Impact of Oil Polarity on the Mixing Time at the Pore Scale in Low Salinity Waterflooding

Impact of Oil Polarity on the Mixing Time at the Pore Scale in Low Salinity Waterflooding

Saheb Mohammadi, Hassan Mahani, Shahab Ayatollahi, and Vahid Niasar

The efficiency of low salinity waterflooding is highly controlled by in situ mixing between the stagnant regions and the flowing regions. This study aims to address the effects of oil polarity on the time scale of mixing under two-phase flow conditions. The results show that the time scale of ionic transport can be slowed down 10–16 times by the increase of the polar fractions of oil. It is postulated that the stronger electrical field established in the water film by the increase of oil polarity lowers the solute transport rate according to the Poisson–Nernst–Planck theory.

ACS Energy&Fuels 2020, 34, 10, 12247–12259
Corresponding Author: Hassan Mahani