Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jngse

Experimental study on rheological properties of nanoparticle-stabilized

carbon dioxide foam
Dongxing Du a, Xu Zhang a, Yingge Li b, *, Di Zhao a, Fei Wang a, Zhifeng Sun a
a
Geo-Energy Research Institute, College of Electromechanical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266061, China
b
College of Automation and Electronic Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266061, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In relationship with the potential application of nanoparticle (NP) foam technology in CO2 enhanced oil recovery
Nanoparticle (EOR) and greenhouse geological storage in tight reservoirs, the rheological properties of the NP-stabilized CO2
CO2 foam foam with surfactant (α-olefin sulfonate-AOS) solution were experimentally investigated. The foam was treated
Non-Newtonian behavior
as a power-law non-Newtonian fluid, and the relationships between the shear stress and shear rate as well as the
Foam quality
apparent viscosity of foam and foam quality were determined under influential parameters including the NP
additive, internal gas type, salinity, and oil presence. Critical foam quality values in the range 91–96% were
observed for the NP-stabilized foam, whereas no such values were obtained for the corresponding AOS-CO2
foam. The results show the NP-AOS-CO2 foam has lower viscosity compared to the NP-AOS-N2 foam, and the
solution salinity decreases the viscosity of the NP-AOS-CO2 foam, whereas oil presence has no obvious effect on
the foam viscosity.

1. Introduction
In the petroleum industry, the immiscible gas flooding process could
result in low oil displacement efficiency, because of gravity stratification
and gas channeling in the rock formations. Foam technology shows
strong profile control ability through remarkably improving the gas
phase viscosity, thereby has been successfully used in enhanced oil re­
covery (EOR) in tight oil reservoirs (Enick et al., 2012; Wang et al.,
2017; Liu et al., 2017; Sheng, 2017; Yang et al., 2019). With the
emerging needs of decreasing carbon dioxide emission, taking CO2 as
the foam internal phase has also attracted worldwide attention as an
effective technology for the CO2 geological storages in the Carbon
Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) chain (Rognmo et al., 2019;
Ettehadtavakkol et al., 2014; Fukai et al., 2016; Senftle and Carter,
2017; Clark and Santiso, 2018).
Surfactants and/or polymers have been usually used to stabilize the
generated foam fluid by decreasing the surface tension between the gas
phase and the continuous liquid phase (Kristen-Hochrein et al., 2011; Lv
and Wang, 2015; Sun et al., 2019). The carbon dioxide foam formed by
chemical additives, however, represents a challenge because the foam
stability can be adversely affected by the oil presence, high salinity of
formation water, and high temperature as typically found in oil
reservoirs (Denney, 2001; Farzaneh and Sohrabi, 2015). With the
development of nanotechnology, the use of surface-treated nano­
particles (NPs) together with surfactants has been proven to be effective
for improving foam stability under high salinity and high temperature
reservoir conditions (Farhadi et al., 2016; Emrani and Nasr-El-Din,
2017; Ko and Huh, 2019; Zhang et al., 2015; Bera and Belhaj, 2016).
The NPs adsorbed at the gas–liquid interface can increase the film me­
chanical strength through forming a spatial network structure to reduce
the direct contact between the fluids, thereby acting as a barrier to the
rate of liquid discharge, reducing the gas diffusion, and preventing
membrane cracking and bubble coarsening (Binks and Horozov, 2010;
Maestro et al., 2014; Alvarez and Schechter, 2016; Sofla et al., 2019;
Yekeen et al., 2019; Xue et al., 2016). Because of their small sizes, the
NPs can transport with little retention in porous media without plugging
the pore throats (Ko and Huh, 2019; Yekeen et al., 2018). Roberts et al.
(2012) showed that 96% of a highly concentrated dispersion (18.7 wt%)
of 5 nm silica nanoparticles came out in the effluent water after its in­
jection into a very tight (10 mD) limestone core. Yu et al. (2012)
demonstrated that the equilibrium adsorption of NPs is very low in
sandstone, limestone, and dolomite porous media. Rognmo et al. (2017)
found that a large degree of NPs remains at the CO2-brine interface to
stabilize foam when flowing through the porous medium. In fact, as NPS

