1.

Introduction

According to Kong and Ohadi (2010, p.1) increasing of energy consumption has been expected
by 50% in the next two decades. Crude oil and natural gas are the most demanding non-
renewable energy (Jagar A et al. 2019, p.2). The history of production of an oil reservoir will go
through many stages. Primary recovery is the first stage of oil recovery that allows the fluid to
flow to production wells and to surface under the pressures of the reservoir, and the second stage
is secondary recovery involves reinjection of brine and gas or flooding of water (Alhomadhi,
Amro and Almobarky 2014, p.1). In many reservoirs around two third of original oil in place
(OOIP) cannot be extracted using conventional methods of production (Ehtesabi et al. 2013, p.2)
(Joonaki and Ghanaatian 2014, p.2599). Therefore, the reservoir goes to the third stage of its life
that called tertiary recovery known as enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to extract the remaining oil in
the reservoir. Mohammadalinejad et al. (2019, p.2) note that based on the reservoir fluids and the
formation properties, gas injection, thermal and chemical methods are the most commonly used
(EOR) scenarios. Polymer flooding as a chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) method has
been suggested in the half of century 20th (Saha, Uppaluri and Tiwari 2018, p.2). Ogolo, Olafuyi
and Onyekonwu (2012, p.2) emphasize that polymers are proven chemicals used to improve
viscosity of the displacing fluid, but Polymers limitations include the degradation of some liquid
properties at high temperatures. In addition, another (cEOR) technic is surfactant flooding,
Ehtesabi et al. (2013, p.2) claims that primarily they are used as an interfacial tension (IFT)
reduction chemical, but Such processes are problematic with hard salinity and high temperature
which increase efficiency loss and potential plugging. The high cost of the injection fluids, the
possible corrosion of formation, and the loss of injections and adsorption during the flow
through reservoir also limit chemical EOR processes, such as polymer flooding, alkaline injection
and surfactant flooding or their combination (Kong and Ohadi 2010, p.4) (Jagar A et al. 2019,
p.3). Hence, new technology required to minimize the damages and show promising results in a
cost-effective manner and with respect to environmental impacts.

Negin, Ali and Xie (2016, p.324) point out that because of the cost-effective and environmentally
friendly way, nanotechnology has attracted a lot of attention in improving oil recovery. The
surface area of nanoparticles per unit volume is greater than the bulk material (Sharma, Iglauer
and Sangwai 2016, p.5). Thus, make greater contact with oil (Saha, Uppaluri and Tiwari 2018,
p.3). Li and Torsæter (2015, p.1) disuse that based on a number of articles It has been shown that
nanofluid has great potential for EOR. Mohammadalinejad et al. (2019, p.2) investigated that
aqueous nanofluid can reduce (IFT) and change wettability to more water-wet. Furthermore,
Negin, Ali and Xie (2016, p.332) concluded that polymer coated nanoparticle can activate
processes by viscosity reduction, IFT reduction, increasing sweep efficiency, and wettability
alteration. During nanofluid flooding in porous media, adsorption of nanoparticles results in
physical phenomenon of filtration, especially in rocks of low permeability, resulting in pores
blocking (Gbadamosi 2018, p.12). Adsorption of surface-active chemicals to reservoir rock pores
during chemical EOR is a key factor to maximize injection chemicals composition, this
phenomenon economically is not desirable Mohammadalinejad et al. (2019, p.2). In order to
improve the rheological and shear properties and to minimize the Polymer adsorption,
Gbadamosi et al. (2019, p.1) has applied nanoparticles to polymer solution. Cheraghian et al.
(2014, p.1) investigated effect of SiO2 and Clay nanoparticles on polymer adsorption, he
concluded that, the adsorption between polymer molecules and the solid surface is dominated by
nanoclay and nanosilica, moreover, he concluded that nanopolymer solution adsorption in
carbonated stones is always greater than in sandstones, and polymer solutions that contain silica
nanoparticles are less adsorbed.

Efforts for finding new technics for oil recovery are still continual, ultrasound is an economically
and environmentally beneficial mechanism for enhancing oil recovery (EOR) which researchers
and reservoir engineers are very interested in (Agi 2019, p.1). Arabzadeh and Amani (2017, p. 2)
claims that oil recovery studies by vibration started first in the 1950s when researchers saw an
increase in production after cultural noises and earthquakes. Ultrasonic waves can reduce oil
viscosity (Abramova 2014, p. 178), IFT reduction between oil and water (Alhomadhi, Amro and
Almobarky 2014, p.1), emulsification (Hamidi et al. 2015, p.27), and increase displacement
efficiency (Duhon and Campbell 1999, p.1). Previously, effect of ultrasonic on surfactant
flooding wave has been investigated by Hamidi et al. (2015, p.27) and Agi et al. (2018, p.1) they
reported that surfactant adsorption decreased.