Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2018-2019)

The application seeks to understand the role of surfactants and terpene (orange oils) microemulsions inx000D
facilitating the transport of oil and gas through tight formations. This information will be of particular interestx000D
to the research partner, Engineered Chemistries Inc. (ECI), for the selection of appropriate complex nanofluidsx000D
(CnF®, terpene microemulsions) for hydraulic fracturing and well stimulation operations, considering thex000D
geochemistry of the reservoir.x000D
Nanofluid selection is informed by flowback experiments conducted on packed bed of drill cuttings obtainedx000D
from the reservoir. However, the heterogeneity of the cuttings prevents one from identifying specificx000D
interactions between CnF® and the minerals in the formation. Knowing these interactions (surface energies,x000D
wettability, permeability, surfactant/ terpene adsorption) will help identifying areas of concerns andx000D
opportunities. Furthermore, changes in electrolyte concentration and temperature can also bring about changesx000D
in the surfactant-terpene-mineral interaction.x000D
To address these gaps, the surface energies of surfactant/CnF®-gas, surfactant/CnF®-oil interfaces, and thex000D
wettability of oil/gas/(surfactant/CnF®) on known minerals (quartz, feldspar, calcite, and asphaltene-coatedx000D
glass used to simulate kerogen deposits) will be determined. The adsorption of surfactant/CnF® will also bex000D
determined, along with the transport properties of surfactant/CnF® applied to the columns packed with thex000D
minerals of interest. The transport properties (flowback experiments) will be taken as a preliminary efficacyx000D
test for these formulations. The formulation conditions will be assessed via thex000D
hydrophilic-lipophilic-difference (HLD) framework, which considers the intrinsic hydrophobicities of thex000D
surfactant and oil, the concentration and type of electrolyte, and the temperature of the system. We hypothesizex000D
that the adsorption of surfactant and terpene influences the transport properties, and the HLD can be used tox000D
identify the best CnF® formulation for a given formation geochemistry.