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: liyingge@qust.edu.cn (Y. Li).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2019.103140
Received 21 September 2019; Received in revised form 28 December 2019; Accepted 28 December 2019
Available online 1 January 2020
1875-5100/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
D. Du et al.
are less prone to adsorption on reservoir rocks and clay minerals during
migration compared to surfactants, they have been widely used as the
surfactant transport agent to minimize the surfactant adsorption in
porous media (Xue et al., 2016; Nourafkan et al., 2018; Olayiwola and
Dejam, 2019; Yekeen et al., 2017a; Shamsijazeyi et al., 2014).
In relation to the potential application of NP-stabilized CO2 foam on
EOR and CO2 geological storage, extensive laboratory studies have been
carried out concerning the foam propagation behaviors in porous media.
Rognmo et al. (2017) conducted an experimental investigation on the
foam generation and flow behavior of hydrophilic silica NP-stabilized
liquid CO2 foam in sandstone core plugs and observed significantly
decreased critical foam quality values for the NP-stabilized foams.
Rognmo et al. (2018) presented a comprehensive experimental investi­
gation on the use of NPs as foam stabilizers during the co-injection of
supercritical CO2 and brine under reservoir conditions and observed that
the NP-stabilized CO2-foam remains stable during the oil displacement
and therefore increases the oil recovery by a factor of two. Rahmani
(Rahmani, 2018) carried out laboratory tests with the co-injection of
CO2 and a solution of 12-nm methyl-coated SiNPs to generate stable CO2
foam in the cores and found that the SiNPs were able to generate sta­
bilized CO2 foam in both unfractured and fractured limestone cores with
the lower critical shear rate for the foam generation. Other representa­
tive researchers include Espinoza et al. (2010), Aroonsri et al. (2013), Yu
et al., 2013, 2014a, 2014b, and Singh et al. (Singh and Mohanty, 2018)
measured the foam’s apparent viscosity in capillary tubes, glass
bead-packs, sand-packs, sandstone cores carbonate rock cores, and
two-layers heterogeneous 2D sand pack.
To understand the mechanism of NP-stabilized foam displacement
process in underground formations, detailed investigations on the foam
rheological properties are substantial. Non-Newtonian flow index and
foam quality regime determination are the two typical rheological
properties (Bretherton, 1961; Hirasaki and Lawson, 1985; Xu and Ros­
sen, 2003; Kim et al., 2005; Du et al., 2015, 2018a; Gu and Mohanty,
2015; Lv et al., 2016; Da et al., 2018). Worthen et al. (2013) generated
CO2/water foams with either PEG-coated silica or methylsilyl modified
silica NPs and measured the apparent viscosity as 120-folds compared to
that of a CO2–water mixture without NPs. Xue et al. (2016) used a
capillary tube viscometer and calculated the apparent viscosity by using
the Hagen–Poiseuille equation and found that the combination of sur­
factant and NPs resulted in a synergistic effect whereby the viscosities
were much higher than expected from a combination of each species
alone. The NP-stabilized CO2/water foam shows shear thinning
behavior with a power-law index of 0.5. Yekeen et al. (2017a) deter­
mined the apparent viscosity of the foam in a 2D Hele–Shaw cell and
reported increased foam apparent viscosity along with improved foam
quality from 50% to 75%. Xiao et al. (2016) determined the in situ shear
viscosity of supercritical CO2 foams stabilized by nano-SiO2 in a flow
loop apparatus at 40 � C in the pressure range 1140 � 20 psi. They
demonstrated that the foam with 80% foam quality has the highest
viscosity and stability, and the foams with NPs show shear-thinning and
shear-thickening behaviors depending on the foam quality and compo­
nents. Using the same apparatus, Xiao et al. (2017) studied the effects of
shear rates, surfactant, foam quality, salinity, and NP size on the in situ
shear viscosity of NP-stabilized ScCO2 foam. Verma et al. (2018) tested
the foam rheology using a rheometer in a cup and bob geometry and
obtained the shear-thinning flow behavior index varying from 0.51 to
0.77. As a fundamental study for revealing the mechanism behind the
foam flooding behavior in porous media, it is unnecessary to perform
foam rheological tests under the exact EOR and storage reservoir con­
ditions. For instance, the effective foam viscosity used in the foam
population-balance model (Kovscek et al., 1995, 1997) is classically
based on the rheological model of a single bubble (Bretherton, 1961)
and a train of bubbles within a capillary tube (Hirasaki and Lawson,
1985) under room temperature and atmospheric backpressure condi­
tions. The population balance model explicitly relates the gas mobility
reduction to the foam texture as defined by the effective viscosity (μf)
2
Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140
represented by Eq. (1) (μg is the gas phase viscosity, nf is the flowing
bubble density, and α is the constant).
!
n
μ f ¼ μg 1 þ α f d (1)
μg uf
where the power-law exponent of d, which explicitly reveals the non-
Newtonian foam rheology, is set to be 1/3 in accordance with Breth­
erton’s (Bretherton, 1961) and Hirasaki’s (Hirasaki and Lawson, 1985)
results under the normal conditions. Based on this mechanistic model,
lots of foam modeling and numerical studies (Chen et al., 2010; Du et al.,
2011, 2018b, 2019a; Gassara et al., 2019; Li et al., 2019) have been
performed to reproduce and successfully predict the surfactant foam
displacement behavior under realistic reservoir conditions, showing the
fact that the laboratory rheology tests under normal conditions could be
feasible and essential to guide the foam field applications.
The current literature survey indicates that the NP-stabilized CO2
foam is becoming more and more popular relating to its potential ap­
plications in CO2 EOR and carbon geological storage practices. With
solid particles dispersed in the continuous liquid phase, the rheological
behavior of NP-stabilized foam is much more sophisticated than the
conventional surfactant stabilized foam. At present, however, system­
atic studies on the rheological properties of NP-stabilized foam are
scarce. Researchers have used various apparatus and reported incon­
sistent and incomplete rheology results. In this study, therefore, the non-
Newtonian behavior of the NP-stabilized CO2 foam was comprehen­
sively investigated under various foam qualities with special focus on
the effects of internal gas phase, salinity, and oil presence.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials
Silica NPs with an average specific surface area of 300 m2/g and an
average primary particle size of 7 nm (model NP300, supplied in powder
form by Evonic, Germany) were used as the additive foam stabilizer. The
surfactant used was sodium α-olefin sulfonate (AOS, purity �99%,
provided by Sinolight Chemical Industry Group) in accordance with its
wide application in foam displacing oil processes (Farajzadeh et al.,
2008; Andrianov et al., 2012; Du et al., 2019b). Analytically pure NaCl
was dissolved in deionized water to simulate the solution salinity. The
n-dodecane component (n-C12H26, with a molecular weight of 170.34,
provided by Tianjin Guangfu Fine Chemical Research Institute) was used
to simulate an oil presence environment.
Table 1 lists five types of foam with various compositions. As a
benchmark case, the first type of foam is generated with only AOS sur­
factant to validate the experimental apparatus and methodology. The
2nd–5th types of foam are all NP-stabilized foams, and their varying
compositions could reveal the effects of internal gas type (CO2 versus
N2), salinity, and oil presence on the rheological properties of foams.
Based on the parameter selection ranges reported in the literature, 0.15
wt% concentration of both NP and surfactant was used (Verma et al.,
2018; Singh and Mohanty, 2015).
To prepare the aqueous solution, the NP together with the desired
surfactant solution was placed in a magnetic stirrer for 5 h at a high
Table 1
Foam with various compositions.
No. Foam compositions
1 CO2þ0.15%AOS
2 CO2þ0.15%AOSþ0.15%NP300
3 N2þ0.15%AOSþ0.15%NP300
4 CO2þ0.15%AOSþ0.15%NP300 þ 2%NaCl
5 CO2þ0.15%AOSþ0.15%NP300 þ 10%C12H26
D. Du et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140

