Abstract
Asphaltene deposition around the wellbore is a major cause of formation damage, especially in heavy oil reservoirs Ultrasonic stimulation, rather than chemical injection, is thought to be a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of removing asphaltene deposition. However, it seems to be unclear how crucial features like reservoir pore geometries and ultrasonic parameters affect this ultrasound treatment.
In this work, five two-dimensional glass micromodels with different pore geometries were designed to assess the impact of pore geometries on the ultrasonic removal of asphaltene deposition. Experiments were undertaken in an ultrasound bath at a set frequency (20 kHz) and adjustable powers (100–1000 W). Direct image analysis before, during and after sonication was used to assess the impact of pore geometry and a change in ultrasonic parameter on the removal of asphaltene deposition. The effectiveness of ultrasound treatment at various sonication periods were found to be reliant on the pore geometries of the individual micromodels. For micromodels with throat sizes 300 µm and pore shapes as circle, square and triangle, an increase in ultrasonic power from 400 to 1000 W resulted in an increase in the percentage of removed asphaltene deposition after 2 h from 12.6 to 14.7, 11.5 to 14.63, and 5.8 to 7.1 percent, respectively.
In this work, five two-dimensional glass micromodels with different pore geometries were designed to assess the impact of pore geometries on the ultrasonic removal of asphaltene deposition. Experiments were undertaken in an ultrasound bath at a set frequency (20 kHz) and adjustable powers (100–1000 W). Direct image analysis before, during and after sonication was used to assess the impact of pore geometry and a change in ultrasonic parameter on the removal of asphaltene deposition. The effectiveness of ultrasound treatment at various sonication periods were found to be reliant on the pore geometries of the individual micromodels. For micromodels with throat sizes 300 µm and pore shapes as circle, square and triangle, an increase in ultrasonic power from 400 to 1000 W resulted in an increase in the percentage of removed asphaltene deposition after 2 h from 12.6 to 14.7, 11.5 to 14.63, and 5.8 to 7.1 percent, respectively.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 105949 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Ultrasonics sonochemistry |
Volume | 83 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 10 Feb 2022 |
Bibliographical note
FundingThe research leading to these results received funding from Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Nigeria (grant number RG14381-10), as a support for academic staff, training, and development.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) of Nigeria and University of Aberdeen UK, for providing the laboratory facilities required to complete this research. The contributions of Dr. Richard Wood and Gatiesh Marai, of the University of Aberdeen, are also appreciated.
Keywords
- Ultrasonic waves
- Formation damage
- Asphaltene deposition
- Glass micromodel
- Pore geometries
- Image analysis