Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering (IJChE)
Scientific Journal

Enhancing Water Flooding Efficiency in Carbonate Oil Reservoirs through Controlled Imbibition and Mobility using a Combination of Smart Water and Polymer Flooding

Document Type : Regular Article

Authors

Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini-Nasab 1
Faezeh Mirderikvand 1
Reza Zargarian 2

1 School of Chemical, Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Chemical, Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

10.22034/ijche.2026.585050.1596
Abstract
To enhance the efficiency of oil recovery, a combination of multiple methods or materials can be utilized. This study aimed to investigate a hybrid method of using smart water and polymers to improve water flooding. Moreover, in this paper the influence of sulfate on the performance of polymers for increasing the efficiency of this method is investigated. To this end, we examine mechanisms, including changes in viscosity and interfacial tension (IFT), affecting oil recovery. To assess the impact of the injected fluid on oil recovery, a micro-model consisting of sand packs prepared from carbonate rock grains was employed as a two-dimensional simulated porous medium. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Central Composite Design (CCD) were used as the most precise methods to design the experiments. The design was based on five levels and three variables including three parameters of the concentration of polymers ranging from 1000 to 3000 ppm, the concentration of the ions of smart water ranging from 12210 to 54180 ppm, and the temperature of 25–75°C. Considering the defined conditions, the effects of the prepared compositions on viscosity, IFT, and oil recovery were evaluated. The highest final oil recovery obtained, for the polymer-smart water without the NaCl (Sw-NaCl) solution, was reported about 60.32% of oil originally in place (OOIP), while the lowest one was reported to be about 50.67% of OOIP.

Keywords

Smart water
Polymer
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
Mobility ratio
Response surface methodology
Interfacial Tension (IFT)
Subjects
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Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering (IJChE)
Volume 23, Issue 3
Autumn 2026
Pages 18-32

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