Methods of recovering a hydrocarbon material

Abstract

A method of recovering hydrocarbons comprises introducing a suspension comprising nanoparticles to a material and contacting surfaces of the material with the suspension. After introducing the suspension comprising the nanoparticles to the material, the method further includes introducing at least one charged surfactant to the material and removing hydrocarbons from the material. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the nanoparticles may be introduced to the material prior to introduction of the surfactant to the material. Related methods of recovering hydrocarbons from a material are also disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of recovering hydrocarbons, the method comprising:
 introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant and nanoparticles comprising aluminum silicate into a formation comprising hydrocarbons; and   removing the hydrocarbons from the formation.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein introducing a fluid comprises introducing a fluid comprising the at least one charged surfactant including a same group as functional groups of the nanoparticles. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant into the formation comprises introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant comprising at least one carboxylate surfactant and at least one sulfonate surfactant into the formation. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant into the formation comprises introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant comprising sodium dodecyl sulfate into the formation. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant and nanoparticles comprising aluminum silicate into a formation comprises introducing a fluid comprising alumina modified silica nanoparticles and aluminum silicate into the formation. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant and nanoparticles comprising aluminum silicate into a formation comprises introducing a fluid into the formation, the fluid comprising:
 first nanoparticles functionalized with at least a first type of functional group; and   second nanoparticles functionalized with at least a second type of functional group.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising selecting the nanoparticles to comprise aluminum silicate nanoparticles. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising introducing an additional fluid comprising additional nanoparticles and substantially free of surfactant to the formation prior to introducing the fluid to the formation. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant and nanoparticles comprising aluminum silicate into a formation comprises introducing, into the formation, a fluid comprising nanoparticles selected from the group consisting of one or more of Al 2 SiO 5  (Al 2 O 3 .SiO 2 ), Al 2 Si 2 O 5 (OH) 5  (Al 2 O 3 .2SiO 2 .2H2O), Al 2 Si 2 O 7  (Al 2 O 3 .2SiO 2 ), Al 6 SiO 13  (3AlO 3 .2SiO 2 ), and Al 4 SiO 8  (2Al 2 O 3 .SiO 2 ). 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant and nanoparticles comprising aluminum silicate into a formation comprises introducing, into the formation, a fluid comprising aluminum silicate nanoparticles functionalized with one or more of an alkyl silane, an aryl silane, (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), (3-glycidylkoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (also referred to as glymo silane), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and one or more carbohydrates. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein introducing a fluid comprising at least one charged surfactant and nanoparticles comprising aluminum silicate into a formation comprises introducing, into the formation, aluminum silicate nanoparticles including at least one silicon-carbon bond. 
     
     
         12 . A method of recovering hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation, the method comprising:
 mixing aluminum silicate nanoparticles with a carrier fluid comprising at least one anionic surfactant to form a suspension;   introducing the suspension into a subterranean formation, the suspension having a temperature greater than about 50° C.; and   extracting hydrocarbons from the subterranean formation.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein mixing aluminum silicate nanoparticles with a carrier fluid comprises mixing aluminum silicate nanoparticles having a diameter less than about 100 nm with the carrier fluid. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein mixing aluminum silicate nanoparticles with a carrier fluid comprises mixing aluminum silicate nanoparticles with a carrier fluid comprising brine. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein mixing aluminum silicate nanoparticles with a carrier fluid comprising at least one anionic surfactant to form a suspension comprises forming the suspension to comprise a greater concentration of the at least one anionic surfactant than a concentration of the aluminum silicate nanoparticles. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein forming the suspension to comprise a greater concentration of the at least one anionic surfactant than a concentration of the aluminum silicate nanoparticles comprises forming the suspension to comprise a concentration of the at least one anionic surfactant greater than about 2.0 times the concentration of the aluminum silicate nanoparticles. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein forming the suspension to comprise a greater concentration of the at least one anionic surfactant than a concentration of the aluminum silicate nanoparticles comprises forming the suspension to exhibit a pH greater than about 9.0. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein introducing the suspension into a subterranean formation comprises adhering the nanoparticles to surfaces of the subterranean formation. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein introducing the suspension into a subterranean formation comprises adhering a greater number of nanoparticles to surfaces of the formation than the at least one anionic surfactant. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising flooding the subterranean formation with artificial sea water (ASW) prior to introducing the suspension into the subterranean formation.