New article published: Oil Displacement in Calcite-Coated Microfluidic Chips via Waterflooding at Elevated Temperatures and Long TimesIn microfluidic studies of improved oil recovery, mostly pore networks with uniform depth and surface chemistry are used. To better mimic the multiple porosity length scales and surface heterogeneity of carbonate reservoirs, we coated a 2.5D glass microchannel with calcite particles. After aging with formation water and crude oil (CRO), high-salinity Water (HSW) was flooded at varying temperatures and durations. Time-resolved microscopy revealed the CRO displacements. Precise quantification of residual oil presented some challenges due to calcite-induced optical heterogeneity and brine–oil coexistence at (sub)micron length scales. Both issues were addressed using pixel-wise intensity calibration. During waterflooding, most of the ultimately produced oil gets liberated within the first pore volume (similar to glass micromodels). Increasing temperature from 22 °C to 60 °C and 90 °C produced some more oil. Waterflooding initiated directly at 90 °C produced significantly more oil than at 22 °C. Continuing HSW exposure at 90 °C for 8 days does not release additional oil; although, a spectacular growth of aqueous droplets is observed. The effect of calcite particles on CRO retention is weak on flat surfaces, where the coverage is ~20%. The calcite-rich pore edges retain significantly more oil suggesting that, in our micromodel wall roughness is a stronger determinant for oil retention than surface chemistry.Read more
Dr. S.J.A. De Beer and Prof.Dr. F.G. Mugele receive OTP grant from NWO-TTWSissi de Beer (Sustainable Polymer Chemistry) and Frieder Mugele (Physics of Complex Fluids) started a new project financed from NWO TTW Open Technology Program to study the microscopic mechanisms of grease lubrications in bearings and to explore novel concepts of Advanced Grease Lubrication using functional polymer surfaces.
The grant of approximately 1mioEUR will involve 3 PhD students.Read more
New article published: Oil Displacement in Calcite-Coated Microfluidic Chips via Waterflooding at Elevated Temperatures and Long Times
Dr. S.J.A. De Beer and Prof.Dr. F.G. Mugele receive OTP grant from NWO-TTW
New article published: Absence of anomalous underscreening in highly concentrated aqueous electrolytes confined between smooth silica surfaces
Newly granted NWO-TTW project
New PhD vacancy: CAPTURE, STORAGE AND MINERALIZATION OF CO2 IN PARTICLE SUSPENSIONS
Congratulations Dr. Sachin Nair!
Congratulations Dr. Beybin Ilhan!!
New article published: Wetting ridge assisted programmed magnetic actuation of droplets on ferrofluid-infused surface
New article published: Interlayer Cation-Controlled Adsorption of Carbon Dioxide in Anhydrous Montmorillonite Clay
Executive Board receives call for climate action
New article published: Charging composite silicon oxide-fluoropolymer electrets by electrowetting: new paper published in Advanced Functional Materials
Congratulations Dr. Davood Baratian
