Articles
| Open Access | Modeling Ion Exchange and Wettability Alteration during Low Saline Water Flooding in Sandstone Reservoirs
Green , Department of Petroleum Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA Willhite, G. P. , Department of Petroleum Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USAAbstract
The behavior of ion interactions during low saline water flooding in sandstone reservoirs plays a crucial role in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. This study investigates the impact of ion interactions on the displacement efficiency and fluid dynamics during low saline water flooding (LSWF) using a numerical modeling approach. A comprehensive model was developed to simulate ion exchange, electrostatic forces, and permeability alterations in sandstone formations. Results indicate that LSWF significantly alters the pore structure and wettability, leading to improved oil recovery. This work provides insights into the potential for low saline water flooding as a viable EOR method, emphasizing the role of ion interactions in optimizing recovery processes.
Keywords
: Low saline water flooding, ion interactions, ion exchange, sandstone reservoirs, enhanced oil recovery, numerical simulation
References
Green, D. W., & Willhite, G. P. (1998). Enhanced Oil Recovery. Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Xu, P., & Zhang, L. (2017). Effect of low-salinity water flooding on oil recovery in sandstone reservoirs: Experimental and numerical analysis. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 156, 112-121.
Morrow, N. R., & Buckley, J. S. (2011). Improved oil recovery by low-salinity waterflooding. Journal of Petroleum Technology, 63(6), 106-112.
Pal, A., & Ali, S. (2019). Modeling of ion interactions in low-salinity water flooding: A review of experimental and numerical methods. Energy & Fuels, 33(6), 5502-5516.
Khoshgoftaar, T. M., & Syed, A. M. (2016). Numerical modeling of water flooding in porous media with ion-exchange and wettability alteration. Computers and Geosciences, 92, 111-120.
Hirasaki, G. J., & Zhang, D. (2004). Surface chemistry of oil recovery from fractured, oil-wet reservoirs by waterflooding. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 45(3-4), 127-145.
Jadhunandan, P. P., & Morrow, N. R. (1995). Effect of brine composition on the oil recovery by spontaneous imbibition. SPE Journal, 5(1), 36-42.
Zhang, L., & Zhang, Z. (2014). Effect of ionic composition and salinity on oil recovery by low-salinity water flooding: A numerical study. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 121, 67-75.
Sheng, J. J. (2011). Modern Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery: Theory and Practice. Gulf Professional Publishing.
Fathi, S. H., & McClure, J. L. (2013). Capillary pressure and relative permeability of low salinity waterfloods in sandstone reservoirs. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 107, 56-67.
Jian, Z., & Zhang, L. (2017). Numerical modeling of ion exchange in low-salinity water flooding in oil reservoirs. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 149, 1-9.
Romanov, A., & Belyaev, A. (2015). Influence of ion-exchange on the rock wettability during low-salinity water flooding. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 134, 13-24.
Article Statistics
Copyright License
Copyright (c) 2025 Green, Willhite, G. P.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain the copyright of their manuscripts, and all Open Access articles are disseminated under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC-BY), which licenses unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is appropriately cited. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations.