Characterization of clay-stabilized, oil-in-water Pickering emulsion for potential conformance control in high-salinity, high-temperature reservoirs

In this study, a Na-montmorillonite clay-stabilized, oil-in-water (O/W) Pickering emulsion system was prepared and tested under high-salinity and high-temperature conditions. The emulsifying ability of the clay particles, emulsion stability against creaming and coalescence, and emulsion rheological behavior at different NaCl concentrations and temperatures were investigated. The results showed that decane could be effectively emulsified by clay particles into small emulsion droplets at salinities up to 25 wt% NaCl. The emulsion had a relatively narrow drop size distribution. However, the emulsion stability against creaming decreased with increases in NaCl concentration. At low NaCl concentrations, clay particles connected with each other by edge-edge and edge-face interactions, forming a three-dimensional network that stabilized the emulsion against creaming. A higher concentration of NaCl caused some clay particles to connect through face-face interactions, forming clay clusters. At high NaCl concentrations, the temperature had only a slight effect on the emulsion stability against creaming. However, emulsion stability against coalescence decreased with increasing temperature due to increased droplet collision caused by Brownian motion. A higher concentration of NaCl moderated this temperature effect of coalescence. The viscosity of emulsion decreased with increased NaCl concentration. Temperature increases caused emulsion viscosity to decrease at low NaCl concentration conditions. When the NaCl concentration was higher than 10 wt%, the temperature had little effect on the viscosity. In summary, this study identifies an O/W Pickering system with the potential for conformance control in high-salinity and high-temperature reservoirs. •Montmorillonite-stabilized Pickering emulsions were formed at high salinities.•Emulsion stability at high salinities and high temperatures was analyzed.•Emulsion viscosity at different salinities and temperatures was tested.