Numerical Simulation of Geochemical Compatibility of Biomass-Derived Alkaline Agents for Enhanced Oil Recovery Applications

Numerical Simulation of Geochemical Compatibility of Biomass-Derived Alkaline Agents for Enhanced Oil Recovery Applications | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Numerical Simulation of Geochemical Compatibility of Biomass-Derived Alkaline Agents for Enhanced Oil Recovery Applications Olalekan S. Alade, Jafar S. Ahmad, Mohammed H. Alyousef, Ammar Al-Ramadan, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8882876/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study presents a comprehensive numerical investigation of the geochemical compatibility of a biomass-derived alkaline agent, Date Palm Ash (DPA), for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications. The DPA solution (1 wt.%, pH = 11.87) was modelled as a mixed alkaline system containing Ca(OH)₂, NaOH, KOH, and Mg(OH)₂ and equilibrated with carbonate (pH = 5.81) and sandstone (pH = 6.16) formation brines over temperatures of 25–100 °C at 3000 psig using coupled geochemical–reservoir simulation. Results show that in carbonate formations, maximum calcite (613 ppm) and barite (14 ppm) precipitation occurred at a DPA fraction of 0.2, with calcite relatively insensitive to temperature, while barite decreased sharply and disappeared at 100 °C. In sandstone formations, initial calcite concentration was negligible and increased progressively with DPA fraction, reaching its maximum near 0.8 fraction, with no observable barite precipitation. Reservoir simulations further demonstrated higher permeability impairment and calcite adsorption in carbonate reservoirs, leading to lower fractional oil recovery (~0.58) compared to sandstone reservoirs (~0.62). Three-dimensional analyses revealed more pronounced permeability reduction and mineral deposition in carbonate systems, whereas sandstone formations maintained higher productivity indices and lower salinity effects. Overall, DPA exhibited superior geochemical compatibility and flow performance in sandstone reservoirs. The findings confirm the technical feasibility of utilizing biomass-derived alkaline solutions as sustainable alternatives to synthetic alkalis, while emphasizing the importance of lithology-specific compatibility assessment to mitigate scale formation and formation damage in alkaline EOR processes. Alkaline EOR DPA solution Geochemical reactions Compatibility Scale formation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 04 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 16 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 14 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8882876","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":591899585,"identity":"5ef1806d-234a-49d6-82fd-5f3ba00566ac","order_by":0,"name":"Olalekan S. 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The DPA solution (1 wt.%, pH = 11.87) was modelled as a mixed alkaline system containing Ca(OH)₂, NaOH, KOH, and Mg(OH)₂ and equilibrated with carbonate (pH = 5.81) and sandstone (pH = 6.16) formation brines over temperatures of 25–100 °C at 3000 psig using coupled geochemical–reservoir simulation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResults show that in carbonate formations, maximum calcite (613 ppm) and barite (14 ppm) precipitation occurred at a DPA fraction of 0.2, with calcite relatively insensitive to temperature, while barite decreased sharply and disappeared at 100 °C. In sandstone formations, initial calcite concentration was negligible and increased progressively with DPA fraction, reaching its maximum near 0.8 fraction, with no observable barite precipitation. Reservoir simulations further demonstrated higher permeability impairment and calcite adsorption in carbonate reservoirs, leading to lower fractional oil recovery (~0.58) compared to sandstone reservoirs (~0.62).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThree-dimensional analyses revealed more pronounced permeability reduction and mineral deposition in carbonate systems, whereas sandstone formations maintained higher productivity indices and lower salinity effects. Overall, DPA exhibited superior geochemical compatibility and flow performance in sandstone reservoirs. 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