Current oil production technologies recover only about one‐third to one‐half of the oil
originally present in an oil reservoir. Given current oil prices, even a modest increase in oil recovery efficiency is fiscally attractive. One novel approach to increase oil recovery
efficiency is a process called microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), where microorganisms
are either used as a clogging agent to redirect flow or to produce biosurfactant that reduces
interfacial tension. This dissertation aims to understand the MEOR pore‐scale mechanisms
relevant to oil recovery by taking a two‐fold approach where transparent 2‐dimensional
micromodel experiments imaged with stereo microscopy and 3‐dimensional column
experiments imaged with x‐ray computed microtomography (CMT) are utilized. Micromodel
experiments allow for direct visualization of the biological phase (i.e. biofilm), however, only 2‐dimensional information is provided. Conversely, CMT experiments provide 3‐dimensional
pore‐scale information, but lack the ability to image the biological phase. With this two‐fold
approach, it is possible to distinguish multiple fluid interfaces, quantify fluid phase
saturations, measure oil blob size distributions, and visualize the biological phase.
Furthermore, a method to measure interfacial curvature from 3‐dimensional images is
developed, providing researchers a new perspective from which to study multiphase flow
experiments. Overall, the presented research utilizes pore‐scale imaging techniques to study
the interfacial interactions occurring during MEOR in an effort to better explain the physics,
and thus, increase the efficacy of MEOR. / Graduation date: 2012
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/26899 |
| Date | 06 January 2012 |
| Creators | Armstrong, Ryan T. |
| Contributors | Wildenschild, Dorthe |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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