ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses nanoparticle (NP) applications in which the NPs supplement or take the place of chemicals, and applications in which the superparamagnetic properties of iron oxide NPs are used for targeted heating or collection with a permanent magnet. One of the major advantages in using superparamagnetic NPs lies in their ability to be manipulated using an external magnetic field. The chapter reviews several NP-assisted technologies for separating oil, water, and enhanced oil recovery polymer in production operations. Production operations and flow assurance—the practice of producing oil and gas from the subsurface and maintaining economic production rates safely and efficiently—are of paramount importance to the oil and gas industry. Flow assurance is a production subdiscipline in which engineers strive to maintain “a reliable, manageable, and profitable flow of fluids from the reservoir to the sales point”. Most conventional gels will preferentially flow through the higher-permeability layers, thus plugging them once gelled and promoting flow through lower-permeability layers.
