An experimental investigation of using Ni-doped ZnO–ZrO2 nanoparticles as a new asphaltene deposition inhibitor in ultra low carbonate porous media

Nowadays, the Asphaltene (AS) precipitation and deposition were known as two main issues during different oil production stages. Recently, nanoparticles have been recognized as an effective AS adsorbents and deposition deterrents. In this study, Ni-doped ZnO–ZrO2 nanocomposites (Nano-Cs) were synthesized. To determine the morphological characteristics and structure of the synthesized nano-Cs, XRD, ESEM, and EDAX were performed. CO2-oil IFT (COIFT) tests, isotherm models, and NAD tests at the static phase were done with nano-Cs, and the results were compared with ZrO2 nano-particles. Also, for measuring permeability/porosity reduction (PPR) in porous media (PM), NAD tests at the dynamic phase were designed with nano-Cs at obtained static conditions. Based on the COIFT readings data and UV-Vis results, nano-Cs adsorbed more AS and in comparison with ZrO2 nano-particles [Nano-Cs: 160.5 mg/g, and ZrO2:132 mg/g], and the isotherm model results show that the adsorption data were adapted well with Langmuir (LM) isotherm than Freundlich (FR) isotherm for both nano-particles. Nano-Cs was decreased AS precipitation and AS aggregation more than ZrO2 nano-particles at static phase. AS precipitation in the presence of nano-Cs and ZrO2 nano-particles decreased from (6.20, 17.50) wt. % to (2.8, 6.25) wt. % and (5.29, 12.17) wt. %, respectively, and after adding nano-Cs in PM, AS depositions were decreased and PPR parameters were improved.