Perspectives in Nanocellulose for Crude Oil Recovery: A Minireview
Marianny Y. Combariza, Andrea P. Martínez-Ramírez, Cristian Blanco‐Tirado
Abstract
The increasing energy demand worldwide pushes the exploration of new and efficient ways to improve crude oil recovery and processing. From a chemical perspective, the petroleum industry relies on a wide range of specialty additives to provide the necessary fluid qualities for up-, mid-, and downstream operations. Currently, most of these compounds come from synthetic sources. However, attention is steadily turning to high-performance new materials derived from natural sources to improve the efficiency and productivity of the petroleum industry while reducing its environmental impacts. Cellulose is an abundant, renewable, and biodegradable material with outstanding chemical versatility. Cellulose structural modifications result in numerous products, with some as old as paper, textiles, explosives, and texturizing agents and others as new as functional nanostructures. This minireview focuses on nanocellulose-based materials as high-performance agents for enhanced oil recovery and emulsion stabilization/destabilization in the petroleum industry.