimizing their spatial distribution. (2) Oil droplet migration must overcome the resistance from the channel’s hydration layer, with the center-of-mass displacement exhibiting a three-stage evolution relationship with the external force. (3) The synergistic interaction between CO2 and thermal agents could effectively accelerate the emulsification process of deep heavy oil, resulting in an oil droplet diffusion coefficient of 5.733×10-9 m2/s, which marked a 31.0% increase compared to the condition with thermal agents alone. This study provides a new theoretical basis for understanding the microscopic mechanisms of deep heavy oil emulsification under CO2-thermal agent synergy while offering potential technical references for efficient deep heavy oil extraction in practical oilfield operations.
LIN Yutong , ZHANG Qi , LIU Chengguo , PENG Mingguo , LI Yujie , ZHAO Jing , LIU Run , LI Qiu , LIU Yali . Study on microscopic mechanism of deep heavy oil emulsification under synergistic CO2-thermal agent conditions[J]. Petroleum Reservoir Evaluation and Development, 2026 , 16(1) : 43 -51 . DOI: 10.13809/j.cnki.cn32-1825/te.2025034
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