Influence of intensity and frequency of ultrasonic waves on capillary interaction and oil recovery from different rock types

Oil saturated cylindrical sandstone cores were placed into imbibition cells where they contacted with an aqueous phase and oil recovery performances were tested with and without ultrasonic radiation keeping all other conditions and parameters constant. Experiments were conducted for different initial water saturation, oil viscosity and wettability. The specifications of acoustic sources such as ultrasonic intensity (45–84 W/sq cm) and frequency (22 and 40 kHz) were also changed. An increase in recovery was observed with ultrasonic energy in all cases. This change was more remarkable for the oil-wet medium. The additional recovery with ultrasonic energy became lower as the oil viscosity increased. We also designed a setup to measure the ultrasonic energy penetration capacity in different media, namely air, water, and slurry (sand + water mixture). A one-meter long water or slurry filled medium was prepared and the ultrasonic intensity and frequency were monitored as a function of distance from the source. The imbibition cells were placed at certain distances from the sources and the oil recovery was recorded. Then, the imbibition recovery was related to the ultrasonic intensity, frequency, and distance from the ultrasonic source.