IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v335y2025ics0360544225036680.html

Balancing foam generation and stability in rough fractures for effective CO2 mobility control

Author

Listed:
  • Sun, Lin
  • Li, Zhenghui
  • Sun, Xuehui
  • Xin, Jun
  • Zeng, Liyou
  • Li, Haoyue
  • Wei, Bing

Abstract

CO2 channeling severely undermines sweep efficiency in fractured, low-permeability reservoirs, posing a critical challenge to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and geological carbon sequestration. While foam injection is a proven method for CO2 mobility control in porous media, its performance in rough fracture systems remains insufficiently understood. This study systematically investigated the in-situ generation and transport behavior of three tailored supercritical CO2 foams using a novel high-temperature, high-pressure rough-fracture model under varying surface roughness coefficients (Rs) and injection conditions. Results indicate that increased roughness promotes foam generation through shear-induced disturbances but also accelerates film rupture due to excessive deformation. In low-roughness fractures (Rs ≤ 1.01), sufficient foam generation is essential, whereas in high-roughness fractures (Rs ≥ 1.05), maintaining foam stability becomes equally important. A synergistic formulation combining hydrocarbon/fluorocarbon surfactants, xanthan gum, and nano-SiO2 enhances interfacial adsorption, increases bulk viscosity, and improves wall friction, achieving a balance between foam generation and stability. These effects are further amplified by optimizing foam quality and exploiting shear-thinning behavior. The findings deepen understanding of foam-fracture interactions and provide practical guidance for improving CO2-EOR and geological sequestration strategies in fractured, low-permeability reservoirs.

