Scientists at the University of Houston have designed an inexpensive and non-toxic nanofluid to recover oil with high viscosity from reservoirs. The nanofluid consist of commercially available sodium and was developed using a household blender. Tests confirmed recovery of 80% of extra-heavy oil which had a viscosity of over 400,000 centipoise at room temperature.
Zhifeng Ren, director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH, stated the recovery in the field is expected to be less than the 80% shown in the lab. Researchers claim that this is a breakthrough in the use of nanotechnology to provide environmentally sustainable oil production that is also cost effective. Their work is published in Materials Today Physics.
Heavy oil makes up 70% of global oil reserves, this nanotechnology is one way to keep up with increasing energy demands until transitions to clean energy sources can be fulfilled.
Co-author Dan Luo, a postdoctoral researcher at the Texas Center for Superconductivity, said, "Based on these advantages, we anticipate that the sodium nanofluid could become a game-changing technology for recovery of oil of any viscosity, as well as a milestone in using nanotechnology to solve oil-recovery problems in the petroleum industry."