Phase behavior and rheological characterization of silica nanoparticle gel

Preferential injection into high permeability thief zones or fractures can result in early breakthrough at production wells and large unswept areas of high oil saturation, which impact the economic life of a well. A variety of conformance control techniques, including polymer and silica gel treatments, have been designed to block flow through the swept zones. Over a certain range of salinities, silica nanoparticle suspensions form a gel in bulk phase behavior tests. These gels have potential for in situ flow diversion, but in situ flow tests are required to determine their applicability. To determine the appropriate scope of the in situ tests, it is necessary to obtain an accurate description of nanoparticle phase behavior and gel rheology. In this paper, the equilibrium phase behavior of silica nanoparticle solutions in the presence of sodium chloride (NaCl) is presented with four phase regions classified as a function of salinity and nanoparticle concentration. Once the gelation window was clearly defined, rheology experiments of silica nanoparticle gels were also carried out. Gelation time decreases exponentially as a function of silica concentration, salinity, and temperature. Following a power law behavior, the storage modulus, G′, increases with particle concentration. Steady shear measurements show that silica nanoparticle gels exhibit non-Newtonian, shear thinning behavior. This comprehensive study of the silica nanoparticle gels has provided a clear path forward for in situ tests to determine the gel’s applicability for conformance control operations.