Chemically enhanced water-alternating-gas injection for improved CO2 sweep efficiency and geological sequestration in CO2-EOR: Insights from physical experiments and molecular simulation
Addressing gas channeling, limited sweep efficiency, and restricted CO2-oil miscibility in heterogeneous reservoirs during CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) remains a critical challenge. Herein, a novel pressure-regulated, hydrophilic CO₂-responsive hydrogel-to-foam transition system is used to en...
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Results in Engineering |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025023114 |
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| author | Pengwei Fang Zhengming Yang Qun Zhang Hongwei Yu Fei Feng Yidi Wan Jiangfei Wei Yuhao Mei Meiwen Cao |
| author_facet | Pengwei Fang Zhengming Yang Qun Zhang Hongwei Yu Fei Feng Yidi Wan Jiangfei Wei Yuhao Mei Meiwen Cao |
| author_sort | Pengwei Fang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Addressing gas channeling, limited sweep efficiency, and restricted CO2-oil miscibility in heterogeneous reservoirs during CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) remains a critical challenge. Herein, a novel pressure-regulated, hydrophilic CO₂-responsive hydrogel-to-foam transition system is used to enhance oil recovery and synergistically facilitate geological CO₂ sequestration. By molecular engineering of a quaternary ammonium surfactant (HXA-1) with unsaturated alkyl chains and hydrophilic moieties, the system achieves ultralow oil-water interfacial tension and adaptive micellar structures, enabling in-situ gel-to-foam phase transition under CO2 pressure. Core flooding experiments demonstrate that the Chemical-Assisted Water-Alternating-Gas (CWAG) technique forms a stable piston-like displacement front, boosting oil recovery by 16 % compared to conventional WAG while achieving 91.2 % plugging efficiency. In-situ visualization and molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the hydrophilic surfactant mitigates water-phase shielding and hydrophobic interactions, promoting CO2/oil miscibility and emulsification. Furthermore, the system exhibits dual functionality: under reservoir conditions, a 0.35 wt% HXA-1 solution absorbs twice as much CO2 as WAG, significantly enhancing sequestration, while the dynamic phase transition enables deep conformance control in heterogeneous reservoirs. This work pioneers a multifunctional CO2-responsive material platform, offering transformative solutions for sustainable fossil fuel extraction and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7c418a5585eb4b92b7bcb479c4485b71 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2590-1230 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Results in Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-7c418a5585eb4b92b7bcb479c4485b712025-08-20T03:13:21ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-09-012710623910.1016/j.rineng.2025.106239Chemically enhanced water-alternating-gas injection for improved CO2 sweep efficiency and geological sequestration in CO2-EOR: Insights from physical experiments and molecular simulationPengwei Fang0Zhengming Yang1Qun Zhang2Hongwei Yu3Fei Feng4Yidi Wan5Jiangfei Wei6Yuhao Mei7Meiwen Cao8University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; Institute of Porous Flow and Fluid Mechanics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Langfang 065007, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery & Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, PR ChinaUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; Institute of Porous Flow and Fluid Mechanics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Langfang 065007, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery & Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, PR ChinaUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; Institute of Porous Flow and Fluid Mechanics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Langfang 065007, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery & Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, PR China; Corresponding authors.State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery & Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing and Department of Biological and Energy Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing and Department of Biological and Energy Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, PR ChinaSchool of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR ChinaUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; Institute of Porous Flow and Fluid Mechanics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Langfang 065007, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery & Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, PR ChinaUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; Institute of Porous Flow and Fluid Mechanics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Langfang 065007, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery & Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing and Department of Biological and Energy Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, PR China; Corresponding authors.Addressing gas channeling, limited sweep efficiency, and restricted CO2-oil miscibility in heterogeneous reservoirs during CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) remains a critical challenge. Herein, a novel pressure-regulated, hydrophilic CO₂-responsive hydrogel-to-foam transition system is used to enhance oil recovery and synergistically facilitate geological CO₂ sequestration. By molecular engineering of a quaternary ammonium surfactant (HXA-1) with unsaturated alkyl chains and hydrophilic moieties, the system achieves ultralow oil-water interfacial tension and adaptive micellar structures, enabling in-situ gel-to-foam phase transition under CO2 pressure. Core flooding experiments demonstrate that the Chemical-Assisted Water-Alternating-Gas (CWAG) technique forms a stable piston-like displacement front, boosting oil recovery by 16 % compared to conventional WAG while achieving 91.2 % plugging efficiency. In-situ visualization and molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the hydrophilic surfactant mitigates water-phase shielding and hydrophobic interactions, promoting CO2/oil miscibility and emulsification. Furthermore, the system exhibits dual functionality: under reservoir conditions, a 0.35 wt% HXA-1 solution absorbs twice as much CO2 as WAG, significantly enhancing sequestration, while the dynamic phase transition enables deep conformance control in heterogeneous reservoirs. This work pioneers a multifunctional CO2-responsive material platform, offering transformative solutions for sustainable fossil fuel extraction and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025023114Hydrogel-to-foam transitionChemical-Assisted Water-Alternating-Gas techniqueOil recoveryMolecular dynamic simulationCarbon captureUtilization |
| spellingShingle | Pengwei Fang Zhengming Yang Qun Zhang Hongwei Yu Fei Feng Yidi Wan Jiangfei Wei Yuhao Mei Meiwen Cao Chemically enhanced water-alternating-gas injection for improved CO2 sweep efficiency and geological sequestration in CO2-EOR: Insights from physical experiments and molecular simulation Results in Engineering Hydrogel-to-foam transition Chemical-Assisted Water-Alternating-Gas technique Oil recovery Molecular dynamic simulation Carbon capture Utilization |
| title | Chemically enhanced water-alternating-gas injection for improved CO2 sweep efficiency and geological sequestration in CO2-EOR: Insights from physical experiments and molecular simulation |
| title_full | Chemically enhanced water-alternating-gas injection for improved CO2 sweep efficiency and geological sequestration in CO2-EOR: Insights from physical experiments and molecular simulation |
| title_fullStr | Chemically enhanced water-alternating-gas injection for improved CO2 sweep efficiency and geological sequestration in CO2-EOR: Insights from physical experiments and molecular simulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chemically enhanced water-alternating-gas injection for improved CO2 sweep efficiency and geological sequestration in CO2-EOR: Insights from physical experiments and molecular simulation |
| title_short | Chemically enhanced water-alternating-gas injection for improved CO2 sweep efficiency and geological sequestration in CO2-EOR: Insights from physical experiments and molecular simulation |
| title_sort | chemically enhanced water alternating gas injection for improved co2 sweep efficiency and geological sequestration in co2 eor insights from physical experiments and molecular simulation |
| topic | Hydrogel-to-foam transition Chemical-Assisted Water-Alternating-Gas technique Oil recovery Molecular dynamic simulation Carbon capture Utilization |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025023114 |
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