speed of 1200 RPM, and then was placed in an ultrasonic disperser for 3 the shear deformation rate. As the pressure difference along the tube is
h dispersion at a frequency of 40 kHz. By applying the above method, in the range 300–1500 Pa, the foam flow is treated incompressible and
the NP dispersion solution maintained stable state and did not exhibit the shear stress and shear rates can be calculated as follows:
macroscopic aggregation during the test process.
Δp D 8U
τ¼ γ¼ (4)
L 4 D
2.2. Experimental apparatus and procedure
where D is the tube diameter, Δp is the flow pressure difference, L is the
Fig. 1 depicts the schematic diagram of the experimental setup. Bulk tube length, and U is the average flow rate inside the tube, and its
foam was generated by mixing CO2 or N2 gas with the NP-surfactant relationship with the volumetric flow rate Q is represented by the
solution in the foam generator and then passed through a straight following equation.
quartz glass tube, in which the foam morphology was clearly observed. � �
The structure of the quartz tube and the foam generator assembly fol­ U ¼ 4Q πD2 (5)
lowed as adopted by Du et al. (2018a). The dimension of the quartz tube
Therefore, plotting the measured 8U D
and DΔp
4L
curves in a logarithmi­
is as follows: length, 300 mm; inner diameter, 3 mm; wall thickness, 10
cally scaled graph could determine the flow behavior index n and the
mm. The body of the foam generator is made of 304 stainless steel, and
flow consistency coefficient K, thereby leading to the apparent viscosity
the filling material is consolidated quartz sand plate. The height, outer
of the NP-stabilized CO2 foam fluid.
diameter, and the inner diameter of the foam generator is 65.8, 46.4,
As another important rheological property, the effect of foam quality
and 32 mm, respectively. Gas injection was carefully manipulated and
on the foam apparent viscosity is also addressed in detail. Foam quality f
monitored using a mass flow controller (FL-802 50 mL � 1%, Shenzhen
is defined as the volume fraction of the gas phase in foam:
Flow method measure and control systems Co. Ltd), and the surfactant
� �
flow rate was controlled using a high-precision piston pump. The pres­ f ¼ Vg Vg þ Vl (6)
sure difference between the inlet and outlet was measured using a
U-tube differential pressure gauge after foam flow inside the tube where Vg and Vl are the volumes of the gas and liquid phases in the foam,
reaching the stable condition. All the experiments were carried out at a respectively.
constant temperature of 20 � C. Consisting of more than 80% volume fraction of the gas phase, the
1- Gas tank, 2-NP-Surfactant solution, 3-Piston pump, 4-Valve, 5- foam used in the EOR practices usually obeys the PVT model of the in­
Foam generator, 6-Quartz glass tube, 7-Differential pressure measure­ ternal gas phase when operating under different conditions, which has
ment unit, 8- Effluent collector, 9-Gas mass flow controller. been validated through satisfactory numerical reproducibility of the
experimental studies (Kovscek et al., 1995, 1997; Chen et al., 2010; Du
2.3. Power-law constitutive equation et al., 2011, 2018b, 2019a; Gassara et al., 2019; Li et al., 2019).

It is assumed the foam behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid whose shear 3. Results and discussion
stress (τ) and shear rate (γ) are in a power function relationship with the
constitutive equation (2): 3.1. Rheological properties of the AOS-CO2 foam

τ ¼ Kγ n
(2)
The rheological properties of the surfactant generated from CO2
foam have been investigated in detail, and therefore the non-Newtonian
where K is the flow consistency coefficient, and n is the flow behavior
properties of AOS-CO2 foam were measured in the first case to validate
index (with n < 1 for shear-thinning fluids, n ¼ 1 for Newtonian fluid
the experimental setup and the data manipulation procedure.
and n > 1 for shear-thickening fluids). Eq. (2) can be rewritten in the
Fig. 2(a)–(d) show the logarithmic plots of τ versus γ under the
same shape as a Newtonian fluid in engineering applications such as,
surfactant flow rates of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mL/min. Error bar for all
τ ¼ μα γ; μα ¼ Kγn 1
(3) the data was also plotted in these figures based on the error analysis in
Section 3.6. A clear linear relationship was observed between lnτ and
where μα is the apparent viscosity of the foam fluid and is a function of

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental setup.

