Effect of TiO 2-SiO 2 hybrid nanofluids on enhanced oil recovery process under different wettability conditions

摘要: The effect of TiO 2-SiO 2 hybrid nanofluid on the enhanced oil recovery process is experimentally investigated. The flooding efficiency is measured for a flooding process in an initially oil-filled transparent micro-porous medium. Measurements were performed for two different surface wettability conditions, namely water-wet and neutral-wet. The average nanoparticle size, viscosity, surface tension, and contact angle of TiO 2-SiO 2 hybrid nanofluid are reported. The flooding efficiency of the hybrid nanofluid is compared with that of SiO 2 nanofluid and TiO 2 nanofluid. The experimental results reveal that for neutral-wet surface condition, SiO 2 nanofluid achieves the best recovery, whereas for water-wet surface condition, TiO 2-SiO 2 hybrid nanofluid produces the best flooding efficiency. Obtained results showed that TiO 2 nanofluid is unstable, with larger aggregated particles settling under gravity, and therefore not …