Methane-nanoparticle foam
Enhanced oil recovery is a suite of methods used to squeeze the last drops of oil and gas out of a petroleum well, generally by pumping something down into a spent well to flush out remaining fossil fuels. It’s big business. With a market of around $82 billion per year, many researchers are hunting for ways to enhance enhanced oil recovery. Shown here is a foam of methane (large circles) stabilized by silane-modified silicon-oxide nanoparticles (small circles). The foaming action drops the density and viscosity of the oil and gas mixture in a well, which in turn helps everything flow up to the surface. — Craig Bettenhausen
Submitted by Zhengxiao Xu, China University of Petroleum
Read more here: ACS Omega 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c02434
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