Synthesis of sodium nanoparticles for promising extraction of heavy oil

As reserves of conventional light oil become depleted, recovery of viscous oil is urgently needed to meet increasing energy demands worldwide before clean energy sources are fully developed. Current oil extraction technologies suffer from low efficiency, high cost, and environmental concerns. Attempts to use nanotechnology in this field have thus far been recognized to have only auxiliary effects, rather than playing a major role. Here we report a reactive sodium nanoparticle fluid able to in situ recover highly viscous crude oil very effectively even at room temperature. Its high recovery performance is based on a chemical reaction that allows the nanofluid to exhibit multiple benefits in displacing subsurface oil: heat, hydrogen gas, and sodium hydroxide. In addition, multi-stage nanofluid injection is found to be superior to a single injection mode. Thus, it opens a new way to extract and process crude oil. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Conventional light oil reserves are depleting, leading to a worldwide demand for recovery of viscous oil to meet energy needs. The new nanofluid technology can effectively recover crude oil at room temperature, with multi-stage injection proving superior to single injection.