3
D. Du et al.
Fig. 2. Shear stress vs. shear rates for AOS-CO2 foam at different surfactant flow rates.
lnγ, validating the power-law non-Newtonian assumption for the foam
fluid. The fit lines in the figures show that the flow behavior index n
varies from 0.603 to 0.686, which is consistent with the Bretherton-
based theoretical value of 0.667 (Bretherton, 1961; Hirasaki and Law­
son, 1985; Falls et al., 1989) and the empirical values varying from 0.61
to 0.77 (Du et al., 2014, 2018a; Friedmann et al., 1991) for surfactant
generated foam, thereby validating the experimental apparatus and
procedure used in this study.
Fig. 3 depicts the foam apparent viscosity under various foam qual­
ities. Notably, four separated lines exist corresponding to the four sur­
factant rates of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mL/min. Based on the foam quality
definition as described in Eq. (6), higher gas phase rate is necessary
under the case of higher surfactant rate to obtain the same foam quality
Fig. 3. Apparent viscosity under various foam qualities for AOS-CO2 foam.
4
Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140
values. Therefore, under the same f values, the black line for the case of
1 mL/min has the lower total flow rate compared to the other surfactant
rate cases, and thereby shows the highest foam apparent viscosity as a
shear thinning fluid. Fig. 3 clearly shows the unanimously decreasing
foam apparent viscosities with increasing foam quality for all the sur­
factant rate cases. The foam quality region 80–98%, as revealed in Fig. 3,
is consistent with other reported studies on the foam flooding processes
in porous media (Xue et al., 2015, 2016; Da et al., 2018; Du et al., 2007,
2008, 2019b).
3.2. Rheological properties of NP-AOS-CO2 foam
Fig. 4 (a), (b), (c), and (d) show the relationship between the shear
stress and shear rate at various surfactant rates of 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 mL/
min, respectively. The linear relationship between lnτ and lnγ is still
valid; however, the slope varies in different shear rate regions. For
example in Fig. 4(a), the value of n is fit to be 0.889 in the range of 4.4<
lnγ <5.0, whereas it decreases to 0.616 in the region of 5.0< lnγ <5.8.
With detailed error analysis described in Section 3.6, error bars were not
put in Fig. 4 for more clearly revealing the slope variation characteris­
tics. The detailed rheological properties are listed in Table 2.
The reason behind the variation in the flow behavior index could be
analyzed based on the foam quality. Accordingly, the data of the foam
apparent viscosity versus foam quality is plotted in Fig. 5, in which the
dependence of the foam viscosity on the foam quality is clearly revealed.
Still taking the case of 1.0 mL/min as the example, Fig. 5 shows that the
apparent viscosity increases in the foam quality region 91–96% whereas
it decreases in the region of f >96% corresponding to the slope change in
Fig. 4(a) after lnγ >5. In other surfactant rate cases, the decreased slope
between μa and f was also distinctively observed at certain foam quality
values, indicating a critical foam quality value in the range 0.92–0.96 for
the NP-stabilized surfactant CO2 foam. The clear change in the slope
D. Du et al.
Fig. 4. Shear stress vs. shear rates for NP-AOS-CO2 foam at different surfactant flow rates.
between lnτ and lnγ as well as between ua and f could attribute to the
higher capillary pressure pc at larger foam quality values. Capillary
pressure is the pressure difference between the flat part of the foam film
and the highly curved plateau border and is proportional to (1-f) 0.5.
The value of pc could become very high at higher f values, leading to
foam coalescence and Ostwald ripening because of rapid lamella
drainage (Xue et al., 2015, 2016; Hirasaki and Lawson, 1985; Khristov
et al., 2002). The clear higher critical foam quality in the range
0.92–0.96 for NP-AOS-CO2 foam is in contrast with the AOS-CO2 foam
and can be attributed to the improved surface dilational viscoelasticity
of the NPs/AOS foam because of the adsorption and accumulation of NPs
on the bubble surface and plateau border to prevent the quick liquid
drainage (Sun et al., 2014; Yekeen et al., 2017b).
3.3. Rheological properties of NP-AOS-N2 foam
The non-Newtonian flow behavior of NP-AOS-N2 foam at various
surfactant rates of 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 mL/min is displayed in Fig. 6(a), (b),
(c), and (d), respectively. Same phenomenon was observed in which the
slope of the NP-stabilized foam changes at certain shear rate value. The
fit lines in the figures indicate that the flow behavior index varies from
0.787 to 1.103 in the lower shear rate range, whereas it varies in the
range 0.261–0.591 at higher shear rates.
The foam apparent viscosities under different foam qualities are
shown in Fig. 7, from which it could be deduced that the variation in the
foam resistance characteristic is closely related to the foam quality.
Taking the case of surfactant rate 2.5 mL/min as the example, the foam
viscosity values stay in a relatively narrow region at lower foam quality
region of 80% < f <92%, while it decreases significantly under the
higher f values in the range 92–96%.
As listed in Table 2, the critical foam qualities locate within 92%–
96% based on the variation in the flow behavior index and foam
5
Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140
apparent viscosity behaviors. Through comparison of the maximum
apparent viscosities between NP-AOS-CO2 and NP-AOS-N2 foam, it
could be clearly observed that the foam with internal phase of N2 has
higher apparent viscosities than the CO2 foam and could be attributed to
the higher CO2 solubility in the surfactant solution (Du et al., 2007,
2008). The stronger rheological properties of the N2 foam indicate that
other than CO2 foam, NP-stabilized N2 foam is also worth of further
investigation of its potential application in tight reservoir EOR practices.
3.4. Rheological properties of NP-AOS-CO2-NaCl foam
Fig. 8(a), (b), (c), and (d) show the plot of the shear stress versus
shear rate in logarithmic scale for the NP-stabilized CO2 foam containing
2 wt% anhydrous NaCl at the surfactant flow rates of 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5
mL/min, respectively. A clear variation in the slope between lnτ and lnγ
was observed in all the four cases. The NP-stabilized foam with salinity
effect shows shear thickening behavior with n values varying from 1.088
to 1.409 in the lower shear stress region, specifically 4.2< lnγ <5.1,
4.4< lnγ <5.35, 4.3< lnγ <5.45 4.4 <lnγ <5.4 corresponding to the four
surfactant rate as listed in Table 2, whereas at a higher shear rate region,
the NP foam behaves in a shear thinning manner with a flow behavior
index of 0.321 < n < 0.715.
As shown in Fig. 9, the foam rheology transition could be more
clearly revealed by plotting the foam apparent viscosity versus foam
quality. The detailed results in Table 2 clearly show that before the
critical foam quality in the range 93–96%, the foam apparent viscosity
increases with foam quality while it shows a decreasing trend after the
critical values. Table 2 also shows that the presence of NaCl dramatically
decreases the apparent viscosity of the NP-stabilized foam. The
maximum apparent viscosity for the NP-foam with salt-containing sur­
factant solution is 12.7 mPa s, which is much lower than 18 mPa s in the
unsalted case.
D. Du et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140

Table 2
Detailed rheological properties for the 5 tested foam system.
No. Foam composition Surfactant rate (ml/min) Shear rate Flow behavior index n Foam quality Maximum apparent viscosity (mPa⋅s)
lnγ f

1 AOS þ CO2 1.0 4.6–5.8 0.603 91%~98% 16.3

1.5 4.6–5.8 0.648 87%~97% 11.8
2.0 4.6–5.8 0.686 83%~96% 10.6
2.5 4.6–5.8 0.628 80%~95% 10.6
2 NP þ AOS þ CO2 1.0 4.4<lnγ<5.0 0.889 91%~96% 18.0
5.0<lnγ<5.8 0.616 96%~98%
1.5 4.3<lnγ<5.25 1.077 87%~95% 11.8
5.25<lnγ<5.8 0.444 95%~97%
2.0 4.3<lnγ<5.3 0.818 83%~92% 8.4
5.3<lnγ<5.8 0.637 92%~95%
2.5 4.4<lnγ<5.4 0.662 80%~93% 9.4
5.4<lnγ<5.8 0.306 93%~96%
3 NP þ AOS þ N2 1.0 4.4<lnγ<4.9 0.992 90%~95% 20.7
4.9<lnγ<5.8 0.261 95%~98%
1.5 4.4<lnγ<5.1 0.787 87%~94% 18.8
5.1<lnγ<5.8 0.545 94%~97%
2.0 4.3<lnγ<5.3 1.103 83%~93% 15.4
5.3<lnγ<5.8 0.433 93%~96%
2.5 4.4<lnγ<5.3 0.988 80%~92% 12.1
5.3<lnγ<5.8 0.590 92%~96%
4 NP þ AOS þ CO2þNaCl 1.0 4.2<lnγ<5.1 1.429 91%~96% 12.7
5.1<lnγ<5.8 0.565 96%~98%
1.5 4.4<lnγ<5.35 1.297 87%~95% 11.0
5.35<lnγ<5.8 0.321 95%~97%
2.0 4.3<lnγ<5.45 1.098 83%~94% 10.3
5.45<lnγ<5.8 0.358 94%~96%
2.5 4.4<lnγ<5.4 1.088 80%~93% 8.0
5.4<lnγ<5.8 0.715 93%~95%
5 NP þ AOS þ CO2þOil 1.0 4.4<lnγ<5.2 1.065 92%~96% 17.9
5.2<lnγ<5.8 0.272 96%~98%
1.5 4.2<lnγ<5.2 1.114 87%~95% 11.3
5.2<lnγ<5.8 0.574 95%~97%
2.0 4.3<lnγ<5.25 1.102 83%~93% 10.9
5.25<lnγ<5.8 0.612 93%~96%
2.5 4.4<lnγ<5.1 0.989 81%~91% 8.9
5.1<lnγ<5.8 0.823 91%~95%

et al., 2013).

