Interaction of Heavy Crude Oil
and Nanoparticles for Heavy Oil
Upgrading
Rohan M. Jadhav and Jitendra S. Sangwai
Abstract The relevance of nanotechnology in the field of energy resources has been
growing at a swift pace. The term ‘catalyst’ has a whole new outlook since the foundation of nanomaterials in process industries. Nanocatalysts, in general, play a vital
role in the improvement of resource handling and process efficiency. New prospects
to achieve sustainable processing have been made possible through the progress in
nanotechnology. These developments of nanomaterials in the energy sector have also
reached the parts of the oil and gas industry. In downstream processing of oil and
gases, the use of nanocatalysts is commonplace. As the focus towards the production
of heavy crude oil has seen an uprising, the use of nanomaterials has shown a promising scope in altering heavy oil properties to favour the oil recovery mechanisms. The
majority of the reservoirs around the world have volumes of heavy crude oil with
only a few effective ways to produce it. With the ever-growing energy demands it is
of due importance that the focus has been shifted to implement nanotechnology in
heavy oil production. This chapter discusses the role of nanomaterials in the development of heavy oil recovery. Different types of mechanisms that explain the effects
of nanoparticles and their interaction with oil and its constituents are highlighted.
The effects coupled with the use of various thermal treatment schemes have been
explained. The scope of applicability in the field of flow assurance has been discussed. The use of nanoparticles in improving the existing EOR applications and
devising new ways to achieve the production of heavy fractions.
Keywords Nanotechnology · Nanomaterials · Heavy oil · EOR · Thermal
treatment
R. M. Jadhav
Department of Chemical Engineering, AC Tech Anna University, Chennai 600025, India
J. S. Sangwai (B)
Gas Hydrate and Flow Assurance Laboratory, Petroleum Engineering Program, Department of
Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
e-mail: jitendrasangwai@iitm.ac.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Ledwani and J. S. Sangwai (eds.), Nanotechnology for Energy and Environmental
Engineering, Green Energy and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33774-2_10
231
and Nanoparticles for Heavy Oil
Upgrading
Rohan M. Jadhav and Jitendra S. Sangwai
Abstract The relevance of nanotechnology in the field of energy resources has been
growing at a swift pace. The term ‘catalyst’ has a whole new outlook since the foundation of nanomaterials in process industries. Nanocatalysts, in general, play a vital
role in the improvement of resource handling and process efficiency. New prospects
to achieve sustainable processing have been made possible through the progress in
nanotechnology. These developments of nanomaterials in the energy sector have also
reached the parts of the oil and gas industry. In downstream processing of oil and
gases, the use of nanocatalysts is commonplace. As the focus towards the production
of heavy crude oil has seen an uprising, the use of nanomaterials has shown a promising scope in altering heavy oil properties to favour the oil recovery mechanisms. The
majority of the reservoirs around the world have volumes of heavy crude oil with
only a few effective ways to produce it. With the ever-growing energy demands it is
of due importance that the focus has been shifted to implement nanotechnology in
heavy oil production. This chapter discusses the role of nanomaterials in the development of heavy oil recovery. Different types of mechanisms that explain the effects
of nanoparticles and their interaction with oil and its constituents are highlighted.
The effects coupled with the use of various thermal treatment schemes have been
explained. The scope of applicability in the field of flow assurance has been discussed. The use of nanoparticles in improving the existing EOR applications and
devising new ways to achieve the production of heavy fractions.
Keywords Nanotechnology · Nanomaterials · Heavy oil · EOR · Thermal
treatment
R. M. Jadhav
Department of Chemical Engineering, AC Tech Anna University, Chennai 600025, India
J. S. Sangwai (B)
Gas Hydrate and Flow Assurance Laboratory, Petroleum Engineering Program, Department of
Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
e-mail: jitendrasangwai@iitm.ac.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Ledwani and J. S. Sangwai (eds.), Nanotechnology for Energy and Environmental
Engineering, Green Energy and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33774-2_10
231