Thursday, February 16, 2023, 11:00 AM - 01:00 PM ET
Speaker: Wei Wang, Ph.D. Time: Thursday, February 16th, 2023, 11AM-1PM (Lecture & light lunch) Location: Aramco Research Center - Boston (400 Technology Square, 4th floor) Registration: Registration is required and is limited to 30 people in-person . Must be a SPE member. Linked form must be filled out as well as RSVPing below. Abstract:
Applications of nanomaterials and nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry have been on the rise over the past decade. As a major step forward in realizing the vision of a much in-demand “Reservoir-on-a-Chip” technology, microfluidic devices have been applied as micromodels for oil reservoirs, which opened a new window into high throughput advancement of reservoir and oilfield chemistry. In this review, recent progress and perspectives on applications of microfluidics technology in the oil and gas industry are discussed.
Microfluidics consist of microfabricated structures that have small volume capacity and features for liquid handling, with cross sections that range from nanometer to micrometer. The dimensions, geometries and surface properties of microfluidic chips are precisely tailored through nanofabrication and post chemical modification, so that the nano/micro-scale porosity and wettability of the microchannels can be tuned to faithfully resemble natural reservoir rocks. Miniaturized microfluidic device provides an ideal tool for studying the transport processes of fluids at high temporal and spatial resolution. With the advantage of excellent optical transparency, microfluidic micromodels allow us to directly visualize and quantify the multiphase flows and geochemical fluid−rock interactions by advanced spectroscopic and microscopic imaging techniques, elucidating the complex fluid behavior in oil recovery processes. As an example, a specifically designed micromodel system enables water−oil displacement experiments to be performed rapidly in very small-volume samples for dramatically accelerated screening of candidate chemicals or nano-agent additive formulations for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations, significantly reducing time and cost compared to conventional coreflooding experiments.
Biography:
Dr. Wei Wang is a Research Science Consultant who joined Aramco Research Center-Boston as a founding member in 2012. His current research focus is on the application of advanced materials and nanotechnology for reservoir engineering. Wei was a Staff R&D Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) from 2001-2012, where he received the Stanley I. Auerbach Award in 2009. Wei obtained his Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 1993 with the honor of the CAS Presidential Award. He has authored 160+ research papers, 5 book chapters and 40+ US patent applications. Wei is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACSF), and also served as a Program Committee Member for SPE-ATCE and ACS National Meetings.
Please fill out the linked form as well as RSVPing below.
Contact Information
Cambridge, MA, United States