Potential approach to assess seawater breakthrough using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Main Article Content

Hauwa A. Rasheed
Adekunle A. Adeleke

Abstract

Seawater is commonly utilized as the primary source of water injected into reservoirs as part of secondary recovery operations within oilfields, aiming to optimize production levels. Nevertheless, the implementation of such a procedure can bring about significant issues, such as the formation of sulphate scale, which may arise due to variations in composition between seawater and water present in the reservoir. Consequently, a prompt and straightforward methodology has been devised, leveraging attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), to supervise the chemical composition of the produced water for any potential signs of seawater breakthrough and to approximate the proportion of seawater present. Through the application of this method, the concentration of sulfate ions (SO42- ) known to be the primary factor responsible for scale formation, can be accurately determined within the produced water. The evaluation of SO42- concentration in both synthesized and true seawater obtained from the shores of Aberdeen, Scotland revealed respective values of 2776 mg/L and 2834 mg/L whereas the detection limit (DL) and the quantification limit (QL) were 50 ppm and 100 mg/L, respectively. The approximated DL for SO42- in both synthetic seawater fraction and natural seawater fraction stands at 100 mg/L for each, corresponding to a composition of 5% seawater and 95% formation water. Conversely, its QL is approximated to be 414 mg/L and 500 mg/L, respectively, aligning with compositions of 10% seawater and 90% formation water. Notably, the addition of supplementary ions within the water samples has no impact on the instrument’s discernment regarding identifying and quantifying the amount of SO42- present. Finally, by plotting the correlation between the actual and measured concentrations, a strong relationship between the two sets of data was uncovered, affirming the potential of FTIR as a rapid, uncomplicated, reliable, and cost-effective approach for evaluating seawater breakthrough occurrences.

Article Details

How to Cite
Rasheed, H. A., & Adeleke, A. A. (2025). Potential approach to assess seawater breakthrough using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Engineering and Applied Science Research, 52(3), 296–307. retrieved from https://ph01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/easr/article/view/257970
Section
ORIGINAL RESEARCH

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