Petroleum Exploration and Development (Jun 2023)

Investigation of the effect of diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid chelating agent as an enhanced oil recovery fluid on wettability alteration of sandstone rocks

  • Mahsa PARHIZGAR KERADEH,
  • Seyyed Alireza TABATABAEI-NEZHAD

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 50, no. 3
pp. 675 – 687

Abstract

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This study used the diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)-seawater (SW) system to modify the sandstone rock wettability and enhance oil recovery. The investigation involved conducting wettability measurement, Zeta potential measurement, and spontaneous imbibition experiment. The introduction of 5% DTPA-SW solution resulted in a significant decrease in the rock-oil contact angle from 143° to 23°, along with a reduction in the Zeta potential from −2.29 mV to −13.06 mV, thereby altering the rock surface charge and shifting its wettability from an oil-wet state to a strongly water-wet state. The presence or absence of potential determining ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42−) in the solution did not impact the effectiveness of DTPA in changing the rock wettability. However, by tripling the concentration of these ions in the solution, the performance of 5% DTPA-SW solution in changing wettability was impaired. Additionally, spontaneous imbibition tests demonstrated that the 5% DTPA-SW solution led to an increase in oil recovery up to 39.6%. Thus, the optimum mass fraction of DTPA for changing sandstone wettability was determined to be 5%.

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