3.5. Rheological properties of NP-AOS-CO2-oil foam

In order to understand the effect of the presence of oil on the NP-

Fig. 5. Apparent viscosity under various foam qualities for NP-AOS-CO2 foam.
Fig. 10 comparatively displays the morphologies of the NP-AOS-CO2
foam and the NP-AOS-CO2-NaCl foam and clearly shows that the foam
generated in saline solution has a much less bubble population as
compared to the salt-free foam. The possible reason for the lower bubble
density of the NP-stabilized foam with saline might be lower colloidal
stability of silica NPs in the salt-containing solutions, which results in
aggregation of the particles and thereby decreases the foam apparent
viscosity because of the reduced foam stability (Emrani and Nasr-El-Din,
2017; Yekeen et al., 2018; Xiao et al., 2016; Xiao et al., 2017; Bagaria
stabilized CO2 foam rheology, 10 wt% of n-C12H26 was mixed in the
surfactant solution together with the NPs. Fig. 11(a), (b), (c), and (d)
display the rheological relationship between lnτ and lnγ of the NP-AOS-
CO2-Oil foam at various surfactant rates of 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 mL/min,
respectively. Clearly, the relationship between the shear stress and shear
rate changes at certain shear rate values in the range 5.1< lnγ <5.25,
where the flow behavior index varies from the region 0.989–1.114
(nearly the Newtonian flow) to the shear thinning non-Newtonian
behavior of 0.272 < n < 0.823.
The variation in the foam apparent viscosity relating to the foam
quality is depicted in Fig. 12 and listed in Table 2, showing clear tran­
sition points. In accordance with the results shown in Fig. 11, the foam
viscosity shows nearly stable values in the foam quality regions 81–91%,
83–93%, 87–95%, and 92–96% corresponding to the surfactant rates of
1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 mL/min, respectively, whereas above those critical
points, the foam apparent viscosity decreases with increasing foam
quality, showing the obvious shear thinning rheological behavior.
The strength of the NP-stabilized foam in the presence of oil could be
obtained based on the maximum apparent viscosity values listed in
Table 2. The oil presence does not damage the foam strength as
compared to the case without the oil presence (17.9 mPa s versus 18
mPa s), indicating that the NP-stabilized foam has great potentials for
the CO2 EOR practices.

6
D. Du et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140

Fig. 6. Shear stress vs. shear rates for NP-AOS-N2 foam at different surfactant flow rates.

The error for the shear stress can be determined through Eq. (8),
�Δτ� �� � � � � ��
� � �Δp� �ΔD� �Δl�
ErðτÞ ¼ � � � ¼ � �� �� þ 3�� �� þ �� �� ¼ � 4:96% (8)
τ p D l
The error in the apparent viscosities was found as 7.46% by Eq. (9).
� � ��Δτ� �Δγ��
� Δμ � � � � �
Erðμa Þ ¼ � �� a �� ¼ � � � þ � � ¼ � 7:46% (9)
μa τ γ

4. Conclusions

Aiming at the great application prospects of nanofoam technology in

Fig. 7. Apparent viscosity for NP-AOS-N2 foam under various foam qualities.
EOR and the greenhouse geological storage in tight reservoirs, the
rheological properties of the NP-stabilized CO2 foam were experimen­
tally investigated. By varying the internal gas type, adding NaCl and oil
components, the effect of gas type, salinity, and oil presence on the non-
Newtonian foam flow behavior was scrutinized. The main conclusions of
this study are as follows.

3.6. Error analysis (1) The benchmark case of surfactant (AOS) CO2 foam shows clearly
a shear thinning behavior with the flow behavior index n varying
Table 3 lists the errors of the measured direct parameters, including from 0.603 to 0.686 and is consistent with the reported theoret­
pressure drop, tube diameter, tube length, and volumetric flow rate. ical and the empirical values.
Based on Table 3, the measurement error for indirectly obtained (2) With dispersed SiO2 NPs in the surfactant solution, the CO2 foam
apparent viscosity can be calculated as follows, The error for the shear shows a transitional characteristic between the shear stress and
rate can be calculated by Eq. (7), the shear rate. When lnγ is greater than a certain value (5.0–5.45
�� � � �� corresponding to various surfactant rates), the shear stress slope
�Δγ �
� � �ΔQ� �ΔD�
ErðγÞ ¼ � � � ¼ � �� �� þ 3�� �� ¼ � 2:5% (7) decreases. Accordingly, the critical foam quality values within
γ Q D 92–95% were observed based on the foam apparent viscosity
results.

7
D. Du et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140

Fig. 8. Shear stress vs. shear rate for NP-AOS-CO2-NaCl foam at different surfactant flow rates.

Fig. 10. Morphology of the (a) NP-AOS-CO2 foam and the (b) NP-AOS-CO2-
Fig. 9. Apparent viscosity for NP-AOS-CO2-NaCl foam under various
NaCl foam.
foam qualities.

(3) The NP-stabilized N2 foam also shows the transitional behavior
based on the lnτ versus lnγ as well as the μa vs. f results, with quasi
Newtonian flow behavior transiting to shear thinning behavior in
higher lnγ and foam quality regions. Compared to the NP-
stabilized CO2 foam, N2 foam shows higher apparent viscosity.
(4) The salt-containing NP-stabilized foam also shows rheological
transition behaviors, varying from shear thickening to shear
thinning non-Newtonian behavior with increasing shear rate and
foam quality values. With the less bubble populations in the bulk
foam, CO2 foam generated with NP-AOS-NaCl solution shows
lower apparent viscosities compared to the salt-free cases.

8
D. Du et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140

Fig. 11. Shear stress vs. shear rates for NP-AOS-CO2-Oil foam at different surfactant flow rates.