Suggested Citation

  • Sun, Lin & Li, Zhenghui & Sun, Xuehui & Xin, Jun & Zeng, Liyou & Li, Haoyue & Wei, Bing, 2025. "Balancing foam generation and stability in rough fractures for effective CO2 mobility control," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:335:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225036680
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.138026
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225036680
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.138026?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meng, Siwei & Liu, Chen & Liu, Yueliang & Rui, Zhenhua & Liu, He & Jin, Xu & Tao, Jiaping, 2024. "CO2 utilization and sequestration in organic-rich shale from the nanoscale perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).
    2. Wang, Zengding & Liu, Tengyu & Liu, Shanchao & Jia, Cunqi & Yao, Jun & Sun, Hai & Yang, Yongfei & Zhang, Lei & Delshad, Mojdeh & Sepehrnoori, Kamy & Zhong, Junjie, 2024. "Adsorption effects on CO2-oil minimum miscibility pressure in tight reservoirs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    3. Zhou, Xiang & Li, Xiuluan & Shen, Dehuang & Shi, Lanxiang & Zhang, Zhien & Sun, Xinge & Jiang, Qi, 2022. "CO2 huff-n-puff process to enhance heavy oil recovery and CO2 storage: An integration study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).
    4. Hanamertani, Alvinda Sri & Ahmed, Shehzad, 2021. "Probing the role of associative polymer on scCO2-Foam strength and rheology enhancement in bulk and porous media for improving oil displacement efficiency," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    5. Yang, Mingyang & Huang, Shijun & Zhao, Fenglan & Sun, Haoyue & Chen, Xinyang, 2024. "Experimental investigation of CO2 huff-n-puff in tight oil reservoirs: Effects of the fracture on the dynamic transport characteristics based on the nuclear magnetic resonance and fractal theory," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    6. Hao, Yongmao & Li, Zongfa & Su, Yuliang & Kong, Chuixian & Chen, Hong & Meng, Yang, 2022. "Experimental investigation of CO2 storage and oil production of different CO2 injection methods at pore-scale and core-scale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    7. Wang, Zhoujie & Zhu, Jianzhong & Li, Songyan, 2023. "Novel strategy for reducing the minimum miscible pressure in a CO2–oil system using nonionic surfactant: Insights from molecular dynamics simulations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 352(C).
    8. Jin, Xu & Wang, Xiaoqi & Yan, Weipeng & Meng, Siwei & Liu, Xiaodan & Jiao, Hang & Su, Ling & Zhu, Rukai & Liu, He & Li, Jianming, 2019. "Exploration and casting of large scale microscopic pathways for shale using electrodeposition," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 32-39.
    9. Zhuang, Xinyu & Wang, Wendong & Su, Yuliang & Shi, Menghe & Dai, Zhenxue, 2025. "Life-cycle prediction and optimization of sequestration performance in CO2 mixture huff-n-puff development for tight hydrocarbon reservoirs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 388(C).
    10. Wang, Anlun & Chen, Yinghe & Wei, Jianguang & Li, Jiangtao & Zhou, Xiaofeng, 2023. "Experimental study on the mechanism of five point pattern refracturing for vertical & horizontal wells in low permeability and tight oil reservoirs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yang, Mingyang & Huang, Shijun & Zhao, Fenglan & Yang, Changhe, 2025. "A novel hybrid finite-infinite diffusion model for determining CO2 diffusion coefficient in oil-saturated porous media: Applications for enhanced oil recovery and geological carbon storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    2. Zhuang, Xinyu & Wang, Wendong & Su, Yuliang & Shi, Menghe & Dai, Zhenxue, 2025. "Life-cycle prediction and optimization of sequestration performance in CO2 mixture huff-n-puff development for tight hydrocarbon reservoirs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 388(C).
    3. Song, Yilei & Song, Zhaojie & Mo, Yasi & Chen, Fengyuan & Jing, Yahao & Han, Xiao & Bai, Mingxing & Tian, Shouceng & Chen, Zhangxin, 2025. "CO2 injection induced thermodynamic shifts in continental and marine shale oils," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    4. Wu, Qianhui & Ding, Lei & Zhang, Lei & Ge, Jijiang & Rahman, Mohammad Azizur & Economou, Ioannis G. & Guérillot, Dominique, 2023. "Polymer enhanced foam for improving oil recovery in oil-wet carbonate reservoirs: A proof of concept and insights into the polymer-surfactant interactions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    5. Liu, Huang & Yao, Desong & Yang, Bowen & Li, Huashi & Guo, Ping & Du, Jianfen & Wang, Jian & Yang, Shuokong & Wen, Lianhui, 2022. "Experimental investigation on the mechanism of low permeability natural gas extraction accompanied by carbon dioxide sequestration," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    6. Xie, Zehao & Cao, Cheng & Zhao, Yulong & Wen, Shaomu & Wang, Yongchao & Zhang, Tao & Zhang, Liehui & Zhao, Zihan & Li, Qingping & Zhou, Shouwei & Hu, Yong, 2025. "CO2 storage performance influenced by CO2-brine-carbonate reactions: A case from China's first CCUS project in carbonate gas reservoir," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    7. Li, Lian & Kang, Yong & Hu, Yi & Pan, Haizeng & Huang, Yong & Yuan, Quan, 2025. "Capillary number effects on two-phase flow and residual oil morphology in water and supercritical CO₂ displacement: A microfluidic study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    8. Yang, Xianyu & Cai, Jihua & Jiang, Guosheng & Xie, Jingyu & Shi, Yanping & Chen, Shuya & Yue, Ye & Yu, Lang & He, Yichao & Xie, Kunzhi, 2020. "Nanoparticle plugging prediction of shale pores: A numerical and experimental study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    9. Jabbar, Muhammad Yousuf & Long, Wennan & Cruthers, Jaden & Austin, Mark & Masnadi, Mohammad S., 2025. "Gate-to-gate life-cycle assessment of immiscible CO2-EOR operation in heavy oil using real operation data," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    10. Qiang Liu & Jialong Li & Bing Liang & Weiji Sun & Jianjun Liu & Yun Lei, 2023. "Microscopic Flow of CO 2 in Complex Pore Structures: A Recent 10-Year Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-21, August.
    11. Wu, Pengzhi & Liu, Changchun & Wen, Hu & Luo, Zhenmin & Fan, Shixing & Mi, Wansheng, 2023. "Experimental investigation of jet impingement during accidental release of liquid CO2," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    12. Promise O. Longe & David Kwaku Danso & Gideon Gyamfi & Jyun Syung Tsau & Mubarak M. Alhajeri & Mojdeh Rasoulzadeh & Xiaoli Li & Reza Ghahfarokhi Barati, 2024. "Predicting CO 2 and H 2 Solubility in Pure Water and Various Aqueous Systems: Implication for CO 2 –EOR, Carbon Capture and Sequestration, Natural Hydrogen Production and Underground Hydrogen Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-48, November.
    13. Song, Yilei & Song, Zhaojie & Mo, Yasi & Meng, Yufan & Zhou, Qiancheng & Jing, Yahao & Tian, Shouceng & Chen, Zhangxin, 2025. "Maturity-dependent thermodynamic and flow characteristics in continental shale oils," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    14. Li, Jiangtao & Zhou, Xiaofeng & Gayubov, Abdumalik & Shamil, Sultanov, 2023. "Study on production performance characteristics of horizontal wells in low permeability and tight oil reservoirs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    15. Zhenhua Xu & Lianwu Zhou & Shuiping Ma & Jianxun Qin & Xiaodi Huang & Bo Han & Longqing Yang & Yun Luo & Pengcheng Liu, 2023. "Study on CO 2 Huff-n-Puff Development Rule of Horizontal Wells in Heavy Oil Reservoir by Taking Liuguanzhuang Oilfield in Dagang as an Example," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-13, May.
    16. Wu, Qianhui & Ding, Lei & Zhao, Lun & Alhashboul, Almohannad A. & Almajid, Muhammad M. & Patil, Pramod & Zhao, Wenqi & Fan, Zifei, 2024. "CO2 soluble surfactants for carbon storage in carbonate saline aquifers with achievable injectivity: Implications from the continuous CO2 injection study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    17. Wei, Jianguang & Yang, Erlong & Li, Jiangtao & Liang, Shuang & Zhou, Xiaofeng, 2023. "Nuclear magnetic resonance study on the evolution of oil water distribution in multistage pore networks of shale oil reservoirs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    18. Lu, Ning & Dong, Xiaohu & Liu, Huiqing & Chen, Zhangxin & Xu, Wenjing & Zeng, Deshang, 2024. "Molecular insights into the synergistic mechanisms of hybrid CO2-surfactant thermal systems at heavy oil-water interfaces," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    19. Wang, Hui & Chen, Li & Qu, Zhiguo & Yin, Ying & Kang, Qinjun & Yu, Bo & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2020. "Modeling of multi-scale transport phenomena in shale gas production — A critical review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    20. Li, Xiaoyu & Sun, Xiaofei & Cai, Jiaming & Zhang, Qingquan & Pan, Xianggang & Zhang, Yanyu, 2023. "Experimental investigation on supercritical multi-thermal fluid flooding using a novel 2-dimensional model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:335:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225036680. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.