Factors Affecting Alkaline Sodium Silicate Gelation for In-Depth Reservoir Profile Modification

Alkaline sodium silicate (Na-silicate) is environment-friendly and possesses water-like viscosity during the injection stage for in-depth reservoir treatment to enhance sweep efficiency. Gel setting time (t(g)) and gel strength are interrelated. Factors that accelerate t(g) are Na-silicate content (wt%), low pH, presence of divalent ions and temperature. Pressure drop across the gel accelerates syneresis; however, the gel appeared to remain intact. Presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions is shown to increase gel strength. With a Na-silicate content of 4.5 wt%, for example, at a pH of 10.3 and a temperature of 20 degrees C, gel strength almost tripled and was reached about eight times faster at the combined tested concentration of 0.009 M, based on the average effect from the coexistence of both ions. Low-salinity water (LSW) has an ion composition of 25-fold diluted seawater, did not show precipitation, and could accordingly be a candidate for a pre-flush before the injection of a Na-silicate solution in the event of a field application. This is important since LSW for enhancing oil recovery is a popular method in oil industry. A suggested predictive tool (simple graphical method) to estimate the effect of different factors on gelation time and gel strength is presented.