(5) The oil presence does not show negative effects on the NP-
stabilized CO2 foam rheology with nearly the same maximum
apparent viscosity and the transitional foam quality values,
indicating that the NPs foam technology could be potentially used
in the CO2 EOR and CCUS applications.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this

work.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Dongxing Du: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing - original

Fig. 12. Apparent viscosity under various foam qualities for the NP-AOS-CO2-
Oil foam.
draft. Xu Zhang: Investigation, Methodology. Yingge Li: Funding
acquisition, Project administration, Supervision. Di Zhao: Resources,
Writing - review & editing. Fei Wang: Resources, Writing - review &
editing. Zhifeng Sun: Resources, Writing - review & editing.

Table 3 Acknowledgements
Experimental errors for directly measured parameters.
Parameters Absolute Minimum data in Maximum relative The authors would like to thank the financial support from National
error experiments accuracy Natural Science Foundation of the People’s Republic of China (NSFC
Pressure p 10Pa 300Pa �3.34% No.51476081).
Diameter D 0.02 mm 3.94 mm �0.50%
Length L 0.5 mm 15.0 cm �0.12%
Volumetric flow 0.1sccm 10sccm �1.0%
rate Q

9
D. Du et al. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140

References (In Heterogeneous Reservoirs). Transport in Porous Media. https://doi.org/

