Nanoparticle-CO2 foams: New methods for carbon storage and oil recovery via pore-scale microfluidics

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This proposal describes the development and testing of nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foam for carbon storage and enhanced oil recovery using microfluidics. The aim is pore-scale mobility control achieved by packaging CO2 into foams with interface-stabilizing nanoparticles. The 3-year deliverable is a reservoir-ready nanoparticle-CO2 foam with order of magnitude improvements over current technologies (surfactants and polymer floods) in terms of stability and cost. The work is enabled by the novel concept of microfluidics-based development, screening and quantification of CO2 foam performance at reservoir temperatures, pressures and pore sizes. This method will uniquely enable the quantification of CO2 foam stability, CO2 storage, oil recovery and cost as required before adoption by supporting organizations Apache Canada and Cenovus Energy - Canadian world leaders in CO2-enhanced oil recovery. Carbon management is a near-term sustainability imperative due to (a) the dominance of fossil fuels in global energy (86%) and (b) the long timescale required for change (50-100 yrs). Injecting CO2 into oil reservoirs for a combination of storage and oil recovery functions has evolved as the primary economical and feasible route to carbon management. However, the high mobility of CO2 relative to oil currently limits both the CO2 storage and oil recovery potential. The development of nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foams will enable near-term carbon savings in Canadian energy operations currently operating at scale. In addition to environmental and economic benefits to Canada, top personnel will be trained in keeping with the group's track record of generating HQP for academia and the Canadian energy industry. This work addresses both areas within the "Cleaner Fossil Fuels" target area directly: "Unconventional Oil and Gas Extraction" and "Carbon Capture and Storage".