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Processes
Special Issues
Research Progress of Chemical Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery
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Research Progress of Chemical Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 October 2025 | Viewed by 1335

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Luiz Carlos L. Santos

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Guest Editor
Chemical Engineering Postgraduate Program, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40210-630, Brazil
Interests: enhanced oil recovery; reservoir engineering; process engineering; natural gas
Prof. Dr. Vladimir Alvarado

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
Interests: enhanced oil recovery (EOR); interfacial science and complex fluids
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chemical flooding for enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) is one of the most deployable and extensively researched EOR technologies for improving hydrocarbon extraction from reservoirs at all stages of production. Traditionally, researchers have focused more on the development of chemical reagents, including surfactants, polymers, and alkaline to either reduce the oil–water interfacial tension or to improve the displacing–displaced phase mobility ratio. Major advances have resulted from designing more efficient surfactants, increasing oil–water interactions, and extending the applicability of polymers to more severe reservoir conditions, as well as through clever process design. Other fronts aim at modifying other interfacial mechanisms not limited to fluid–rock interactions, e.g., wettability and fluid–fluid dynamic interactions, and interfacial rheology. In addition, more comprehensive approaches in recent times have highlighted the importance of better understanding reservoir properties to enable the customization of chemical composition, even on the scale of a few parts per million, for better performance. Nanotechnology and bio-based chemicals are associated with breakthrough recoveries from less conventional reserves, keeping an environmentally design approach in mind. Overall, research has continued in the direction of improving chemical flooding techniques so as to make them more technically and commercially viable beyond pilot tests.

Articles covering research on new chemistries, mechanisms and flooding designs are welcome. In addition, simulation, pilot, and field-wide studies demonstrating the value of new approaches are encouraged. This Special Issue concentrates on progress attained in cEOR that offers a new window of opportunity to deploy cEOR technologies.

Prof. Dr. Luiz Carlos L. Santos
Prof. Dr. Vladimir Alvarado
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • alkalis
  • surfactants
  • polymers
  • chemical blends
  • adjusted water chemistry
  • interfacial dynamics
  • interfacial rheology
  • wettability alteration
  • interfacial tension
  • nanotechnology
  • bio-based chemicals reagents
  • techno-economic viability
  • foams
  • field projects

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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15 pages, 4458 KiB  
Article
Investigation of the Synergistic Effect Between Viscosity Reducer, Polymer and Branched Preformed Particle Gel in Enhanced Oil Recovery for Conventional Heavy-Oil Reservoir
by Yuanchao Yang, Hong He, Haihua Pei, Wei Zhou, Wenli Ke, Xueshuo Zhang and Cao Jiang
Processes 2025, 13(4), 1206; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13041206 - 16 Apr 2025
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Abstract
In view of the limited applicability of traditional chemical flooding and binary composite flooding for heavy-oil reservoirs, branched-preformed particle gel (B-PPG) with excellent plugging performance was added to construct the B-PPG/SP (B-PPG/surfactant/polymer) composite system. Through sand pack flooding experiments, it has been proven [...] Read more.
In view of the limited applicability of traditional chemical flooding and binary composite flooding for heavy-oil reservoirs, branched-preformed particle gel (B-PPG) with excellent plugging performance was added to construct the B-PPG/SP (B-PPG/surfactant/polymer) composite system. Through sand pack flooding experiments, it has been proven that the synergistic effect between B-PPG and polymer can expand the swept area and increase the contact between the viscosity reducer and heavy oil, enabling the viscosity reducer to better exert emulsification and viscosity reduction effects. The synergistic effect between B-PPG, polymer and viscosity reducer can further expand the swept area and oil displacement efficiency, ultimately enhancing the heavy-oil recovery by 37.8%. Microscopic visualization flooding experiments proved that cluster remaining oil accounts for the largest proportion in the microscopic remaining oil in heavy oil. By adding B-PPG and polymers, cluster remaining oil can be effectively displaced, thereby significantly enhancing the heavy-oil recovery. And adding viscosity reducer to the composite system can effectively enhance the dispersed residual oil recovery within the swept area. The sand pack flooding experiments with different heavy-oil viscosity proved that the optimal oil viscosity of the B-PPG/SP composite system can reach 657.2 mPa·s, with an incremental oil recovery rate increase of 30.2%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress of Chemical Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery)
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15 pages, 2370 KiB  
Article
Mechanisms of Permeability Alteration via Gel Based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
by Bin Zou, Chuanzhi Cui, Wangang Zheng, Weiyao Zhu, Haishun Feng, Wei Chu, Tiantian Yu and Zhongping Zhang
Processes 2025, 13(2), 497; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13020497 - 11 Feb 2025
Viewed by 604
Abstract
DPR refers to the fact that the reduction in the permeability of the water phase is much greater than the reduction in the permeability of the oil phase when a water-based gel seals porous media. In order to clarify the mechanisms of the [...] Read more.
DPR refers to the fact that the reduction in the permeability of the water phase is much greater than the reduction in the permeability of the oil phase when a water-based gel seals porous media. In order to clarify the mechanisms of the gel-plugging pore pathway and the principle of the oil phase and water-phase permeability change, gel-plugging core replacement experiments and NMR T2 scanning experiments were conducted in this work. Based on the nuclear NMR T2 spectroscopy, the core blocked with Cr (III)–acetate–HPAM gel is divided into five stages (a plug injection and seal gel-formation stage, an oil-phase repulsion stage, a stopping-gel reabsorption stage, an oil-phase reinjection stage, and a subsequent water-drive stage) for displacement and scanning, and the signal changes of various phases in the displacement process are studied. The principle of an oil-phase permeability increase after Cr (III)–acetate–HPAM gel plugging, and the principle of a disproportionate decrease in water-phase permeability in the subsequent water-flooding stage were finally revealed. According to the results, the difference in the permeability leads to some diversity in NMR T2 curves, but the final conclusions for the mechanisms are consistent. They show a significant decrease in core permeability of 3.5 × 10−3 μm2 and 0.8 × 10−3 μm2 after gel plugging. With the injection of the oil phase, the permeability of the oil phase keeps increasing from 0.13 × 10−3 μm2 to 0.76 × 10−3 μm2 in the core permeability of 3.5 × 10−3 μm2. Similarly, the permeability of the oil phase increases from 0.03 × 10−3 μm2 to 0.19 × 10−3 μm2 in the core permeability of 0.8 × 10−3 μm2. During the oil-phase replacement phase, gel replacement in the large pores is the main cause of the increase in oil-phase permeability, and as the replacement process progresses, the mechanism for the increase in oil-phase permeability changes, and gel dehydration becomes the main mechanism for the increase in oil-phase permeability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress of Chemical Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery)
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