A flow and transport model for simulation of microbial enhanced oil recovery processes at core scale and laboratory conditions

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive 3D flow and transport model for microbial enhanced oil recovery at core scale, validated with laboratory data and capable of simulating complex microbial and chemical interactions affecting oil recovery.

Contribution

It introduces a novel axiomatic continuum-mechanics based model for MEOR that captures biomass effects, biosurfactant impacts, and flow changes, validated against benchmark and experimental data.

Findings

Model accurately predicts MEOR recovery with small RMS error.

Validated against benchmark flow and transport data.

Framework is extendable to other EOR scenarios.

Abstract

A general 3D flow-and-transport model in porous media is derived using an axiomatic continuum-mechanics approach and implemented with the finite element method to simulate microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) at core scale under laboratory conditions. The development pipeline (conceptual -> mathematical -> numerical -> computational) is detailed. The model captures clogging/declogging from biomass, changes in interfacial tension due to biosurfactant, and the resulting impact on relative permeability, capillary pressure, and residual oil saturation via a trapping-number framework. The flow model is validated (Buckley-Leverett and coreflood benchmarks); transport (microbes/nutrients/surfactant) is validated against Hendry et al. 1997 breakthrough data. Finally, the model accurately predicts a Berea-core MEOR case study using field microbes and brine, matching recovery histories with small RMS error. Owing to its generality, the framework can be extended to other EOR scenarios and constitutive laws.