Significance The simultaneous flow of multiple fluid phases through a porous solid occurs in many natural and industrial processes—for example, rainwater infiltrates into soil by displacing air, and carbon dioxide is stored in deep saline aquifers by displacing brine. It has been known for decades that wetting—the affinity of the solid to one of the fluids—can have a strong impact on the flow, but the microscale physics and macroscopic consequences remain poorly understood. Here, we study this in detail by systematically varying the wetting properties of a microfluidic porous medium. Our high-resolution images reveal the fundamental control of wetting on multiphase flow, elucidate the inherently 3D pore-scale mechanisms, and help explain the striking macroscopic displacement patterns that emerge. Multiphase flow in porous media is important in many natural and industrial processes, including geologic CO2 sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, and water infiltration into soil. Although it is well known that the wetting properties of porous media can vary drastically depending on the type of media and pore fluids, the effect of wettability on multiphase flow continues to challenge our microscopic and macroscopic descriptions. Here, we study the impact of wettability on viscously unfavorable fluid–fluid displacement in disordered media by means of high-resolution imaging in microfluidic flow cells patterned with vertical posts. By systematically varying the wettability of the flow cell over a wide range of contact angles, we find that increasing the substrate’s affinity to the invading fluid results in more efficient displacement of the defending fluid up to a critical wetting transition, beyond which the trend is reversed. We identify the pore-scale mechanisms—cooperative pore filling (increasing displacement efficiency) and corner flow (decreasing displacement efficiency)—responsible for this macroscale behavior, and show that they rely on the inherent 3D nature of interfacial flows, even in quasi-2D media. Our results demonstrate the powerful control of wettability on multiphase flow in porous media, and show that the markedly different invasion protocols that emerge—from pore filling to postbridging—are determined by physical mechanisms that are missing from current pore-scale and continuum-scale descriptions.

Wettability control on multiphase flow in patterned microfluidics

Recent advances in carbon dioxide geological storage, experimental procedures, influencing parameters, and future outlook

Asphaltene induced changes in rheological properties: A review

Janus sulfonated graphene oxide nanosheets with excellent interfacial properties for enhanced oil recovery

Upgrading carbonaceous materials: Coal, tar, pitch, and beyond

This study investigates the pore-scale displacement mechanisms of crude oil in aged carbonate rocks using novel engineered carbon nanosheets (E-CNS) derived from sub-bituminous coal. The nanosheets, synthesized by a simple top-down technique, were stable in brine without any additional chemicals. Owing to their amphiphilic nature and nano-size, they exhibited dual properties of surfactants and nanoparticles and reduced the oil/brine interfacial tension (IFT) from 14.6 to 5.5 mN/m. X-ray micro-computed tomography coupled with miniature core-flooding was used to evaluate their ability to enhance oil recovery. Pore-scale displacement mechanisms were investigated using in-situ contact angle measurements, oil ganglia distribution analysis, and three-dimensional visualization of fluid occupancy maps in pores of different sizes. Analysis of these maps at the end of various flooding stages revealed that the nanofluid invaded into medium and small pores that were inaccessible to base brine. IFT reduction was identified as the main displacement mechanism responsible for oil recovery during 1 to 8 pore volumes (PVs) of nanofluid injection. Subsequently, wettability alteration was the dominant mechanism during the injection of 8 and 32 PVs, decreasing the average contact angle from 134° (oil wet) to 85° (neutral wet). In-situ saturation data reveals that flooding with only 0.1 wt% of E-CNS in brine resulted in incremental oil production of 20%, highlighting the significant potential of this nanofluid as a recovery agent.

/pdf/pore-scale-experimental-investigation-of-oil-recovery-45vnuhynpr.pdf

Pore-scale experimental investigation of oil recovery enhancement in oil-wet carbonates using carbonaceous nanofluids

This study proposes an approach to synthesize graphene quantum dots (QDs) with remarkable physicochemical properties that allow them to effectively mobilize and solubilize nonaqueous phase liquids ...

Graphene Quantum Dots for the Mobilization and Solubilization of Nonaqueous Phase Liquids in Natural Porous Media

Microscale investigation of DNAPL displacement by engineered graphene quantum dots in heterogeneous porous media

Low-Temperature Graphene Growth and Shrinkage Dynamics from Petroleum Asphaltene on CuO Nanoparticle

This study provides the first nanoscale characterization of the thin films responsible for oil/water emulsion stability using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). High-resolution images revealed...

Nanoscale Characterization of Thin Films at Oil/Water Interfaces and Implications to Emulsion Stability

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