Investigation into the microscopic mechanism underlying formation damage induced by the reinjection of oil-bearing wastewater

The reinjection of treated oilfield water into formations stands as one of the commonly employed methods in oilfield water injection development. However, certain treated waters contain a substantial number of suspended oil droplets, which can lead to the blockage of flow paths and pore channels. At...

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Main Authors: Chao Tang, Ke Du, Gongshuai Guan, Xiangfu Gai, Guo Li, Qingsong Li, Lichao Wang, Hongguang Guo, Wenping Sun, Chao Gao, Weiwei Xu, Zhuoyuan Lu, Junwei Su, Dengke Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Earth Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1611943/full
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author Chao Tang
Chao Tang
Chao Tang
Ke Du
Ke Du
Ke Du
Gongshuai Guan
Gongshuai Guan
Gongshuai Guan
Xiangfu Gai
Xiangfu Gai
Xiangfu Gai
Guo Li
Guo Li
Guo Li
Qingsong Li
Qingsong Li
Qingsong Li
Lichao Wang
Lichao Wang
Lichao Wang
Hongguang Guo
Hongguang Guo
Hongguang Guo
Wenping Sun
Wenping Sun
Wenping Sun
Chao Gao
Chao Gao
Chao Gao
Weiwei Xu
Weiwei Xu
Weiwei Xu
Zhuoyuan Lu
Junwei Su
Dengke Liu
author_facet Chao Tang
Chao Tang
Chao Tang
Ke Du
Ke Du
Ke Du
Gongshuai Guan
Gongshuai Guan
Gongshuai Guan
Xiangfu Gai
Xiangfu Gai
Xiangfu Gai
Guo Li
Guo Li
Guo Li
Qingsong Li
Qingsong Li
Qingsong Li
Lichao Wang
Lichao Wang
Lichao Wang
Hongguang Guo
Hongguang Guo
Hongguang Guo
Wenping Sun
Wenping Sun
Wenping Sun
Chao Gao
Chao Gao
Chao Gao
Weiwei Xu
Weiwei Xu
Weiwei Xu
Zhuoyuan Lu
Junwei Su
Dengke Liu
author_sort Chao Tang
collection DOAJ
description The reinjection of treated oilfield water into formations stands as one of the commonly employed methods in oilfield water injection development. However, certain treated waters contain a substantial number of suspended oil droplets, which can lead to the blockage of flow paths and pore channels. At present, there is a deficiency in experimental verification results regarding the reinjection of oily wastewater, and a lack of a reasonable explanation for the micro-mechanism underlying oil droplet migration. Consequently, in order to elucidate the distribution characteristics of oil droplets and the microscopic mechanism of oil droplet migration during the process of oilfield treatment water reinjection, a simulated oil and microfluidic chip were fabricated to conduct relevant experiments. The experimental results reveal that the particle size of oil droplets is the most crucial control indicator affecting reservoir blockage, with a porosity damage rate of 21.9% and a permeability damage rate of 20.9%. The results further indicate that large oil droplets directly block the pores, while small oil droplets blocking the pores exhibit two regional characteristics: saturated blockage and unsaturated blockage. Additionally, the numerical simulation results are in agreement with the experimental findings. This study offers a framework for the implementation of wastewater reinjection in oilfield operations.
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spelling doaj-art-da5edd7b7c3441f9870d19a9d37637c02025-08-20T03:05:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632025-05-011310.3389/feart.2025.16119431611943Investigation into the microscopic mechanism underlying formation damage induced by the reinjection of oil-bearing wastewaterChao Tang0Chao Tang1Chao Tang2Ke Du3Ke Du4Ke Du5Gongshuai Guan6Gongshuai Guan7Gongshuai Guan8Xiangfu Gai9Xiangfu Gai10Xiangfu Gai11Guo Li12Guo Li13Guo Li14Qingsong Li15Qingsong Li16Qingsong Li17Lichao Wang18Lichao Wang19Lichao Wang20Hongguang Guo21Hongguang Guo22Hongguang Guo23Wenping Sun24Wenping Sun25Wenping Sun26Chao Gao27Chao Gao28Chao Gao29Weiwei Xu30Weiwei Xu31Weiwei Xu32Zhuoyuan Lu33Junwei Su34Dengke Liu35Daqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaDaqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing, ChinaHeilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Increasing Oil and Gas Reservoir Yield, Daqing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing, ChinaInternational School, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Human Settlement and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, ChinaSchool of Human Settlement and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, ChinaThe reinjection of treated oilfield water into formations stands as one of the commonly employed methods in oilfield water injection development. However, certain treated waters contain a substantial number of suspended oil droplets, which can lead to the blockage of flow paths and pore channels. At present, there is a deficiency in experimental verification results regarding the reinjection of oily wastewater, and a lack of a reasonable explanation for the micro-mechanism underlying oil droplet migration. Consequently, in order to elucidate the distribution characteristics of oil droplets and the microscopic mechanism of oil droplet migration during the process of oilfield treatment water reinjection, a simulated oil and microfluidic chip were fabricated to conduct relevant experiments. The experimental results reveal that the particle size of oil droplets is the most crucial control indicator affecting reservoir blockage, with a porosity damage rate of 21.9% and a permeability damage rate of 20.9%. The results further indicate that large oil droplets directly block the pores, while small oil droplets blocking the pores exhibit two regional characteristics: saturated blockage and unsaturated blockage. Additionally, the numerical simulation results are in agreement with the experimental findings. This study offers a framework for the implementation of wastewater reinjection in oilfield operations.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1611943/fullreinjected wastewaterformation damagemicrofluidic chipmicroscopic blockagefluid flow behavior
spellingShingle Chao Tang
Chao Tang
Chao Tang
Ke Du
Ke Du
Ke Du
Gongshuai Guan
Gongshuai Guan
Gongshuai Guan
Xiangfu Gai
Xiangfu Gai
Xiangfu Gai
Guo Li
Guo Li
Guo Li
Qingsong Li
Qingsong Li
Qingsong Li
Lichao Wang
Lichao Wang
Lichao Wang
Hongguang Guo
Hongguang Guo
Hongguang Guo
Wenping Sun
Wenping Sun
Wenping Sun
Chao Gao
Chao Gao
Chao Gao
Weiwei Xu
Weiwei Xu
Weiwei Xu
Zhuoyuan Lu
Junwei Su
Dengke Liu
Investigation into the microscopic mechanism underlying formation damage induced by the reinjection of oil-bearing wastewater
Frontiers in Earth Science
reinjected wastewater
formation damage
microfluidic chip
microscopic blockage
fluid flow behavior
title Investigation into the microscopic mechanism underlying formation damage induced by the reinjection of oil-bearing wastewater
title_full Investigation into the microscopic mechanism underlying formation damage induced by the reinjection of oil-bearing wastewater
title_fullStr Investigation into the microscopic mechanism underlying formation damage induced by the reinjection of oil-bearing wastewater
title_full_unstemmed Investigation into the microscopic mechanism underlying formation damage induced by the reinjection of oil-bearing wastewater
title_short Investigation into the microscopic mechanism underlying formation damage induced by the reinjection of oil-bearing wastewater
title_sort investigation into the microscopic mechanism underlying formation damage induced by the reinjection of oil bearing wastewater
topic reinjected wastewater
formation damage
microfluidic chip
microscopic blockage
fluid flow behavior
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1611943/full
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