Transport in Porous Media, Vol.81, No.1, 105-122, 2010
Permeability Reduction in Qishn Sandstone Specimens due to Particle Suspension Injection
Produced water re-injection is one of the viable methods to manage the large amount of water produced from oil recovery operations. Permeability reduction caused by the particles being retained within porous formations is a major problem affecting the effectiveness of the process. This article presents an experimental investigation of permeability reduction in Qishn sandstone specimens due to particle suspension injection. Test results indicated that the particle deposition and permeability damage varied along the test specimen length depending on the imposed testing conditions. The filtration coefficient was difficult and complex to delineate from the transient injection data. However, it was found that the permeability reduction was uniquely correlated with the amount of particles retained within the specimen independent of the injected influent concentration, injected velocity, injected fluid volume, and particle deposition profile. It was possible to determine the permeability reduction coefficient directly from the laboratory measurement without solving the particle deposition profile from the coupled particle deposition fluid-flow equations.