10.1007/s11242-018-01223-5.
Gu, M., Mohanty, K.K., 2015. Rheology of polymer-free foam fracturing fluids. J. Pet. Sci.
Alvarez, J.O., Schechter, D.S., 2016. Altering wettability in Bakken shale by surfactant
Eng. 134, 87–96.
additives and potential of improving oil recovery during injection of completion
Hirasaki, G.J., Lawson, J.B., 1985. Mechanisms of foam flow in porous media: apparent
fluids. In: SPE 179688 in SPE IOR Conference Held in Tulsa, USA.
viscosity in smooth capillaries. SPE J. 25, 176–190.
Andrianov, A., Farajzadeh, R., Mahmoodi Nick, M., Talanana, M., Zitha, P.L.J., 2012.
Khristov, K., Exerowa, D., Minkov, G., 2002. Critical capillary pressure for destruction of
Immiscible foam for enhancing oil recovery: bulk and porous media experiments.
single foam films and foam: effect of foam film size. Colloid. Surf. Physicochem. Eng.
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 51, 2214–2226.
Asp. 210 (2–3), 159–166.
Aroonsri, A., Worthen, A.J., Hariz, T., Johnston, K.P., Huh, C., Bryant, S.L., 2013.
Kim, J.S., Dong, Y., Rossen, W.R., 2005. Steady-state flow behavior of CO2 foam. SPE J.
Conditions for generating nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foams in fracture and matrix
10, 405–415.
flow (SPE 166319). In: SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New
Ko, S., Huh, C., 2019. Use of nanoparticles for oil production applications. J. Pet. Sci.
Orleans, LA, USA, 30 September - 2 October.
Technol. 172, 97–114.
Bagaria, H.G., Xue, Z., Neilson, B.M., Worthen, A.J., Yoon, K.Y., Nayak, S., Cheng, V.,
Kovscek, A.R., Patzek, T.W., Radke, C.J., 1995. A mechanistic population balance model
Lee, J.H., Bielawski, C.W., Johnston, K.P., 2013. Iron oxide nanoparticles grafted
for transient and steady- state foam flow in Boise sandstone. Chem. Eng. Sci. 50 (23),
with sulfonated copolymers are stable in concentrated brine at elevated
3783–3799.
temperatures and weakly adsorb on silica. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 5 (8),
Kovscek, A.R., Patzek, T.W., Radke, C.J., 1997. Mechanistic foam flow simulation in
3329–3339.
heterogeneous and multidimensional porous media. SPE J. 2 (4), 511–526.
Bera, A., Belhaj, H., 2016. Application of nanotechnology by means of nanoparticles and
Kristen-Hochrein, N., Laschewsky, A., Miller, R., von Klitzing, R., 2011. Stability of foam
nanodispersions in oil recovery - a comprehensive review. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 34,
films of oppositely charged polyelectrolyte/surfactant mixtures: effect of isoelectric
1284–1309.
point. J. Phys. Chem. B 115, 14475–14483.
Binks, B.P., Horozov, T.S., 2010. Aqueous foams stabilized solely by silica nanoparticles.
Li, W.T., Wei, F.L., Xiong, C.M., Ouyuang, J., Shao, L.M., Dai, M.L., Liu, P.D., Du, D.X.,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 44 (24), 3722–3725.
2019. A novel supercritical CO2 foam system stabilized with a mixture of
Bretherton, F.P., 1961. The motion of Long bubbles in tubes. J. Fluid Mech. 10, 166–188.
zwitterionic surfactant and silica nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery. Front.
Chen, Q., Kovscek, A.R., Gerritsen, M., 2010. Modeling foam displacement with the local-
Chem. 7 https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2019.00718.
equilibrium approxima- tion: theory and experimental verification. SPE J. 15 (1),
Liu, P., Zhang, X., Wu, Y., Li, X., 2017. Enhanced oil recovery by air-foam flooding
171–183.
system in tight oil reservoirs: study on the profile-controlling mechanisms. J. Pet.
Clark, J.A., Santiso, E.E., 2018. Carbon sequestration through CO2 foam-Enhanced Oil
Sci. Technol. 150, 208–216.
Recovery: a green chemistry perspective. Engineering 4, 336–342.
Lv, M.M., Wang, S.Z., 2015. Studies on CO2 foam stability and the influence of polymer
Da, C., Alzobaidi, S., Jian, G.Q., Zhang, L.L., Biswal, S.L., Hirasaki, G.J., Johunston, K.P.,
on CO2 foam properties. Int. J. Oil Gas Coal Technol. 10 (4), 343–358.
2018. Carbon dioxide/water foams stabilized with a zwitterionic surfactant at
Lv, M.M., Wang, S.Z., Zhai, Z.D., Luo, X.R., Jing, Z.F., 2016. Comparative investigation of
temperatures up to 150 � C in high salinity brine. J. Pet. Sci. Technol. 166, 880–890.
the static and dynamic properties of CO2 foam and N2 foam. Can. J. Chem. Eng. 94,
Denney, D., 2001. Oil-tolerant polymer-enhanced foams: deep chemistry or simple
1313–1321.
displacement effects? J. Pet. Technol. 53 (1), 49–50.
Maestro, A., Rio, E., Drenckhan, W., Langevin, D., Salonen, A., 2014. Foams stabilized by
Du, D.X., Zitha, P.L.J., Uijttenhout, M.G.H., 2007. Carbon dioxide foam rheology in
mixtures of nanoparticles and oppositely charged surfactants: relationship between
porous media: a CT scan study. SPE J. 12 (2), 245–252.
bubble shrinkage and foam coarsening. Soft Matter 10 (36), 6975–6983.
Du, D.X., Naderi Beni, A., Farajzadeh, R., Zitha, P.L.J., 2008. Effect of water solubility on
Nourafkan, E., Hu, Z.L., Wen, D.S., 2018. Nanoparticle-enabled delivery of surfactant in
carbon dioxide foam flow in porous media: an X-ray computed tomography study.
porous media. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 519, 44–57.
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 47 (16), 6298–6306.
Olayiwola, S.O., Dejam, M., 2019. A comprehensive review on interaction of
Du, D.X., Zitha, P.L.J., Verlemon, F.J., 2011. Numerical analysis of foam motion in
nanoparticles with low salinity water and surfactant for enhanced oil recovery in
porous media using a new stochastic bubble population model. Transp. Porous
sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. Fuel 241, 1045–1057.
Media 86 (2), 491–504.
Rahmani, O., 2018. Mobility control in carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery process
Du, D.X., Ma, X.J., Zhang, F.H., Li, Y.G., 2014. Rheology characteristics for foam lamellae
using nanoparticle-stabilized foam for carbonate reservoirs. Colloid. Surf.
flow in a straight tube. J. Chem. Ind. Eng. 65 (S1), 194–198.
Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 550, 245–255.
Du, D.X., Zhang, J., Sun, S.B., Zhang, N., Wang, D.X., Li, Y.G., 2015. Mechanistic study
Roberts, M., Aminzadeh, B., DiCarlo, D.A., Bryant, S.L., Huh, C., 2012. Generation of
on foam lamellae flow characteristics in tubes. Mater. Res. Innov. 19, 526–529.
nanoparticle-stabilized emulsions in fractures. In: SPE 154228 in: SPE Improved Oil
Du, D.X., Li, Y.G., Chao, K., Wang, C.C., Wang, D.X., 2018a. Laboratory study of the Non-
Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, OK, USA.
Newtonian behavior of supercritical CO2 foam flow in a straight tube. J. Pet. Sci.
Rognmo, A.U., Horjen, H., Fernø, M.A., 2017. Nanotechnology for improved CO2
Eng. 164, 390–399.
utilization in CCS: laboratory study of CO2-foam flow and silica nanoparticle
Du, D.X., Zhang, N., Li, Y.G., Sun, R., Zheng, S.J., Wang, C.C., 2018b. Numerical analysis
retention in porous media. Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control 64, 113–118.
of transient foam flow characteristics in two-layer heterogeneous porous media with
Rognmo, A.U., Heldal, S., Ferno, M.A., 2018. Silica nanoparticles to stabilize CO2 foam
experimental validations. J. Porous Media 21 (9), 813–826.
for improved CO2 utilization : enhanced CO2 storage and oil recovery from mature
Du, D.X., Zhang, D., Li, Y.G., Dong, X., Sun, Z.F., Chao, K., 2019a. Numerical
oil reservoirs. Fuel 216, 621–626.
investigations on the inlet and outlet behavior of foam flow process in porous media
Rognmo, A.U., Al-Khayyat, N., Heldal, S., Vikingstad, I., Eide, Ø., Fredriksen, S.B.,
using stochastic bubble population balance model. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 176, 537–553.
Alcorn, Z.P., Graue, A., Bryant, S.L., Kovseck, A.R., Fernø, M.A., 2019. Performance
Du, D.X., Li, Y.G., Zhang, D., Dong, X., Wang, F., Chao, K., 2019b. Experimental study on
of silica nanoparticles in CO2 foam for EOR and CCUS at tough reservoir conditions.
the inlet behavior of CO2 foam three phase displacement processes in porous media.
SPE J. https://doi.org/10.2118/191318-pa.
Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci. 103, 247–261.
Senftle, T.P., Carter, E.A., 2017. The holy grail: chemistry enabling an economically
Emrani, A.S., Nasr-El-Din, H.A., 2017. An experimental study of nanoparticle-polymer-
viable CO2 capture, utilization, and storage strategy. Acc. Chem. Res. 50, 472–475.
stabilized CO2 foam. Colloid. Surf. Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 524, 17–27.
Shamsijazeyi, H., Miller, C.A., Wong, M.S., Tour, J.M., Verduzco, R., 2014. Polymer-
Enick, R.M., Olsen, D.K., Ammer, J.R., Schuller, W., 2012. Mobility and conformance
coated nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 131 (15), 40576.
control for CO2 EOR via thickeners, foams, and gels – a literature review of 40 years
Sheng, J.J., 2017. Critical review of field EOR projects in shale and tight reservoirs.
of research and pilot tests. In: SPE 154122 in: 18th SPE IOR Symposium Held in
J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 159, 654–665.
Tulsa. Oklahoma, USA.
Singh, R., Mohanty, K.K., 2015. Synergy between nanoparticles and surfactants in
Espinoza, D.A., Caldelas, F.M., Johnston, K.P., Bryant, S.L., Huh, C., 2010. Nanoparticle
stabilizing foams for oil recovery. Energy Fuel. 29 (2), 467–479.
stabilized supercritical CO2 foams for poten tial mobility control applications. In:
Singh, R., Mohanty, K.K., 2018. Study of Nanoparticle-Stabilized Foams in Harsh
SPE 129925 in SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, OK, USA, 24-28 April.
Reservoir Conditions. Transport in Porous Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-
Ettehadtavakkol, A., Lake, L.W., Bryant, S.L., 2014. CO2-EOR and storage design
018-1215-y.
optimization. Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control 25, 79–92.
Sofla, S.J.D., James, L.A., Zhang, Y.H., 2019. Understanding the behavior of Hþ-
Falls, A.H., Musters, J.J., Ratulowski, J., 1989. The apparent viscosity of foams in
protected silica nanoparticles at the oil-water interface for enhanced oil recovery
homogeneous beadpacks. Soc. Petr. Eng. Res. Eng. 4 (2), 155–164.
(EOR) applications. J. Mol. Liq. 274, 98–114.
Farajzadeh, R., Krastev, R., Zitha, P.L.J., 2008. Foam films stabilized with alpha olefin
Sun, Q., Li, Z., Li, S., Jiang, L., Wang, J., Wang, P., 2014. Utilization of surfactant-
sulfonate (AOS). Colloid. Surf. Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 324, 35–40.
stabilized foam for enhanced oil recovery by adding nanoparticles. Energy Fuel. 28
Farhadi, H., Riahi, S., Ayatollahi, S., Ahmadi, H., 2016. Experimental study of
(4), 2384–2394.
nanoparticle–surfactant -stabilized CO2 foam: stability and mobility control. Chem.
Sun, L., Bai, B.J., Wei, B., Pu, W.F., Wei, P., Li, D.B., Zhang, C.Y., 2019. Recent advances
Eng. Res. Des. 111, 449–460.
of surfactant-stabilized N2/CO2 foams in enhanced oil recovery. Fuel 241, 83–93.
Farzaneh, S.A., Sohrabi, M., 2015. Experimental investigation of CO2-foam stability
Verma, A., Chauhan, G., Baruah, P.P., Ojha, K., 2018. Morphology, rheology, and
improvement by alkaline in the presence of crude oil. Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 94,
kinetics of nanosilica stabilized gelled foam fluid for hydraulic fracturing
375–389.
application. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 57, 449–462.
Friedmann, F., Chen, W.H., Gauglitz, P.A., 1991. Experimental and simulation study of
Wang, L., Tian, Y., Yu, X., Wang, C., Yao, B., Wang, S., Winterfeld, P.H., Wang, X.,
high- temperature foam displacement in porous media. Soc. Petr. Eng. Res. Eng. 6
Yang, Z.Z., Wang, Y.H., Cui, J.Y., Wu, Y.S., 2017. Advances in improved/enhanced
(1), 37–45.
oil recovery technologies for tight and shale reservoirs. Fuel 210, 425–445.
Fukai, I., Mishra, S., Moody, A.M., 2016. Economic analysis of CO2–enhanced oil
Worthen, A.J., Bagaria, H.G., Chen, Y.S., Bryant, S.L., Huh, C., Johnston, K.P., 2013.
recovery in Ohio: implications for carbon capture, utilization, and storage in the
Nanoparticle-stabilized carbon dioxide-in-water foams with fine texture. J. Colloid
Appalachian Basin region. Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control 52, 357–377.
Interface Sci. 391, 142–151.
Gassara, O., Douarche, F., Braconnier, B., Bourbiaux, B., 2019. Calibrating and Scaling
Semi-empirical Foam Flow Models for the Assessment of Foam-Based EOR Processes

