Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering (IJChE)
Scientific Journal

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

Articles in Press

Document Type : Regular Article

Authors

Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini-Nasab 1
Faerzeh Mirderivand 2
Reza Zargarian 3

1 Iran University of Science and Technology

2 School of Chemical, Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran: hosseininasab@iust.ac.ir *

3 Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Chemical, Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Semnan University, 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 smart water and polymer to improve water flooding. Moreover, this paper investigates the influence of sulfate on polymer performance for increasing the performance of this method. To this end, we examine mechanisms affecting oil recovery, including changes in viscosity and interfacial tension (IFT). To assess the impact of the injected fluid on oil recovery, a micro-model consisting 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 polymer concentrations ranging from 1000 to 3000 ppm, ion of smart water concentrations ranging from 12210 to 54180 ppm, and temperatures between 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 NaCl (Sw-NaCl) solution, reported at about 60.32% of oil originally in place (OOIP), while the lowest one was reported about 50.67% of OOIP.

Keywords

Smart water
Polymer
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
Mobility ratio
Response surface methodology
Interfacial Tension (IFT)
Subjects
Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering (IJChE)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 August 2026

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