10
D. Du et al.
Xiao, C., Balasubramanian, S.N., Clapp, L.W., 2016. Rheology of supercritical CO2 foam
stabilized by nanoparticles. In: SPE 179621 in: SPE Improved Oil Recovery
Conference, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, 11-13 April.
Xiao, C., Balasubramanian, S.N., Clapp, L.W., 2017. Rheology of viscous CO2 foams
stabilized by nanoparticles under high pressure. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 56 (29),
8340–8348.
Xu, Q., Rossen, W.R., 2003. Effective viscosity of foam in periodically constricted tubes.
Colloid. Surf. Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 216, 175–194.
Xue, Z., Worthen, A.J., Da, C., Qajar, A., Ketchum, I.R., Alzobaidi, S., Huh, C.,
Prodanovic, M., Johnston, K.P., 2015. Ultradry carbon dioxide-in-water foams with
viscoelastic aqueous phases. Langmuir 32 (1), 28–37.
Xue, Z., Worthen, A., Qajar, A., Robert, I., Bryant, S.L., Huh, C., Prodanovic, M.,
Johnston, K.P., 2016. Viscosity and stability of ultra-high internal phase CO2-in-
water foams stabilized with surfactants and nanoparticles with or without
polyelectrolytes. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 461, 383–395.
Yang, J., Wang, X., Peng, X., Du, Z., Zeng, F., 2019. Experimental studies on CO2 foam
performance in the tight cores. J. Pet. Sci. Technol. 175, 1136–1149.
Yekeen, N., Manan, M.A., Idris, A.K., Samin, A.M., Risal, A.R., 2017a. Experimental
investigation of minimization in surfactant adsorption and improvement in
surfactant-foam stability in presence of silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide
nanoparticles. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 159, 115–134.
Yekeen, N., Idris, A.K., Manan, M.A., Samin, A.M., Risal, A.R., Kun, T.X., 2017b. Bulk and
bubble-scale experimental studies of influence of nanoparticles on foam stability.
Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 25, 347–357.
11
Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 75 (2020) 103140
Yekeen, N., Manan, M.A., Idris, A.K., Padmanabhan, E., Junin, R., Samin, A.M.,
Gbadamosi, A.O., Oguamah, I., 2018. A comprehensive review of experimental
studies of nanoparticles-stabilized foam for enhanced oil recovery. J. Pet. Sci.
Technol. 164, 43–74.
Yekeen, N., Padmanabhan, E., Idris, A.K., 2019. Synergistic effect of nanoparticles and
surfactant on n-decane-water interfacial tension and bulk foam stability at high
temperature. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 179, 814–830.
Yu, J., An, C., Mo, D., Liu, N., Lee, R.L., 2012. Study of adsorption and transportation
behavior of nanoparticles in three different porous media. In: SPE-153337 in:
Proceedings of -MS Improved Oil Recovery Symposium. Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
Yu, J., Mo, D., Liu, N., Lee, R., 2013. The application of nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foam
for oil recovery (SPE 164074). In: SPE International Symposium on Oilfield
Chemistry, the Woodlands, Texas, USA, 8-10 April.
Yu, J., Wang, S., Liu, N., Lee, R., 2014a. Study of particle structure and hydrophobicity
effects on the flow behavior of nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foam in porous media. In:
SPE 169047 in: SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, OK, USA, 12-14
April.
Yu, J., Khalil, M., Liu, N., Lee, R., 2014b. Effect of particle hydrophobicity on CO2 foam
generation and foam flow behavior in porous media. Fuel 126, 104–108.
Zhang, K., Li, Y., Hong, A., Wu, K., Jing, G., Torsæter, O., Chen, S., Chen, Z., 2015.
Nanofluid alternating gas for tight oil exploitation. SPE 176241. In: SPE/IATMI Asia
Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition Held in Bali, Indonesia.